Sunday, 2 November 2014

New York Traffic Now Ranks Fifth On The Top Ten List For Worst Traffic In The USA

By Etta Bowen


In a fast moving world where everyone strives to do things bigger, faster and better, there is no place for time-consuming traffic jams. The irony is that road congestions are a direct result of this shared goals of millions of people who flock to big cities in search of a more affluent lifestyle. This has become a growing worldwide problem, especially in large cities. New York traffic conditions have hit an all-time low and earned the dubious reputation as being one of the five worst traffic cities in the USA.

This dubious achievement does not come as a shock. Americans have felt the impact of an ever-increasing number of vehicles on the roads on various levels during the past decade - on their pockets, stress-levels and time management. Routes to work and back that used to take them a mere 20 minutes, now take almost an hour.

The latest statistics put New York City at number five on the Top Ten List for worst traffic conditions in the USA. According to the report, New York commuters now waste 20% more time being stuck in traffic than before - an average of 53 hours per year! The loss in productive time is not the only factor to consider. Road rage incidents are reaching epidemic proportions across the world and are contributing to the already alarming death toll rate due to road accidents.

In a world where time equals money, the wastage of productive time due to congested roads has huge financial implications. This leads to stress and frustration, which in turn trigger serious health problems. Road rage has become a common part of modern life and incidents where commuters kill, maim or attack each other over trivial issues are rife.

The emotional, physical and psychological effect of over-crowded roads and traffic jams are rife and increasing on a world wide scale. Newspaper reports and cases of road rage have become part of society and city life's daily toils and turmoils.

Attempts to motivate commuters to travel in groups or via public transport and to use alternative, less congested routes, are mostly futile due to a lack of compensation or proper motivation. Most people prefer to travel with his/her own car via the shortest routes to save time and petrol. It seems that law enforced tolling systems whereby commuters are forced to pay for less congested roads are the only workable and sustainable solution at this stage.

Motivating commuters to use public transport and lift clubs, and to use alternative routes to alleviate peak hour traffic on over-crowded highways, is not a viable solution. People don't like change and will always try to find the shortest route to their destination to save time and petrol. Road pricing seems to be one of the only possible solutions to New York's traffic problems.

Public campaigns in favor of more fair tolling plans to address the over-populated New York roads are met with skepticism and antagonism following a previous pricing plan that failed badly, but thus far it seems to be the only option. This system of charging fees to reduce traffic congestion has proved to be workable in cities such as Singapore, London and Stockholm, but public opinion in New York will have to change drastically before it can be introduced there.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment