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> One thing I have noticed is Google Maps will suggest going off a main street for a few blocks then merge back into the said main route. That's a jerk thing t

dec0dedab0de 9y ago
> One thing I have noticed is Google Maps will suggest going off a main street for a few blocks then merge back into the said main route. That's a jerk thing to do in uniformly bad traffic, but it actually makes sense if traffic clears up ahead. If everyone does it, it's just using available capacity. I get that people don't like spillover traffic coming through their neighborhood, but maybe that would be incentive to improve the main road.
- praptak 9y ago
  If everyone does it, then it's just clogging the side road without doing anything to improve throughput (assuming the traffic doesn't clear ahead). It's sort of a modified tragedy of the commons - as long as few people do it, it rewards the side-road takers. Then the side-road saturates and nobody is any better, only the locals are worse off.
  - dec0dedab0de 9y ago
    It just means that there will be more capacity for the length of road that has matching side roads. Couple with the buffering issue of people not starting up fast enough when they have to stop for traffic, and it is an overall gain. Think about when there are two lanes merging into one. If everyone gets over early it dramatically slows down, but if everyone merges last minute like a zipper it is not as bad.
- cmurf 9y ago
  Nope. My very first thought is "spike strip". The rational version is some redesigning to block all the through streets with dead ends, cul-du-sacs, speed bumps, and compulsory turns at four way intersections. Neighborhoods have little political power to improve main roads, which are usually county or state managed, not local roads.
  - dec0dedab0de 9y ago
    Where I'm thinking of, the problem is the property owners on the main road do not want to give up their land. But yeah, most neighborhoods will revert to being bags about it.
- desas 9y ago
  If you increase capacity then drivers will use that capacity.
  - dec0dedab0de 9y ago
    That is probably valid in some areas.

dec0dedab0de 9y ago

> One thing I have noticed is Google Maps will suggest going off a main street for a few blocks then merge back into the said main route. That's a jerk thing to do in uniformly bad traffic, but it actually makes sense if traffic clears up ahead. If everyone does it, it's just using available capacity. I get that people don't like spillover traffic coming through their neighborhood, but maybe that would be incentive to improve the main road.

praptak 9y ago
If everyone does it, then it's just clogging the side road without doing anything to improve throughput (assuming the traffic doesn't clear ahead). It's sort of a modified tragedy of the commons - as long as few people do it, it rewards the side-road takers. Then the side-road saturates and nobody is any better, only the locals are worse off.
- dec0dedab0de 9y ago
  It just means that there will be more capacity for the length of road that has matching side roads. Couple with the buffering issue of people not starting up fast enough when they have to stop for traffic, and it is an overall gain. Think about when there are two lanes merging into one. If everyone gets over early it dramatically slows down, but if everyone merges last minute like a zipper it is not as bad.
cmurf 9y ago
Nope. My very first thought is "spike strip". The rational version is some redesigning to block all the through streets with dead ends, cul-du-sacs, speed bumps, and compulsory turns at four way intersections. Neighborhoods have little political power to improve main roads, which are usually county or state managed, not local roads.
- dec0dedab0de 9y ago
  Where I'm thinking of, the problem is the property owners on the main road do not want to give up their land. But yeah, most neighborhoods will revert to being bags about it.
desas 9y ago
If you increase capacity then drivers will use that capacity.
- dec0dedab0de 9y ago
  That is probably valid in some areas.