Three of America's Worst Traffic Bottlenecks Are in Miami (construction, train)

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

Sounds a bit draconian, but perhaps it's time to charge tolls that go up with congestion to discourage unnecessary trips during peak hours. Good old supply and demand.

If the road gets too expensive for some people to drive, traffic will be reduced and flow more smoothly. But a whole bunch of people won't be going where they want to. But MDX and politicians will have full pockets.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

If the road gets too expensive for some people to drive, traffic will be reduced and flow more smoothly. But a whole bunch of people won't be going where they want to. But MDX and politicians will have full pockets.

Right now, people can't get where they want/need to go *during peak hours* due to traffic congestion. It's really an inevitable situation when the demand is greater than the supply. Many of us already plan our trips around traffic conditions and still get what we need to do done, and more people would just have to adjust their trips. But for those with low incomes and/or children, one can easily imagine a system of toll rebates and annual plans for commuters, like the Rickenbacker and Broad causeways currently have. Plus MDX can always be required to return excess toll money as they already have done this year.

Besides, the greatest expenses with driving are really the car itself, wear and tear/repairs/maintenance, and insurance. These expenses already make it too expensive, relative to their salaries, for some people to drive. These people currently have no choice but to overextend themselves financially with a vehicle, but they should be able to get around via mass transit or walking/biking without getting killed in the process.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by blam

that's cute. here's a map of a real bottleneck in case you are interested. purple means "parking lot"

Good thing we have an urban development boundary and thus have not extended the 836 out to SW 352nd Avenue.

[rootzdread]

Doesn't surprise me....

[oronzous]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Traffic will be no better if they ever finish construction. You know that the palmetto expressway has been under continuous construction since it was started in the 1950's. ....

Construction won't finish. They are already widening of 826 between 836 and I-75 in order to cram lexus lanes in it.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by oronzous

Construction won't finish. They are already widening of 826 between 836 and I-75 in order to cram lexus lanes in it.

So are they widening or cramming?

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by oronzous

Construction won't finish. They are already widening of 826 between 836 and I-75 in order to cram lexus lanes in it.

Quite a few Corollas and old pickups using those so-called "Lexus lanes" on I-95 and I-595.

Incidentally, the MDX chief was on the radio this morning talking about the toll rebates. I wonder if they will apply the express lane tolls as well. $50/year was the number they use as the eligibility criterion, and the average of those getting rebates was around $150/year. This doesn't sound like it would be a fortune for most people, though of course, many people pay several times this. You would think MDX would use the "excess" toll money to expedite the construction process to make things better for the people paying the most tolls, but I guess that would make too much sense...

[oronzous]

Originally Posted by ruski

So are they widening or cramming?

looks to me that they are widening just a bit, in order to have more separation between regular and toll lanes. I don't think the number of lanes will increase.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by oronzous

looks to me that they are widening just a bit, in order to have more separation between regular and toll lanes. I don't think the number of lanes will increase.

So, it will be like I-95

Why couldn't they build express lanes like they did on I-595? That's a masterpiece.

[tallrick]

As long as the Fed keeps interest rates low they can sell bonds for endless construction. Every road is under construction due to easy money. When the easy money gravy train stops so will the construction. Bonds will go bust and tolls will not even start to cover the disaster.