More Real-Time Traffic from Google with Google Maps

You  probably know by now that I'm a fan of Google Maps Traffic, and I've been putting it to the test every day with the carpool.  I think it is nothing short of amazing that by merging 2 apps data (latitude and google maps), Google has effectively provided basic coast to coast traffic for the US and some major cities in Canada, some major cities in China, most of the UK, France and Finland.  Check these screenshots out;

Now there is a social good that Google is offering to me.  I think its great.  Certainly the price seems lower than the alternative methods of providing this (roadside radar infrastructure coast to coast / in-road induction loops measuring traffic speed)  Google gets a ton of good will from people like me.

Predict traffic before it happens

A little while back, Google Maps for desktop started sharing historic average traffic information.  You can access this by clicking on traffic, and then click on "change". (no, sorry it doesn't do what it says, it doesn't actually "change" the traffic). Then play with the controls to see what traffic will probably be like.

Below you can see the variation in traffic approaching the Port Mann Bridge in Surrey BC that occurs at the same time on a Monday, and on a Friday.

I'm not sure if they are doing it yet, but the potential for this technology becomes apparent as you consider routing people through an urban center with a known departure time, known historic traffic on alternate routes, at different points of time throughout that journey.  So if someone were driving from Vancouver BC to Portland Oregon, perhaps with a 7 am departure they'd get routed via the I-405, but if they left at 8am perhaps they'd get routed via the I-5 instead because an hour later, they'd save 10 minutes on the I-5 vs the 405.  In the right hands, this technology has potential uses in focusing infrastructure improvements as well.  I mean really, getting that old rubber hose stretched across the road for a week and then going and collecting the counter at the end of the week only to get a total axle count?  Come on.  Traffic speed in 15 minute increments whenever there was enough traffic to count?  Fantastic.

Avoiding Congestion with Google Maps Mobile Traffic Information

Google Mobile Traffic has saved us from a couple really bad traffic Jams.  One case in Langley essentially had the freeway backed up for 6 miles, but because of the heads up Google Maps Mobile provided, we saw the yellow heading into the solid red that stretched down the freeway.  We got off and detoured through some rural routes until we could return to the freeway 8 miles later.  It was interesting to note that as we detoured around the congestion, we could see the congestion starting to shrink in size, and we could also see that it was moving Eastward down the freeway.  So by the time we got back to the freeway, the front of that congestion was just starting to hit that entrance.  With 4 people in our carpool (which is saving us $1000s per year) if we can avoid sitting in traffic for an hour (like the example above) that is saving us 4 hours that we'd rather spend at home with our families.  Thanks Google!  If you need a carpool to test out fancy Android GPS Navigation prototypes we're your carpool, call me baby, we'll hook you up with some tech savvy feedback and real-world testing.

Using Google Maps Mobile safely while commuting

Generally we frown on the drive using Google Mobile applications unless it is during a red light.  Passengers can of course use Google Mobile safely throughout the journey.  We have a bit of a ritual, when we leave for work, and leave work at the end of the day, we load up a google maps mobile view of our entire route, and assess the colour.  All Green,   All Green with some Yellow, or Red somewhere on our route.  If its anything but red, we stick to the plan following our normal (highly optimized) routes.  It it's red, we turn on the 24 hour traffic radio station to get a "second opinion".

Accuracy?
For the cost ($0.00) its really quite good.  Much better than the lack of realtime traffic we've had before.  We understand that Google requires a certain number of drivers to be travelling with GPS down a road, before they will publish the traffic speed. (which explains the spots on the commute that are missing traffic.)  Sometimes we have seen Google drawing the traffic on the map right behind us as we drive.  We don't trust it 100% because of a few things we've observed.  Sometimes we see Red on the map, but when we get there things seem slow but not bad enough for "red"...  Other times it has been very accurate, as we drive in to the "yellow" from the "green" we see the traffic slow and become congested...

Since the data for the real-time traffic comes from GPS in mobile phones that are running Google location service "latitude"...  You can improve the quality of traffic information, by enabling latitude.  Google knows where your phone is, and so do the friends you share your location with.  (I share with only 5 people)  I really don't mind Google seeing my route back and forth to work.  I turn Latitude off sometimes, and turn it back on in traffic.

Feature Request:
Google, it would be great if we could have Latitude turn off and on either based on Location (always turn off when I drive home, always turn on when I get on the Freeway)  or based on time.  Share location between 7AM and 5PM.

