Communities struggling with increasing congestion are also investigating innovative ways to solve their traffic and transportation problems. Some of the more high tech solutions are:
• Flashing crosswalks. A few Bay Area communities have installed solar-powered crosswalk lights. Pedestrians trigger the lights with a pushbutton mounted at the side of the street, and low-profile lights mounted in the pavement along the crosswalk flash to alert drivers.
• Crossing countdowns. A technique which has been very well received in several Bay Area communities is adding numbers on crosswalk signals to indicate how much time is left for pedestrians after the warning hand shows. Pedestrians are better informed, and so are drivers, who watch the numbers to anticipate when to slow for traffic signal changes.
• Robotic parking. Densely developed cities are beginning to consider the advantages of an automated parking system which can store twice as many cars as a conventional parking garage. Already in place in Europe and Japan, the system will be installed in Hoboken, NJ, and has been proposed for use in Berkeley and San Francisco. Drivers place their car on a pallet, where it is then lifted to a vacant slot in the building; a computerized system allows identification of the vehicle and retrieval when the driver returns. Although initial construction is expensive, the cost can be recouped through parking fees and is offset by the fact garages need less space in high cost downtown districts.
Less high-tech are "traffic calming" techniques, such as speed humps (lower than speed bumps), extended sidewalks at intersections (bulb-outs) and traffic circles. Bulb-outs define spaces for parallel parking along the street, make shorter crosswalks from block to block, let pedestrians and drivers see each other, and slow vehicles as they turn in and out of the street. Traffic circles are small islands in the middle of intersections, which also cause traffic to slow. These have been very successful in many communities. Marin Circle in Berkeley has been restored to its 1910 appearance with a fountain, landscaping and lighting funded by the neighborhood. Palo Alto is now considering European-style roundabouts, which send cars in one direction around the circle until the desired exit is reached, eliminating cross-traffic left turns. These are particularly effective at intersections which are not amenable to traffic signals, for example a 5-street intersection with odd angles.
One cause of congestion is delays due to road repairs, and innovative solutions are available for this as well. Caltrans has designed a technique to allow replacement of broken signposts in approximately ten minutes, far less than the normal thirty to forty minutes, and with less danger to maintenance workers. Signs are installed using a permanent, reusable concrete footing, which holds a wooden post secured by two specially designed plastic wedges. The plastic wedges are manufactured out of recycled carpet fibers and are environmentally benign. The footing is designed to remain in place if the sign is hit by a vehicle. Replacement of a broken post is as simple as removing the wedges with common tools, removing the stub of old post, and wedging in the new post.
For more information on the Quick Change Signpost: http://www.dot.ca.gov/newtech/research/qcsp/qcsp.htm