Traffic Congestion
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Podrá definir sus áreas de interés y acceder a nuestros productos en otros formatos. www.cepal.org/es/suscripciones CUADERNOS DE LA CEPAL 87 TRAFFIC CONGESTION THE PROBLEM AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT Alberto Bull Editor Economic Commission Deutsche Gesellschaft für for Latin America Technische Zusammenarbelt and the Caribbean (GTZ) GmbH Santiago, Chile, 2003 3 LC/G.2199-P January 2004 This book was prepared within the framework of the Project on the Use of Road Tolls in Latin American Cities, which was carried out by the Transport Unit of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) with funding from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Chilean Ministry of Planning and Cooperation has kindly given its authorization for the use of the ESTRAUS, VERDI and MODEM transit models. Alberto Bull of the ECLAC Transport Unit was in charge of editorial coordination for this project. The following individuals also contributed directly to the preparation of the book: Ian Thomson, Chief of the ECLAC Transport Unit; Vicente Pardo, Consultant with the ECLAC Transport Unit; Alan Thomas of the Inter-Agency Secretariat for Transport Planning of Chile (SPECTRA); Gisèle Labarthe and Diana Mery; Juan Pablo Diez, former Consultant with the ECLAC Transport Unit; Dr. Luis Cifuentes, Professor in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department of the Catholic University of Chile. Daniela Simioni, of the ECLAC Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, read the draft and made constructive observations and comments. Copyright © United Nations 2004 All rights reserved Printed in Chile Applications for the right to reproduce this work or parts thereof are welcomed and should be sent to the Secretary of the Publications Board, United Nations Headquarters, New York, N.Y. 10017, U.S.A. Member States and their governmental institutions may reproduce this work without application, but are requested to mention the source and inform the United Nations of such reproduction. UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.03.II.G.88 ISSN printed version: 0252-2195 ISSN online version: 1727-0413 ISBN: 92-1-121432-7 4 INDEX Page SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER I A LIVABLE, COMPETITIVE AND SUSTAINABLE CITY ................. 19 1. Congestion: an escalating negative phenomenon ..................... 19 2. Damage to competitiveness .......................................................... 20 3. Cities for living, developing and moving about ........................ 21 CHAPTER II THE CAUSES AND COSTS OF CONGESTION ................................. 23 A. WHAT IS CONGESTION?................................................................. 23 1. Popular usage and dictionary definition .................................... 23 2. A technical explanation ................................................................. 23 3. Towards a practical definition in the case of road traffic.......... 25 B. THE CAUSES OF CONGESTION .................................................... 26 1. Characteristics of urban transport which cause congestion ..... 26 2. The problem is mainly caused by private car users .................. 27 3. The state of the roads and driving habits also contribute to congestion ........................................................................................ 28 4. There is also an institutional problem ......................................... 30 C. THE INVASION OF THE PRIVATE CAR........................................ 30 1. Economic reforms have made private cars more easily accessible ......................................................................................... 31 2. The popularization of private car ownership ............................ 31 3. Where there are fewer cars it nevertheless seems harder to get about ...................................................................................... 34 4. The strong influence of subjective factors ................................... 35 D. HOW SERIOUS IS THE PROBLEM, AND WHO SUFFERS ITS EFFECTS? ............................................................................................. 37 1. Various indicators point to a serious and worsening situation ........................................................................................... 37 2. Who pays the costs of congestion?............................................... 39 5 Page E. HOW TO TACKLE THE SITUATION ............................................. 41 1. A little congestion does no harm .................................................. 41 2. The authorities should take a new view of the situation .......... 42 3. An integral approach is called for ................................................ 43 CHAPTER III CONTROLLING CONGESTION THROUGH SUPPLY-SIDE ACTIONS .................................................................................................. 45 A. TRANSPORT SUPPLY AND THE CITY .......................................... 45 1. What is transport supply? ............................................................. 45 2. Frequent calls to expand transport supply ................................. 46 3. Cities are for living and moving................................................... 47 B. ACTIONS ON INTERSECTIONS ..................................................... 48 1. Types of intersections..................................................................... 48 2. Intersection design ......................................................................... 54 3. Intersection control systems .......................................................... 56 C. ACTIONS ON ROADWAYS .............................................................. 61 1. Expansion of physical capacity .................................................... 61 2. Reversible-flow roads .................................................................... 62 D. SYNCHRONIZATION OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS ............................... 63 1. Synchronization with fixed plans ................................................ 64 2. Flexible or dynamic synchronization .......................................... 64 3. Centralized control systems .......................................................... 65 E. EXCLUSIVE LANES AND STREETS FOR MASS TRANSIT ....... 66 1. Bus-only lanes ................................................................................. 66 2. Segregated bus lanes ...................................................................... 68 3. Bus-only streets ............................................................................... 69 4. Public transit reorganized with the equivalent of a surface subway ............................................................................................. 71 F. HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS ............................. 73 1. Executive buses............................................................................... 73 2. Attracting drivers ........................................................................... 73 3. Are executive buses viable? .......................................................... 74 4. Collective taxis ................................................................................ 74 H. RAILROAD OR SUBWAY SYSTEMS .............................................. 75 1. A historical introduction................................................................ 75 2. Where do subway passengers come from? ................................. 76 3. An explanation for subways’ inability to reduce congestion ........................................................................................ 77 4. Consequences of denser land use ................................................ 77 5. How can subways help reduce congestion? ............................... 78 6 Page I. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SUPPLY-SIDE MEASURES .......................................................................................... 79 1. Advantages ..................................................................................... 79 2. Disadvantages................................................................................. 80 J. ONGOING, CONSISTENT ADJUSTMENT OF SUPPLY.............. 81 CHAPTER IV CONTROLLING CONGESTION WITH DEMAND-SIDE ACTIONS 83 A. TRANSPORT DEMAND AND URBAN CONGESTION ............. 83 1. What is transport demand?........................................................... 83 2. Both supply-side and demand-side action is required ............. 83 3. Demand-side measures that prevent congestion ....................... 84 B. CONTROLLING PARKING .............................................................. 85 1. Description of the measure ........................................................... 85 2. Free or unrestricted on-street parking ......................................... 87 3. Regulated or paid on-street parking ............................................ 88 4. Paid off-street parking ..................................................................