We have observed a strange behaviour on google maps mobile traffic.  Sometimes one zoom level of the map with traffic will show a road as green, while a different zoom level of the same section of map with traffic shows as  yellow.  Presumably the act of zooming in and out on the map doesn't actually speed up or slow down traffic. (If it does, we've accidentally invented something much more powerful here).  So there is apparently some lag issue there.  Is it a bug? or are we just hitting different copies of the data on different servers as the different zoom levels are updated on a slightly different schedule?  Sometimes its actually wrong, (really wrong).  But generally Google Mobile Maps Traffic gives a reasonable overview of traffic conditions.

Also interesting, I've noticed on the desktop version of Google maps, that I can see more or less traffic detail depending on which browser I use.  See below;

Above in Chrome, no red traffic below the "Burnaby" label, also no traffic North of the river North of the Knight St. bridge. (but below in Firefox I see these 2 details).  So with both pages loaded at the same time, why is Google serving different traffic data?  Am I missing something here?

Above in IE we see green traffic North/South on 176th street, but below in Firefox, we don't see that traffic.

Google Mobile does offer a bit of online help to explain traffic here;
http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=61455

Traffic color descriptions
If available in your area, real-time traffic conditions will be displayed over the highway as color coded lines. Each color represents how fast the traffic is moving:

• Green: more than 50 miles per hour
• Yellow: 25 - 50 miles per hour
• Red: less than 25 miles per hour
• Gray: no data currently available

I wonder if these legend numbers are truly accurate.  Often there are smaller roads that are flowing smoothly, represented in green which have posted speed limits of 60KM/h or 37MPH (as you can see from the above legend, that should be Yellow because it is below 50MPH.  So my point is that Google maps is putting reasonable colours on the maps, but the reality doesn't reflect these numbers in the legend.   I suspect that Google is using algorithms to ignore / accommodate traffic lights of normal duration (1 min?), and also that with the historic average speed data they are gathering, that we will see the "green" / "yellow" / "red" coding for the traffic reflect how the traffic deviates from the norm as well as matching an absolute speed.  (of course absolute speeds in a legend are simpler to explain).

Availability of real-time traffic

Real-time traffic data is available in major cities in the United States, France, Britain, Australia, and Canada, with new cities and new countries frequently added. To see if real-time traffic is available in your area, simple focus the map on your area of interest and look for the "Traffic" button in the upper-right corner of your screen. Note that traffic conditions are shown based on data availability -- if we don't have enough data to calculate accurate traffic speeds for a road, then we won't show traffic conditions for that road. This is the reason why you may see more real-time traffic results at certain times of the day. 

New "Colour" for Google Maps Traffic (via gpslodge)

Google Maps has recently updated its traffic flow representations to show not only the regular Red-Yellow-Green format, but a Red/Black hashing that shows super slow traffic at <10 MPH.
Can I get that on my GPS? Red goes up to 25MPH, and there is a huge difference between essentially stop and go at under 10 MPH and putting along at 25 MPH when you need to get home. One, I might try to plow through if it's short; the other I would avoid like the plague.
(from http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/019842.php)

Prediction:  Google is going to be able to effectively identify where roads are, and how they connect.  Google is going to be able to see which roads only flow in one direction, which lanes are alternating "counterflow" lanes which switch direction during rush hour.  They aren't going to have to wait for Tele-Atlas or others to "update" their maps, or "correct" their errors.  The GPS in your phone is going to map the roads, and don't worry about the people walking with a cell...  generally people don't walk or hike at 50km/h etc so with some intelligently designed algorithms, Google will know before the planners release the updates.)  If  you've ever noticed problems with Google maps such as the $800,000,000 "Golden Ears Bridge" missing in the Lower mainland of BC, and tried to report them, you will have been sent to the map providers website to submit an "issue" and well supposedly something happens after that...

Feature request:
Google for the desktop edition, please give me a "refresh" button.  If I'm watching traffic, but I'm not moving the map, from a normal browser I'd hit F5, but when I try that with maps.google.com I end up looking at a map of North America. Effectively I get to start all over which is irritating.  Hitting "back" at that point doesn't help because I was already in the correct location in the browser history.  Ajax is getting there...

Other features noted
One nice feature I've noticed is that google maps mobile seems to have an intelligent "timeout" on map data.  This means that 8 hours after your morning commute, you'll likely have to tell Google Maps on your Blackberry to "show traffic".  I don't mind because if I didn't want traffic I'd be waiting for that to load, and I'd rather "ask" for a feature to run on my phone, than have that feature just assume it should present itself (like a certain operating system developed near Seattle does).

