Congestion is a condition which refers to the accumulation of infrastructure and excess build up of traffic in an area. The increased traffic causes slow movement of vehicles. In addition, traffic congestion is usually characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times and long queue for the vehicle. Traffic congestion is commonly experienced on roads where the demand of usage of roads is very high on in urban areas (Mathew. A. et al, 2011).
The urban setting usually experiences mostly traffic and other transport congestion. Urban environment refers to areas characterized by high human population and infrastructure built surrounding the people. Due to the high demand by people to use these roads, rail, aviation and port transport in urban areas, it tends to result in congestion which causes slow movement. These in turn cause wastage of time in long traffic queues.
The public infrastructure refers to the infrastructure that is fully owned by the government especially for public use. For instance, public infrastructures include; transport infrastructure, communication infrastructure, and energy infrastructure Contrary, private infrastructure involves the infrastructure that is owned privately by an individual or entity. These include the infrastructure that is entirely funded by the private sector, e.g., pipeline infrastructure which is owned by a company (Mathew. A. et al, 2011).
In most cases, there is usually public-private whereby either party form partnership to establish an infrastructure that serves the public. For instances in the United States, many companies are forming a partnership with the government in the delivery of services in the health sector by constructing hospitals and care centers.
Increased traffic jam on roads is clear indication of congestion in urban centers. Therefore, the number of cars on roads and population density is a clear indication of an urban center. The slow process of urbanization involves the development of urban infrastructure with a consistent increase in population.
The measure that I will undertake is to measure the accessibility and traffic flow in the urban areas. Most of the roads and urban infrastructure are usually very hard to access due to congestion. This is because of the automobile dependency by many households because of the comfort and convenience that it provides. Recently, there has been the rapid growth of vehicles which congest the urban areas during peak hours in the business district. The measurement will involve counting of the number of cars per second that enters or exits the metropolitan area. High traffic is attributed in the main towns because of the availability of public infrastructure that is usually located in urban areas (Mathew. A. et al, 2011). In this regard, the number of individuals visiting the public infrastructure is also significant.
Promoting public transport can also be a perfect solution to end urban traffic congestion. The mayor should pass regulation to inhibit personal vehicles in the business district. Instead, he should continually encourage cycling and walk especially for the shorter distance (Mathew. A. et al, 2011). This, therefore, means that fare should be cheap for people to be able to afford. Secondly, restrictions on road capacity and traffic speeds can also be beneficial. Thirdly, through urban planning, parking restrictions and establishing new feeder roads into and out of urban centers can be very useful in minimizing urban congestion.
- Duranton, Giles; Turner, Mathew A.2011. “The fundamental law of road congestion: Evidence from US cities”. American economic review.101 (6).