Pollution Solutions

So how do we reduce congestion and pollution in New Jersey? I'm obviously no expert, but I can brainstorm. Maybe it'll give some expert somewhere an idea. And if there are no experts working on this problem: YO, Trenton - get some congestion and pollution experts and fire some of those financial ones.

Of course there are the obvious ones, remove tolls (...much better and cheaper than E-ZPass), abandon HOV lanes (...which NJ did in Nov. 1998, at least 2 out of 3), and raise the gas tax (...which is unpopular, but there are many direct and indirect benefits). But since I have a web page that covers them in detail, I won't discuss them here.

Better Traffic Reports / Highway Data

This happens to me all the time - stuck in a traffic jam while listening to a traffic report telling you to avoid the road you're on. If I had only know when I left work! Often the traffic report is totally wrong - by the time it hits the airwaves, whatever caused the jam is long cleared. Wouldn't it be great if we could know what the roads were like before choosing a route?

There are SKYCAMS, but none for my route. Besides, SKYCAMS everywhere would be expensive, and getting the information to the public would be difficult. Plus, sometimes a quick look is deceptive. We need a better idea. How about this:

traffic map

Without any instructions, tell me what the traffic is doing on these roads:

If you don't get it already, all you need is a key: RED = 0-20 MPH, YELLOW = 20-40 MPH, GREEN = 40+ MPH.

I would love to be able to call up this map just before leaving work. The kicker is that it doesn't seem too hard or expensive to do. All we need are some kind of cheap speed sensors, then feed the data back to a central computer via phone lines, then give people access to it.

That data would be a virtual gold mine. Just listing it out in a table (mile marker vs. speed) would give you an idea what traffic was like. Once you have the table, it wouldn't take a sophisticated program to make a simple map like the one above. Radio & TV stations would have instant access to the data, which would make their traffic reports better (...for those who don't have Internet access). And I'm sure the people who study traffic would love real time data like this. Plus, we aren't that far away from piping this right to the cars on the road (...and wouldn't this be great data to have?).

I'd love to do this proposal up right, give it a web page, use a better map and more colors, animate it (flashing trouble spots and accident symbols, etc.) I think it's a fantastic idea. I've only been on the Internet for a couple of years, but now it's my first choice when I need to find information. (...I'm even offended when I can't find what I want on it. If you sell ANYTHING, you'd better get on the Internet soon!)

NOTE: Guess what? I didn't invent this after all. Washington State is already using a great system. Click here to see the Puget Sound Traffic Map.

Promote car-pooling.

HOV lanes failed, and in my opinion have no chance of working. But we shouldn't give up trying to get people to carpool. NJ should actively promote the real benefits of car-pooling - it cuts commuting costs in half, which add up to hundreds of dollars per year, and it cuts pollution in half. It's just the right thing to do. Put up some colorful signs to keep this on peoples minds. Make it easier to form car-pools out here in the burbs. Make more Park and Ride lots. Make them easy access. And advertise them with colorful signs and catchy slogans (...do I hear E-ZRide?).

Increase Gas Tax

I know, increasing the gas tax is highly unlikely. If any politician tried it, the people would pull a Florio on them. But think about it. There would be many benefits.

It would inspire carpooling - everywhere. Not just for a select few living around HOV lanes.

It would inspire people to buy, and industry to make more fuel efficient cars. People carpooled much more during the energy crisis in the 70's when gas was relatively expensive. Right now gas is even relatively cheaper than it was in the 50's. And since people can, they will, even though they shouldn't. Larger cars and Sport Utility Vehicles are the rage, and they use twice the resources as my 1.5 liter econo-box, which gets about 35 MPG. (A friend of mine just bought a 4x4 pickup that gets 15 MPG - I didn't think cars did that poorly now-a-days).

Use it to pay for the toll roads and remove toll booths. Reduces congestion, and as a bonus, we save the entire cost of the toll collection bureaucracy!