In Google Maps for desktop you can't save a link to a map with traffic data.  If you turn off the traffic information, then Google will happily provide you with a link. (the link button is at the top right of the map.  try it).  I'm wondering if this is to help Google control who could re-sell that data via approved API access or whether there is just complexity to the Ajax magic being pulled off.  My bet is it's to assure appropriate control.

So all in all, the Traffic Information service provided by Google through Google Maps is phenomenal.  Well worth the price of admission. Very usable and something that is effectively mapping the developed world automatically.  Very smart guys... Very smart...  Thanks Google.

Cheers,
Greg.

Google Maps provides Free Real-Time Traffic Information in Canada

I assume you are already familiar with Google Maps. You have probably stared at satellite images of your house from space, planned the best route from your current location to a street address, and looked at maps to measure distances. Maybe you've even tried Google Building Maker to create photo-realistic 3d buildings in your city.  Possibly you've noticed the upgraded appearance of road-maps lately, but there is more... Google is now giving you more

Previously only available in the United States, Google Maps has released Real-time traffic information for Google Maps in Canada. I'm happy to say that I saw this one coming, requested it from the Google Maps team, and watched with interest as it was launched in Seattle and featured on the Google Maps blog.

Today I noticed my colleague had Google Maps open in Greater Vancouver WITH traffic information!!! Apparently it launched at about the same time as Google StreetView.

Here's how it works...

To see Real-Time traffic in Google Maps, open up maps.google.com and after the map loads, zoom in a bit and choose the "traffic" button. A legend will appear. Green=good Yellow=ok Red/Maroon=Bad Black=ReallyBad. On the map coloured lines will appear on top of the routes, showing you where the slowdowns are and which roads are flowing smoothly. Experiment with zooming in and out to see traffic for larger or smaller roadways.

Google Mobile Users can also access this information from their Blackberry or other compatible device. From the Menu in Google Maps Mobile, choose "show traffic", let it load and voila, colours on the roads. My favourite feature of Google Maps Mobile is "hitting zero" and having the application guess my location and center me in the middle of the map. Originally this feature used cell phone tower information to triangulate my approximate location and I would see a nice blue circle around me (your position within 1300 meters) as Google did it's best to guess where I was. Usually pretty good, but switching to a phone with GPS brought the guess to withing 3 meters. (9 feet for my friends in the USA). Now if I hit "zero" I can watch myself cruising down the road colour coded for the kind of traffic I'm about to drive into. Google Maps Mobile users can also contribute real-time traffic information from their cell phones by signing up for and logging into Google Latitude.

So where is Google getting all this real time traffic data, did they really dig up all the roads and put sensors in? or are they tracking us with real time military satellites?... no. Google's "Latitude" service allows you to share your location with friends (and Google) using your mobile phone. If you don't have a GPS in your phone you'll still get the triangulation data for your location to share with your friends, but it may not be good enough for contributing to traffic... So anyways, your GPS information is shared with Google whenever you are logged in that will definitely put some "mileage" on your cell phone's data plan. I'm just saying be aware of it if you pay per MB/GB. If the Google traffic robot sees one phone going down the road, it has an idea of speed, but if it sees a whole bunch, it can start being confident of the road's speed. Freeways/Interstates have higher speed limits than arterial roads etc. A little bit of algorithm work to allow stoplights to function without making the whole city look like a traffic jam... and voila.

Today i had the distinct pleasure of watching myself drive down the road, and seeing the traffic information being drawn on behind me as I went. I guess I was the Latitude user with the GPS equipped phone that tipped the scales and gave Google the confidence to draw the traffic on the map. It feels good! Now we have an option to "flipping on the radio" and weathering the annoying advertisements when we see the freeway crawling to a halt.


Cheers, I hope this saves you and your friends a TON of traffic headaches!

I can't wait to see what Google Maps does next...
Greg.

