The signalized intersection between Highway 12 and Pine Street in Ontario, Canada has been facing some challenges in its current design. Therefore, future analysis and design of the intersection should incorporate a suitable sustainability indicator to ensure that the intersection remains functional as a long-term solution. Perhaps the most important sustainability indicators for the intersection’s future analysis or evaluation should be traffic demand together with the future population (Litman 12). These sustainability indicators will ensure that the intersection remains safe and performs at an optimum level for the future based on how it is designed today.
The most significant challenge that the intersection has been facing is the traffic congestion due to the high number of vehicles that use it. Traffic congestion has made the intersection to be unsustainable due to wastage of fuel and time (Kockelman and Shabih 17). Future design of the intersection can be either sustainable or unsustainable depending on the strategies used to overcome this challenge. For example, expansion of the intersection to ease traffic congestion can be unsustainable (Litman 13). This is because the process will be expensive hence uneconomical. Expansion of the signalized intersection will also be a challenge due to the current layout of the site. Several expensive buildings that are situated in both Highway 12 and Pine Street will have to be demolished to pave way for the expansion. On the other hand, changing the intersection into a roundabout can be sustainable since there will be an increase in mobility and efficiency of vehicle travel. There has to be a change in design because the current intersection, which is a four-way intersection, has 32 con...
... middle of paper ...
...rent design. This will make the surrounding people to feel appreciated by the new evaluation.
Works Cited
Kockelman, Kara M. and Shabih Raheel A. “Effect of Vehicle Type on the Capacity of Signalized Intersections: The Case of Light-Duty Trucks.” Journal of Transportation Engineering, 126.6 (2000), 506-512. Print.
Litman, Todd. A. “Developing Indicators for Comprehensive and Sustainable Transport Planning.” Transport Research Record 2017, Transportation Research Board 2017, (2007), 10-15. Print.
Litman, Todd. A. Well Measured: Developing Indicators for Comprehensive and Sustainable Transport Planning. Victoria, BC: Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 2005. Print.
Smith, Steven A. Guidebook for Transportation Corridor Studies: A Process for Effective Decision-Making. Washington, DC: National Cooperative Highway Research Program, 2005. Print.
Ontario Provincial Police . (2009). Provincial Traffic Safety Program. Retrieved from Ontario Provincial Police: http://www.opp.ca/ecms/index.php?id=51
Even though ISTEA, as a whole, did not transform the transportation sector and the direction funding went during its original 6 years, it laid the foundation for subsequent legislation that has led to a continuing effort to create a pedestrian transportation network aimed at alleviating congestion and cutting emissions. According to the Federal Highway Administration (2013), more than $9 billion has been utilized for 27,172 pedestrian and bicycle path projects...
...rn, M., Ramroth, L., & Lovins, A. B. (2008). Transformational trucks: determining the energy efficiency limits of a class-8 tractor-trailer. Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass, CO.
Various aspects of traffic congestion in Toronto have been analyzed in detail. It is clear that Toronto is facing a serious problem of traffic congestion since it is the most congested city in North America. Traffic congestion in Toronto costs over $ 2 billion annually and it is caused by a variety of factors. These factors are categorized into non-recurring and recurring factors. However, the paper focused on recurring factors which contribute to the largest proportion of traffic congestion in Canada. These include increased automobile use, poor planning and lapse in implementation of laws which govern traffic systems. This leads to the use of many private cars by employees who commute to work as opposed to use of public transport systems resulting in congestion. Traffic congestion in Toronto has various adverse effects including barriers to emergency services, delays, idle time and opportunity costs as well as pollution.
Mead, H. K. (2002, June 22). Office of the Inspector General. Retrieved Feb 12, 2014, from US Department of Transportation: http://www2.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/pdfdocs/cc2002180.pdf
No matter what any politician in Washington or employee of the Federal Highway Administration may say, there is a serious and immediate problem with our nation's transportation systems. The Texas Transportation Institute has recently done several studies that have produced some very alarming results. For example, the average American spends approximately 26 hours a year stuck in traffic. Let?s think about that. The ?average? American spends this long cruising at five miles per hour and cursing at other cars around. By saying average, the study means this figure also takes into account people living in rural areas who spend maybe one hour a year stuck in traffic. That means for the majority of us, in the Phoenix area and other large cities, we spend 3 or 4 times more wasting our valuable time in traffic. For people who drive into the city everyday for work, it might even be worse (Fay 3). Now that?s a lot of time if you ask me.
This is uncertain because you don’t know if the road is congested. or not. If the road were congested for example: during rush hour it would be nonexcludable because adding another vehicle can get in the way with the drivers already using the road. The consumption would be rival no one can consume.
They are also seeking to expand by offering condominiums and apartments, in addition to renovations and remodeling services. They were the winner of the 2013 Good Design Award.
Today, people use their own personal vehicles to travel more than ever before. Personal transportation is no longer considered a luxury; it is now considered a necessity. The number of cars in the United States has been growing steadily since the 1970s. The number of miles traveled by cars has risen nearly 150 percent, yet the United States population has only grown roughly 40 percent during that time (hybridcars.com, Driving Trends). Although it may seem like we are advancing into the future, in reality, we are moving backwards from the effects these vehicles have on our bodies and the environment. The pollution produced by these vehicles has brought us to the day where we must find other modes of transportation that cause less harm to the world in which we live. Advances in technology have developed hybrid vehicles to try and slow down the amount of pollution. Driving a hybrid vehicle, instead of a conventional gas powered vehicle, can reduce the amount of pollution that affects our lives and the environment around us.
Axehausen, and Erath. "Urban Sustainability and Transportation: Research Framework for Medium and Long Term Transport Planning." Journeys 7 (2011): 7-19.
It needs to improve its areas of “walkability” and encourage health and environmental factors by adding bike lanes to the heavily biked Church Street. Its roads are not overburdened and its public transit systems are frequent, and highly accessible. One factor to be drawn from this conclusion is that Church and Wellesley’s overall transportation success is not indicative of the GTA as a whole. In fact, its success is the result of government policies that have abetted a focus on highly trafficked, highly populated, highly profitable areas such as the Downtown Core (Keil, Roger, Young, 2008). In the article, Urban Form and Travel Behavior as Tools to Assess Sustainable Transportation in the Greater Toronto Area, the authors conclude that the GTA is headed in a negative direction, and that the goal of sustainable transportation will not be met or improved in the future under the current policies and trends. Overall, the symptoms of Church and Wellesley, although beneficial to the BIA locals, could be seen as a symptom of an greater problem with the city’s transit system that needs to be addressed through political, bureaucratic, and organizational reform ((Zaidan, Esmat, Abdelgadir, Abulibdeh,
(a), (b) Halton Region. 2012. How Traffic Signals Work. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.halton.ca/cms/One.aspx?pageId=78249. [Accessed 30 November 13].
We all use vehicles for transportation. People usually go to their desired destination either by driving their own cars or traveling in public transportation. Actually, it might be tough to choose that which one is the best selection for people to travel. Many people choose one of them according to their comfort while traveling and both of them have advantages and disadvantages in different conditions. Public transportation and driving own car both shares differences and similarities in many aspects, such as facility, cost, and comfort as well as traffic jam and accident occurrence.
Vehicles in this day and time are nothing like what they used to be. Over half of the car manufacturers are now trying to build new cars and trucks to be as fuel efficient as they can be. Although hybrids conserve more gas than standard vehicles do, they use gas, also. Hybrids do not use as much gas as the ol...
Never the less these problems have arisen and present a very serious issue for not only our generation but for future generations also. Therefore, changes need to be made in Urban transport.