Subsidize public transportation. Make it cheaper, cleaner, and more available. I live and work near a train line, but it is more expensive than driving. That's not right. I'd like to see all public transportation either dirt cheap or free, funded by automobiles.

Fund some inventive pollution reduction programs, like some of the ideas to follow.

And by the way, make it law that the gas tax be only used for transportation / pollution issues. I do not trust the government to spend our money wisely (...they can't even resist dipping into the current 10.5 cent gas tax).

Moveable Dividers / Reversible Lanes

Here's another "unlikely" because this would have to be engineered into the original construction of the highway. During every morning commute, I look across the divider on Rt. 80 and can't help but think of the incredible waste of lanes. Eight lanes total, 3 are packed and 5 (...I included the HOV lane) are embarrassingly empty. Wouldn't it be great if we could just move that divider over a lane or 2 depending on traffic conditions? Or divide the highway into 3-2-3 instead of 4-4. Then you could make the middle 2 lanes Eastbound in the morning and Westbound in the evening.

No Truck Rush Hours?

As much as we need trucks, and as much as I can't support this, bottom line is that cars and truck do not mix well. I wouldn't think New Jersey could legally do this, but then, they can make laws to keep certain cars out of certain lanes. But any solution like this, and the one above it, would be short term. If a highway gets less congested, development along that corridor would increase, and the highway will fill up again.

Smarter Traffic Lights.

At any given time, there are tons of cars idling needlessly at stupid traffic lights. I don't know how the DOT plans traffic lights, but I feel they could be a lot better. Even traffic lights that try to be "smart" seem to screw up things more than they help (...I'll give them this one though - I think what they just did with the Gregory/Northfield light in W. Orange hit the mark for moving autos).

Most lights are put in when volume reaches a certain point. But during most times of the day, the volume isn't there. There is one light at the bottom of my hill that is great for rush hour, but isn't needed otherwise. But there's no problem getting around it: all one has to do is drive a block or two down to make the turn. Many lights can be turned off / flashing during much of the day.

I wish there were some kind of "suggestion box" where people who use certain roads every day could post their ideas about these roads. These are the people who probably know those particular roads best.

More Bike Lanes.

Now here's a Diamond Lane I could live with (...near Moab Utah)! I heard (...second hand) that some brainchild in the DOT said one of the main goals of the HOV is to keep people from starting their cars, which is the most polluting time*. If so, why not pay more consideration to bicycles when building roads? I bike whenever I can to do errands, but the roads around me are hazardous to bike on. Even when they "improve" a road, like they just did around the Rockaway Mall, they make it worse for bikers. I used to have a 6 inch strip between the white line and the gravel. Then they built left turn lanes, put in curbs which forced me into traffic. How easy would it be to add just a couple of feet of shoulder? It would make biking a lot safer. But if you build them, would people come? I don't know.

* If this truly were the case, then park & ride lots would be absolutely useless. If all the pollution occurs by driving to, or getting dropped off at the train station, then trains would just add to the pollution.

Electric Lawnmowers

I read an interesting statistic once (unfortunately it was before I started clipping articles): Gas powered lawn mowers produce ten times the amount of pollution as an automobile. If this is true, this is astounding. My commute to work is 1 hour round trip, or 5 hours per week. It takes me 1/2 hour to cut my grass each week. THAT'S THE SAME POLLUTION! In which case, getting someone to use an electric lawn mower is like getting someone to carpool.

Why not have a program to get people to use electric lawn mowers. It would be much cheaper than HOV lanes. Get the state to give rebates toward purchasing electric lawnmowers. Maybe you can have some kind of gas lawnmower trade-in program. And for the cost of a single HOV lane, NJ could probably give every single household an electric lawn mower!

Thumbs up for...

Diamond Ride-Share Request Zones

thumbs up

Coming to the Diamond Express Lanes: Diamond Ride-Share Request Zones. Designated diamond zones will be created where commuters can request rides from solo drivers who wish to take advantage of the HOV lanes. Those requesting carpools are required to hold signs with their destinations printed on them, and signal to the drivers with their arm outstretched and thumb in the air.