My Best Cell Phone Tips and Tricks

Get 411 for any business listing without paying.
Instead of paying your cell phone provider $1 or $2. Try Goog-411 Put 1-800-4664-411 on your speed-dial and use their voice recognition to find business listings in your area. In my experience the voice recognition is acceptable as long as someone isn't trying to talk to you at the same time. The listings tend to be useful although where they get their listings isn't exactly clear and some businesses don't appear. The good news is that most do return correct information. Advantages include:

• Handsfree dialing while in traffic
• No cost for the service
• Free connection to the listing anywhere in North America (so if you lookup a business in another state/province, that long distance call doesn't cost any more than a call to the 1-800 number)

More info here: http://www.google.com/goog411/

Use handsfree dialing via a Bluetooth headset

Today's bluetooth "handsfree headsets" are a completely different experience than the disappointing "handsfree" headsets that came with your phone when you first purchased it. I remember my disappointment when I first learned that my cell phone's "handsfree" headset consisted of half a pair of stereo earbuds (with a microphone). My disappointment turned to irritation as I would shoulder-check in traffic and the wire would pull the earphone out of my ear. Today's bluetooth headsets make dialing as easy as scratching your ear.

Do make sure you get a headset that is comfortable on your ear (it should not fly off when you rapidly shoulder check). Pay special attention to the noise and echo cancellation features. (The issue is that the people you talk to can hear an echo which degrades their listening experience.)

It is possible to get a decent bluetooth headset for $30 CAD, but consider the sets with better echo cancellation.

One nice bonus with phones which support voice dialing from your address book like the Blackberry Curve and Blackberry Bold is that dialing a number while driving is as simple as touching the headset on your ear and telling the phone who you want to call.

Power Managment Tips to Save your batteries

Despite battery advances, more features using data from the cell network means more radio transmission and often shorter battery life (before your next charge). By making a few changes you can stretch your battery life to double or better;

• Start by adjusting the screen brightness so it is only as bright as you need it to read clearly. Some phones auto adjust brightness for the ambient light to save power.
• Configure your ringtone profiles to not use vibrate unless you need a vibrate only option. The electric motors used in the vibrator function use more power than a speaker playing a ringtone.
• If your phone supports it schedule an "auto-on" and "auto-off" time when your phone will turn itself on our off on weekdays and weekends. Mine turns on at 6AM and off at 10PM weekdays.
• If you have an older phone, ensure your phone is set to use digital mode when possible rather than analog, this way it will use less power.
• If you use bluetooth, turn it off whenever you are not actively using the bluetooth as this second radio transmitter (after the cellular radio) uses a significant amount of power. Consider assigning a 'quick access' key to enable and disable your bluetooth for fast access.
• Try speaking in a squeaky high pitched voice as high pitches require less power to transmit. Nah, just kidding that last one is a complete lie I just threw in for fun.

Text Safely

Pull over or wait for a red light to type in addresses or text messages. Texting and driving while tempting is probably the most dangerous thing you can do while driving.

Use web enabled applications to extend your phone's functionality

Google Mobile tops my list of useful applications, you can get started at http://www.google.com/mobile with;

• Search (including voice search which allows you to just ask google your query)
• Gmail meaning all of your contacts and emails are handy
• Google Maps (which supports GPS if you have it, but will work fine using cell tower triangulation)

Quick Access to;

• Google News
• Google Docs
• Google Calendar
• Google Reader
• more...

Customize your ring tones for subtlety

Subtle ringtones can allow you to answer your phone before people bust you for leaving your ringer on.

If you are 30 or under, consider an ultrasonic ringtone. The idea is that as humans age they lose their ability to hear very high pitch noises, so it is possible if you are the youngest person in the room that you might be the only one who can hear your phone ringing. (very subtle, and apparently something high school teachers are having "trouble" monitoring.) Find some here: http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/ (via LifeHacker). Or record your own subtle ringtone (tapping, a snap noise, water running) something that doesn't sound like a "normal ringtone."

Make use of free digital transcription

Option A

Use your existing voicemail to record "notes to self" for later retrieval. When working on a difficult problem, apart from the benefit of talking out ideas, having the ability to capture an idea verbatim is very helpful when you find yourself between home and office with nothing to write on.

Option B

Use free services like dial2do which allow you to call, record a message, and have them transcribe the message and email it to you. Frequently I phone dial2do, say reminder, and dictate what I need to pick up at the store while I'm driving. In the store I just open up my gmail and there is my shopping list.

Max out your speed dial list

Speed dial is faster and safer than using your address book. Make sure that you have numbers handy that you might need in a hurry.

