Reducing Emissions

Future plans for reducing road gridlock

With the increasing number of vehicles on the road, the highways are becoming extremely congested in densely populated areas. Most people have just come to accept rush-hour traffic as an inevitable part of their daily drive. Some cities are trying to find ways of reducing traffic jams and preventing excessive pollution from harming the environment. Here are some of their plans for a greener, less congested tomorrow:

• Carpool lanes - Carpool lanes are additional lanes added to the highways that can only be used if you have two or more passengers in the vehicle. The goal is to encourage drivers to carpool to work by providing them access to a faster, less congested lane. This will also help to reduce the overall number of vehicles on the road.

• Tolls for busy highways - Some cities are proposing that drivers should have to pay a fee to use the busier roads and highways. The vehicles will be monitored by satellite and the amount they will have to pay will depend on the type of road, time of day and the location. To lessen this financial blow, the cities say they will reward drivers by reducing fuel tax. Government officials expect these new driving fees to reduce traffic by as much as 4 percent, which is enough to lower the amount of time that motorists sit in traffic jams by nearly 46 percent.
• Downtown road removal - Many people think that the solution to traffic congestion is to add more roads. Adding more roads and lane additions to existing roads will only encourage more driving and increase congestion in the long run. By reducing the amount of available roads, people will limit their driving, move out of the city, or find alternative methods of transportation. Which would you rather have: two lanes of congested rush hour traffic or ten?
• "Teleworking" - Encouraging companies to allow some of their employees to take turns working from home would be an easy way to reduce the amount of vehicles on the road on any given day. Employees would also enjoy saving money on gas during the weeks they work at home. This will lead to happier employees and improved production levels.

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