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Strange Congestion Patterns

Started by webny99, January 24, 2018, 12:21:35 PM

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ftballfan

Quote from: Finrod on January 26, 2018, 03:42:26 PM
I saw someone post a nationwide Google Maps traffic image right after the August 2017 eclipse, where there was serious congestion on pretty much every interstate where it crossed the path of the eclipse.
On that day, I was checking Google Maps and portions of I-65, I-75, I-81, I-85, and I-95 in otherwise rural areas were dark red (they all go to/from big cities)


MCRoads

One word to sum up this thread: tunnels. to name a few that reliably get jammed for no reason other than the tunnel itself: Holland tunnel, squirrel hill tunnel, ft pit tunnel, and last, and definitely the worst offender: the HRBT.
I build roads on Minecraft. Like, really good roads.
Interstates traveled:
4/5/10*/11**/12**/15/25*/29*/35(E/W[TX])/40*/44**/49(LA**)/55*/64**/65/66*/70°/71*76(PA*,CO*)/78*°/80*/95°/99(PA**,NY**)

*/** indicates a terminus/termini being traveled
° Indicates a gap (I.E Breezwood, PA.)

more room plz

webny99

Are there any locations you know of that back up in one direction in the morning rush, but NOT the other direction in the evening rush, or vice-versa?

NY 590 has this oddity. Southbound backs up every morning, but northbound is free-flowing the afternoon. I wonder if this is a fluke, or something common elsewhere.

bzakharin

Quote from: webny99 on April 02, 2018, 10:08:40 AM
Are there any locations you know of that back up in one direction in the morning rush, but NOT the other direction in the evening rush, or vice-versa?

NY 590 has this oddity. Southbound backs up every morning, but northbound is free-flowing the afternoon. I wonder if this is a fluke, or something common elsewhere.
NJ 55 at its northern terminus narrows to a single lane before merging with NJ 42. That part is always congested in the morning (and evening during beach season). Obviously southbound traffic does not have this bottleneck.

Buffaboy

Excessive development has made N. Bailey Ave and it's surroundings in Amherst, NY extremely crowded during the day. It's nearly impossible to make a left turn from some areas.
What's not to like about highways and bridges, intersections and interchanges, rails and planes?

My Wikipedia county SVG maps: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Buffaboy

cpzilliacus

Quote from: MCRoads on January 27, 2018, 01:11:05 AM
One word to sum up this thread: tunnels. to name a few that reliably get jammed for no reason other than the tunnel itself: Holland tunnel, squirrel hill tunnel, ft pit tunnel, and last, and definitely the worst offender: the HRBT.

The tunnel part of the HRBT is quite long, and the descent and ascent to the bottom of the tunnels (over 100 feet below sea level) appear to be rather steep. 

There's also the matter of the curves at the entrances to and exits from the tunnels, which may slow some drivers.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

wxfree

Quote from: webny99 on January 25, 2018, 03:43:45 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 25, 2018, 01:52:16 PM
Or, another case: You approach a red traffic light.  Cars are stopped.  The light turns green.  The cars all suddenly didn't speed up...the first car starts to go, then the second, and so forth.

Slightly off-topic: I've often pondered over what's the better solution at traffic lights:
a] pulling right up to the car in front, creating shorter, but slower moving lines (must accelerate one at a time).
b] leaving a car length space, creating longer, but faster moving lines (everybody accelerates at once).

Obviously, this is somewhat irrelevant, due to the challenges presented by requiring all drivers to do one or the other.

I get fairly close to the vehicle ahead, and accelerate as soon as or slightly before the vehicle ahead, but I use a shallower acceleration curve so that the distance increases with speed.  I do this for the fuel efficiency from the reduced acceleration, but I also wonder about time efficiency.  My grandmother always complained about drivers who waited until after the car ahead was underway and then started going.  She thought they were not paying attention.  She was always impatient.  To me, accelerating at the same time but more slowly feels right in terms of overall efficiency.  If everyone did that, I don't know how to tell if it would make things better or worse, but it gets me out of the way of the vehicle behind me more quickly, so that's as much as I can contribute.  Too many people think that the accelerator has only two positions, "up" and "down," and don't realize that there's a whole range in between that can also be used.  I don't think my approach would ever be accepted, even if it is a good one.
I'd like to buy a vowel, Alex.  What is E?

PHLBOS

US 1 & MA 97 when the Topsfield Fair is going on.

US 20 in Charlton when the Tree House Brewing Company is open.
When exiting the parking lot; don't even think about making a left turn onto US 20 westbound.  One has to drive eastbound for a bit prior to using a connecting street to turn around.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

ftballfan

Any time around a new Chick-fil-A. When Grand Rapids' first Chick-fil-A opened at M-6 and Kalamazoo Avenue, traffic was backed up onto eastbound M-6 (and there was an ice storm that day)

SP Cook

Quote from: webny99 on January 24, 2018, 12:21:35 PM
Here's a thread where you can share areas of common/recurring congestion that are either

c] in totally rural areas (including interstates, but excluding small towns/villages)


Two that fit c.

- Northbound on I-77 approaching Wytheville VA and its "wrong way multiplex".  The right lane is for I-81 N and the left lane is for 81N/77S, which gets probably 80% of the traffic.  Generally long backups in the left lane.  Often it is shorter to just take the right lane, get on 81N and turn around at the next exit.

- Eastbound on so-called I-74 (actually US 74 Bypass) outside Rockingham NC.  Exit 319 is for NC 38, which is the best way to Myrtle Beach and is just a regular rural exit onto a side road.  Often several miles of cars backed up wanting to use that exit in the summer time, with far less traffic (mostly trucks) heading onward on US 74 towards Wilmington. 


Aaron Camp

In Danville, Illinois, US-136/IL-1 can get very congested at the Winter Avenue intersection (US-136/IL-1 is locally known as Vermilion Street in that part of Danville), and not because of a pair of schools (a private, Catholic high school and a public elementary school) at the intersection, but because of a lot of traffic approaching the intersection from the west and making a left turn onto US-136/IL-1). Even though IL-1 follows Fairchild Street for a few blocks between Gilbert Street and Vermilion Street to discourage through traffic from driving through a residential area long Gilbert Street north of Fairchild Street, a lot of Danville motorists will take Gilbert Street to Winter Avenue to Vermilion Street instead of taking Fairchild Street between Gilbert and Vermilion.

Also, areas around schools can have a ton of traffic congestion around mid-morning and again at mid-afternoon; this explains a lot of rural/small town congestion situations.



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