• Add the local traffic radio station because often not only can you report traffic, you can ask them what is going on and get an answer faster than by listening to the radio.
• Add your local "commercial vehicle enforcement" tip line to report those scary truck drivers and perhaps save a life
• If you travel through several communities on your commute, add local emergency services for each community
• consider the "city engineering" departments for flooding / wires down and other road related hazzards you will encounter.
• Add your work's general number so that you can hit the voice recognition engine and voice dial anyone in your company. (or let the receptionist connect you which is safer than you looking them up in your address book while driving)
• Last but not least, add your home number so you can let your spouse or roommate know when you'll be home for dinner.

OK, so that rounds out the list of my best cell phone tips and tricks. Let me know what your tips are in the comments section.

Cheers,

Greg.

Preventing overheight trucks from crashing into freeway overpasses.

This was a blog post that was going to start out as criticism, but as time has progressed, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation has addressed the problem admirably and taken the wind out of those critical sails, so you will get to hear the story of what they did to improve the quality of one of BC's freeway overpasses to prevent accidents and protect infrastructure.

The story



In the 1960s, the overpasses above Highway 1 were built to similar design and varying clearance.  Perhaps in those days it was inconceivable that trucks would stretch 4.4 Meters (almost 15 feet) into the air, or perhaps years of additional paving shaved inches off of that clearance.  Whatever the case, we find clearance signs with various "heights" recorded on most of the overpasses East of Vancouver 4.6 Meters being the most common I've observed.

 

[caption id="attachment_565" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Overpass Clearance (one of many)"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_566" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Overpass clearance - 2"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_567" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Overpass clearance - 3"][/caption]

Year before last, some surprised trucker plowed into the Glover Road freeway overpass Eastbound on Highway 1 in Langley.  That particular overpass was a little lower than some of the others, so conceivably he might have driven quite some way before having his big rig stopped (the hard way).  The damage to the overpass was significant enough that traffic on Glover Road was reduced to 1 way alternating traffic for the several months it took for repairs.

I'm sure someone in the Ministry of Transportation thought "Wow, that was shocking, that guy's truck just hit the overpass.  Hope that doesn't happen again..."

Last year, another surprised trucker plowed into the same Glover Road overpass.  Same damage, same road closure with alternating traffic.  The repairs made one side of the overpass solid, presumably to lend additional strength to the bridge (under siege).  Since that second repair, there have been additional precautions taken, which together have formed a system to try and prevent this from happening again.







 

[caption id="attachment_569" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Overpass under siege (repaired again)"][/caption]

Preventing the collisions

 

First there were 2 signs positioned further up the road on either side which re-stated the clearance information printed on the bridge.  With advance warning a trucker could conceivably stop before hitting the bridge.  The signs used bright contrasting colours to draw attention.

 

[caption id="attachment_570" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Bright clearance signs (with enough room to stop)"][/caption]

 

Next, a bunch of yellow and black reflective signs were added to the bridge to draw attention to the bridge.  

So if a trucker was overheight, knew he was overheight, read the signs, did the math and stopped in time he could avoid hitting the bridge.  But what if he didn't know he was overheight? 

A series of bright yellow warning / informational signs were deployed, starting with a sign warning trucks to use the right lane for the overheight detection system. 

 

[caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Truckers Keep Right for overheight detection system"][/caption]

Then the overheight detection system which triggers a flashing overhead sign that would warn when a truck was overheight.

 

[caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Glover Road Overheight detection system uses beams (of light) when interupted, flashing signals are triggered."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_573" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="When flashing give that overheight truck that isn't stopping lots of room"][/caption]

 

Then a small pull-out was built where trucks could pull off the freeway to check their loads.  It had a large bright yellow "pull-out" sign for easy identification, and a series of bright yellow signs warning that the pullout was approaching.  At the pullout there is an informational sign intended for those who have used the pull-out (my eyes are good, but at 100km/h that font is too small even for me :-) ) 

 

[caption id="attachment_574" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="overheight truck pullout ahead"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_575" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="overheight truck pullout ahead (getting closer)"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_576" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="overheight truck pullout NOW! (no seriously, NOW)"][/caption]

 

 

 

So now overheight trucks can be detected and "flashed", and there is an illuminated pullout available for these trucks.  Assuming that works and the driver notices he is overheight, this challenge remains for a driver who is overheight.  He either needs to back up the freeway for 2-3 miles, or he needs a crane to unload him so he can drive underneath the bridge.

Now the Ministry has added a "detour route" informational sign West of the 200th street interchange in the same bright yellow colour, warning drivers of overheight vehicles to detour off of the freeway.

Good job guys, hopefully we don't see another accident at that freeway overpass like the last two.

