If you’ve ever been driving along the highway and suddenly everything comes to a dead stop or a slow down for no apparent reason you’ve been caught up in a shockwave traffic jam. The Mathematical Society of Traffic Flow in Japan has created this video to illustrate the shockwave phenomenon. In Miami, you’ll typically find yourself in one of these heading on US-1 southbound just after I-95 (a spot where you should likely be riding metrorail instead…)
Archive for the 'Highway' Category
Ah, the 1950’s, a time when the US economy was rebounding from the stresses of World War II and federal money was freely flowing every which way to rebuild a struggling economy. The most notable “achievement” which evolved from this hasty federal spending was the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (Dwight Eisenhower Interstate System) of 1956.
As this documentary illustrates well, the 1950’s was also a time for extreme naivety, clearly shown through the future independence personal vehicles will bring to our cities. The ideas range from absurd construction techniques (an atomic reactor which creates tunnels with extreme heat) to far more absurd “new dimensions for the American highway.”
If there is one statement where the show was actually spot on, I’d say it’s this one:
“The shape of our cities will change, as expanded highway transportation decentralizes our population centers into vast urban areas. With the advent of wider, faster expressways the commuter’s radius will be extended many miles”
You can say that again…
The official video description:
An excerpt from the 1958 “Disneyland” TV Show episode entitled “Magic Highway USA”. In this last part of the show, an exploration into possible future Transportation technologies is made. It’s hard to believe how little we’ve accomplished on this front since 1958, and how limited the scope for imagining such future technologies has become. Witness an artifact from a time where the future was greeted with optimism. Note the striking animation style here, achieved with fairly limited animation and spectacular layouts.
Today’s Metro Monday come to us from our loyal reader James Good.
Well, its official. The Signs in parts of rural Texas have been changed to reflect the speed limit increases in that state. Hopefully they did something to educate people on how to handle a car appropriately at that speed. I’m all for higher speeds, I’ve experienced the autobahn, we just need to see a more rigorous driver certification program in the U.S. first…
Open Road tolling may be coming to Miami, as the MDX will be deciding on whether to implement the system on the Dolphin, Don Shula, Airport, and Palmetto Expressways. It’s a new technology which has already been installed at the toll-plaza on the Dolphin expressway heading east bound towards Miami. With Open Road Tolling, cars wouldn’t have to slow down or stop to pay the toll. The system works great, and will temporarily relieve some of the traffic congestion that is associated with toll collection. However, we see the implementation of open road tolling as an essential equal to widening of expressways. It’s a good idea and will streamline our expressways, but, citizens shouldn’t be duped into believing that the expressways will flow freely. More space in the end will just equal more cars.
Some quick facts from the MDX website:
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400 cars can pass through a manned toll booth per hour
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600 cars can pass through an exact change lane per hour
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1200 cars can pass through a SunPass dedicated lane per hour
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2200 cars can pass through an Open Road Tolling lane per hour
On, the plus side, more tolls would be added to the system, allowing users to pay for what they actually use, rather than existing system which has the toll plazas placed in a few unusual locations where fewer drivers carry the burden of paying the tolls…
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