Day: 2010-08-04

Franklin/East River Parkway five way intersection

| David Levinson

I previously posted thoughts about the

Franklin/East River Parkway five way intersection

(suggesting roundabout or even unsignaled shared space). Due to the recent construction, all of the traffic signals have been removed and not yet replaced. As a motorist and pedestrian I regularly use the intersection which is now (temporarily) a five-way stop. My own view (and that of others I have talked with in a form of casual empiricism): construction should be stopped immediately, it works much better (less delay all around) as a five-way stop than a five-way signal controlled intersection. This may change when school is back in session, or when Washington Ave is closed, or it may not, the only way to know is to retain the stop control.

Are Bicycles a Plot to Surrender the United States of American to UN Control?

| David Levinson

From Matthew Yglesias:

Are Bicycles a Plot to Surrender the United States of American to UN Control?: “”

One of the most unfortunate aspects of transportation policy in the United States is that it winds up playing as a “culture war” issue.

quoting the Denver Post

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding, are “converting Denver into a United Nations community.”
“This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed,” Maes told about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally last week in Centennial.
Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor’s efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes “that’s exactly the attitude they want you to have.”

Why choose the new I-35W Mississippi River Bridge?

| David Levinson

Recent working paper

On September 18th 2008, a replacement for the previously collapsed I-35W bridge opened to the public. Consequently, travelers were once again confronted with the opportunity to find better alternatives. The traffic pattern of the Minneapolis road network was likely to readjust, because of the new link addition. However, questions arise about the possible reasons (or components in the route choice process) that are likely to influence travelers crossing the Mississippi, who had to choose among the bridge options, including the new I-35W bridge. Using GPS data and web-based survey collected both before and after the replacement bridge opened, a bridge choice model is estimated using weighted-least squares logit. In this way the proportion of I-35W trips can be estimated depending on the assigned values of the explanatory variables, which include: statistical measures of the travel time distribution experienced by the subjects, alternative diversity, and others. The results showed that travel time savings and reliability were the main reasons for choosing the new I-35W bridge.