 













The unmeasured cost

Glover road was reduced to single lane alternating traffic next to a university on the main road leading from Langley to the Albion ferry crossing (on the Fraser river).  Thousands of people had to wait each day while traffic changed direction to cross the freeway.  This took them away from their families, their jobs, their volunteer engagements.  This time was simply lost.  Add to that unmeasured cost, the construction costs and the real cost of not putting signage up after the first incident becomes more apparent.  The albion ferry is reported to have moved about 4,500 people per day, so this number would be reasonable for forming an estimate. Assuming a 1 minute delay for 4500 cars per day for 180 days (2 years 3 months out of service each year), with commuters earning $25/hour, the inconvenience could have cost citizens. $337,500 over 2 years.  That number will never appear in a government balance sheet, but it is a cost that was paid by citizens, and it is a cost we may be able to avoid paying in the future thanks to the improvements brought by the Ministry of Transportation.

 

[caption id="attachment_577" align="aligncenter" width="336" caption="Traffic congestion HWY 1 Eastbound"][/caption]

 

I find it ironic that the train bridge overpass to the East of Glover Road (bearing scars from previous impacts) is even lower...  We'll wait and see if that has been taken into account. 

[caption id="attachment_568" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="The "even lower" railway overpass to the East (notice the repairs from past collisions...)"][/caption]









Cheers,
Greg 

Observations on Mexican Transportation

For those of you who know my passions, you will recognize the sparkle in my eyes since traffic is the topic.

I couldn't believe my eyes as we left the Cancun International Airport.  A divided highway with overhead lights on the median.  Not only in the city , but in the country stretching for many kilometers.  The highway was well marked, well signed, well maintained and in most ways as safe as any other north American Highway.

 

[caption id="attachment_503" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Good Highway in Mexico South of Cancun"][/caption]

 

Illuminated LEDs embedded in the roadway guided vehicles to merge.  it was impressive even if this tourist highway was not typical of highways elsewhere in mexico.

This highway was a "1/2 freeway" not Interstate standards, but pretty close.

The highway was limited access, had some at grade crossings as well as overpasses.  Also seperating it from freeway standard was the provision of the uturn "retournos" where traffic could exit the fast lane, turn around and enter the opposite fast lane.  The roadways in mexico often use metal speedbumps embeeded at different interfals where traffic is expected to stop for a police check or an at grade intersection.

 

[caption id="attachment_505" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mexican Police checkpoint"][/caption]

 

I noticed other modes of transportations in cities.  Playa del Carmen had more scooters than I'm used to.  and more bicycles.  Playa had dedicated bidirectional bicycle lanes seperated from traffic by a curb.  Practical tricycles pedalled by union tricyclests carry many local deliveries.  

Taxis (Playa is a tourist area) are plentiful as well as busses and collectivos.  The taxis were similar to anywhere else except for the reputation that Mexican taxi drivers have for being daring.  Taxis are not metered there, so negotiate your price before you get it and pay when you get there. 

The busses are like the greyhound or charger coaches seen in Canada and USA.  Plush seats, airconditioning, TVs, curtains (some seatbelts).  Taking a 20 minute ride between towns cost only $1.80 which is a bargain considering a similar trip would cost $5-15 in Canada.  It seems that those busses run very regularly.  Hourly or every 15 minutes.  In Canada you are lucky to get 1/2 a dozen busses in a day.  So as a Canadian I can't help feel like we are being ripped off here.  A poorer country like Mexico can make nice regular cheap bus service an option? (Maybe everybody owning a car up here has made that a difficult challenge for the operators here?) I wonder what I'm missing here?

Mexico has something special I haven't seen elsewhere in North america.  Collectivos are 15 passenger vans that operate somewhere between bus and taxi.  Heading down the freeway they will pick up people who need a lift as long as there is room left.  When full, the collectivo will travel at alarming speeds to get you to your destination and it becomes more like a taxi at that point, leaving main roads to drop you at your destination.

 

[caption id="attachment_504" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Collectivo"][/caption]

 

Those are the neat observations I made about Mexican transportation.  Thanks for listening, I'm glad I could share some of the things that impressed and surprised me.

Peace
Greg.

