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September 14, 2005
Mobilize for a New Way Around
Our streets, avenues and boulevards are clogged; our freeways, highways and byways are jammed. For those that live in one of the major urban American sprawls, you can probably identify. Congestion is and has been out of control for years and despite many promises from city governments, there are yet to be any massive improvements. Not every metropolitan area is capable of supporting a mass transportation network like NYC, DC and Chicago. Some cities like Los Angeles are so spread out, separated by mountain passes and built in a large networked nodal pattern - that it makes it unfeasible to invest in a mass transit system. So on that note I will speak to the congestion problems in Los Angeles and cities like it.
I think we need to go back to the drawing board. Los Angeles is a city with an established driving culture. It's all about cruising down massive stretches of road and wide freeways, absorbing the sun, sights and sounds. To force L.A. into an underground subway would never work which is why the Los Angeles Metro Subway is almost always empty.
Ants live in large communities and yet they have somehow mastered transit in a way no other organism has. It would seem the key is the ability to break from the massive chains, reminiscent of a subway moving lots of people, to individuals that can circumnavigate obstacles before rejoining that group again.
So instead of having just two opposing lanes of traffic, why not add a third that can shift the number of lanes in the direction that has the most traffic? I photoshopped how that set-up might look on a busy street.
In this photo you have your standard opposing sides of traffic but you also have a center lane(s). Small single occupancy vehicles ride in the center median lanes and change directions to follow and alleviate the flow of heavy traffic. I've also moved the bike lane to this center median to protect both bicyclers and drivers.
Heavy traffic seems to occur when their are too many people on the road going to and from work. The congestion builds because most people ride by themselves. Reduce the size of the vehicle to accommodate one person and have it ride on an electric platform. FREE charging stations set up along this center median providing quick 15 minute rapid charges allowing the drivers to stay focused on getting to their destination. The added benefit is the reduction of gasoline use and the reduction of vehicle emissions.
So what does a small single occupancy vehicle look like?
One vehicle that might fit well into this scenario is Toyota's i-unit; an all electric single passenger vehicle that can change forms to assist the driver in and out of the vehicle, and ride comfortably depending on speed. The i-unit sits upright at slow speeds, leaned back at average speeds and fully reclined at fast speeds. Control systems can also assist the driver by detecting other i-units and communicating with them to foresee any obstacles that are not within the driver's view. This vehicle is fast enough to ride both in the center median lanes and opposing lanes of traffic.
Another vehicle would be one for short trips, strictly for the median lanes, leaving the main opposing lanes unclogged. This is the Segway Centaur concept provides the driver with a fast and exhilarating way to get from point A to B. The Segway Centaur is a four wheeled all electric mini ATV that can easily traverse curves and obstacles. Equipped with the same communication systems as the i-unit, the Segway Centaur can provide drivers with advance notice of traffic and provide detours to other median lanes to circumnavigate those obstacles. With all the Centaurs and i-units communicating together, they can calculate and spread the flow of traffic so that center median lanes never get congested.
Since both vehicles run on all electric platforms, they should make environmentalist happy and drivers more aware of how much gas they no longer use. Parking is a snap since the i-unit's space saving upright position means it takes the same amount of space as a motorcycle. It's perfect for work and errand trips. The Segway is so compact that once the driver reaches their destination, it can fold up and be brought into the home for storage.
Although I am no authority on urban transport and city planning, it is apparent to me that carpool lanes, mass transit and ride sharing programs are not the answers to solve Los Angeles' traffic problems. We need more innovative creative solutions. We need to think smaller, more adaptive and maneuverable. Those alternate modes of transportation need to detract from the over use of fuel and I believe center median lanes with small single occupancy vehicles may be a viable solution. What do you think?
Posted by tranism at 12:14 AM | Permalink
Comments
you know they have this third lane thing in some san diego freeways. the traffic goes one way during the morning rush hour traffic, then the opposite direction in the afternoon. FYI...
Posted by: Lisa at September 14, 2005 1:05 PM
^^^ Yes they do have middle lanes in some cities, but thats not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a median lane designed for small occupancy vehicles only that exist both on freeways and streets.
Posted by: long tran at September 14, 2005 7:13 PM