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Old 05-05-2015, 12:08 AM   #8 (permalink)
Hersbird
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I agree #9 is specifically designed to be misleading. It says traffic increases on roads when you add a lane or two and decreases on roads when you take a lane away. What they don't say is that traffic is just moving from or to another road. So take a lane away and it doesn't get any better or worse on that road but that traffic goes somewhere else and makes it worse there. Same thing if you add a lane, more traffic goes there and it gets better somewhere else. They did a "road diet" in our town taking a lane away from a major cross town and sure traffic didn't get any worse there because nobody goes that way now, traffic on the next main road to the north and the one to the south both got worse with all the people avoiding the main road. Worst part is now people just use side streets more as well.
One thing they need to keep in mind is #2, don't add a lane in heavy traffic just to take it away a mile later. Adding a passing lane in rural areas helps move traffic safely around slow cars and trucks, but if the traffic is slow because it is bumper to bumper the passing lane just causes problems. The highway north of San Francisco bay used to be a great example of what not to do.
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