We need to Plan and Build Roads Better

I love the freeway.  I get on it, I drive as far as I want and I get off.  It isn't like some of the other roads we have around here.  You know the ones where you stop every block or two because there is a single car pulling out of some mini-mall.  In fact there are some pretty hillarious roads around here.  One of them is the "Langley Bypass".  Historically most of the vehicle traffic going through Langley travelled on Fraser Highway, which was 1 lane in each direction with businesses down both sides of the street (the typical downtown for a small town).  People on Fraser Highway were stopping at stored, looking for parking, backing out of parking spots and basically making this road a very poor choice for anything other than shopping.  A plan was designed to bypass langley (appropriate name).  As a provincial highway it connected Fraser Highway to itself, bypassing the city as well as connecting to glover road 200th street, the route to the ferries.  With 2 lanes in either direction, it moved traffic quite well.   At first.  Then the township decided to allow zoning all along the bypass for shopping.  3 starbucks, countless restaurants, RV dealerships, audio video stores, and of course we will need some traffic lights to let the shoppers in and out.  So rather than this area being a "bypass" to allow through traffic to flow efficiently, it became a traffic magnet attracting more vehicles, and disrupting the flow of the traffic.

What happened?  The planners forgot what they were doing.  They forgot the purpose of the road.  To "bypass" Langley.

Often there will be a visionary who will present a great idea like a "bypass road" if it remains true to its vision it works well. BUT somebody always wants to make plans work for their own interests.  The land owners won't make as much money selling farmland as they would selling land with potential for "retail development"... so they lobby government to change the zoning.  If the city / municipality doesn't have a zoning plan (or doesn't stick to the plan) "good luck".  If we could stay "on vision" we would have roads that performed their designed function well, instead of doing a mediocre job of many contradictory functions. 

Freeways work so very well because they are "limited access" (You can only get on or off at certain points), because they have no "at level" intersections (meaning the traffic can carry on at speed despite the presence of other roads crossing), and they are built to a very consistent standard (meaning the road is predictable in signage and design).   Can you imagine if Freeways started having pedestrian crosswalks installed? or if a business was forced to have their driveway onto the freeway?  It's the wrong road for those purposes.

We need to classify our roads, and we need to build them to meet their function, and protect them from those who would dilute their function.

From my limited experience I'm familiear with the following types of roads;

• Residential


• Collectors


• Non-Commercial Arterial


• Commercial Arterial


• Limited Access


• Highways


• Service

You look for a Residential street when you are ready to buy your first house and you are ready to settle down and have children, you want to avoid a "busy street".  You are essentially choosing to avoid living on a "collector" or "arterial" road.  A road fit for the purpose of living on.

Collector roads have more traffic and bring folks in from residential areas to the higher speed roads that actually go someplace.

Non-commercial Arterial roads are urban roads that act as the main routes for carrying traffic through a city.  Their focus is on the efficient flow of traffic through a city.  If you want to go somewhere quickly get on a non-commercial arterial road.

Commercial arterial roads provide easy access to businesses, with mini malls, mom and pop shops, big box stores and any number of opportunities to stop your car and spend your money.  The flow of traffic is less efficient because of the abundant access to businesses.  If you want to buy something get on a commercial arterial road. 

Limited access roads  such as free-ways, seriously limit where traffic can get on or off, which makes for very efficient travel on these roads.  This is why the freeway moves so well, there is little turbulence from new traffic entering, and in this case, no interference to the flow of traffic caused by traffic lights.  I remember a number of years ago, the embarassment that was expressed in North Vancouver, that they had the only traffic light on the transcanada highway. (It isn't true, there are traffic lights along the highway in towns like Golden BC or Revelstoke BC, but perhaps North Van was the last in a developed urban area.

Highways allow for travelling further, without significant business or residential access, but they often do allow more access to collector roads. 

Service roads provide a unique function with highways.  Where highways come into town (like in Rocky Mountain House AB) "service roads" are employed to provide access to businesses such that the function of the highway isn't impaired by the business access.  Its a smart idea.

Understanding why Business Frontage is only of benefit sometimes

When a motorist wants to get from point A to point B in a timely manner, Business frontage or access on the streets the motorist drives on, has no advantage for the motorist or the business owner.  For the business owner, he is NOT a potential customer.  For the motorist, the buesiness access just slows things down by congesting traffic and introducing more traffic lights where he needs to wait on his trip.  So a word of wisdom to the cities and municipalities that consider introducing commercial development on non-commercial arterial roads. Don't. The old fashioned idea that business frontage is good for property value and taxes does not hold on these roads.  It is a compromise of the road's primary purpose which is to move traffic efficiently.  That thinking only holds when you are considering a commercial arterial road.  In Abbotsford, there is an commercial arterial road called "South Fraser Way" which has shopping malls and auto centres, and strip malls, and car dealerships, and it is a place where people go to buy things.  Maclure is a non-commercial arterial road in Abbotsford which stretches almost the entire length of the city, with almost no commercial at all.  It is limited access (every 1/2 mile or so, rather than every block) and it is 2 lanes with a median.  It is the most efficient road in Abbotsford for travelling across town and a testament to the prior city leaders who had the vision for a road with no drive-ways.

The different types of roads above look different.  residential and collector are likely to have sidewalks, arterial might, but limited access, highways and service are unlikely to have sidewalks.  Speed limits are different too.  A commercial arterial road should have lower speed limits than a non-commercial arterial road that is limited access.

I see anomolies.  Perhaps someone is working on our behalf to keep things simple, but in our cities, a standard speed limit of 50 Km/h applies unless it is otherwise posted.  South Fraser way is a major 2-3 laned commercial road with a speed limit of 50, and my small dead end residential road full of young families with children has no posted limit meaning that it's limit is also 50. This does not make sense.  Perhaps there should be a sliding scale based on road classification;

• Residential 40 KM/H


• Collector 50  KM/H


• Non-Commercial Arterial 60  KM/H


• Limited Access 70-100  KM/H

Now I'll introduce you to a radical idea of which I am quite an advocate... Ready?   Roads are for driving on.  They exist only to move people from place to place.  They are not for parking or any other purpose.  They are to provide space for people to move from one location to the next.  With the context of this truly revolutionary idea the next points will fall into line.

The idea of allowing car parking on roads is silly.  Regardless of what has happened in the past, why do we need to build roads 4 lanes wide just because somebody decided to leave their car "out" on the street?  We see car parking on some commercial. arterial and collector roads as well as  residential. The idea that people view this as a right rather than a privilege, that people don’t consider whether they have space to park a car before they buy one is bizarre.  Since the roads are built with your tax dollars, and you are forced to go work to earn that money I think this should be a point that is dear to you. In progressive countries like Japan, you need to prove that you have room to park your vehicle before you are allowed to purchase one. (Smart)

In Canada we have very wide lanes.  Our lanes are much wider than our vehicles.  Most vehicles will have an extra 1-2 meters of space beside them in their lane.  Its hard to estimate exact distances while driving on the freeway, and no I'm not walking out there with a tape measure.  We also (at least in the lower mainland of BC) have this annoying habit of making roads wide enough for 2 lanes and then not putting lane markings on them. So where you could safely have people passing each other allowing for a smoother flow of traffic, you have this ambiguity.

Or there might be times where you want to restrict people from passing to make a safer stretch of road, or where you could have a bike lane that is then swept clean where bikes would be safe to travel with less interference from cars. Often there is just a single lane and then there are 2 lanes, with no sign or warning. the dotted lines come out of nowhere, making the road and the traffic on the road unpredictable and therefore less safe. Plus if you need to increase the capacity of a road, a can of paint is a pretty cheap way to improve your road’s carrying capacity.

So this post feels like a plane circling in the air looking for a place to land, and I think it will have to be a work in progress.  It holds some examples of the need for design, but isn't really a comprehensive treatment... yet.  

Share your ideas in the comments below.

Greg.

 

 

Trucks in Rush-Hour Traffic

Today was the "most exciting" carpool moment in commuting I've had in the last 6 years.  Following a flatbed semi with a double trailer I noticed a pilot truck down the bank in the center of the freeway with the driver standing in the bed of his truck.  Just then the truck in front of me locked up his brakes, producing clouds of smoke while his trailers tried to stop with the cab.  Fortunately reactions kicked in and the other drivers and I were able to get stopped without incident.  As the adrenaline worked its way out of my system I thought again that there must be some ways to make our roads safer by controlling how trucks and cars share the road.

The truck ahead of me was driving in the fast lane, and had been for 7 miles...

[caption id="attachment_475" align="aligncenter" width="369" caption="(flickr credit: C.P.Storm)"][/caption]

The good and bad of Professional truck drivers

I have a love-hate relationship with the commercial truck drivers on the road while I commute.  

For the good, they are generally better drivers than the people in the cars.  Professional drivers often don't get the consideration they deserve (which would make their jobs easier and less stressful).  Because of their experience, training and the weight of their trucks, they tend to be patient and less impulsive. They perform very well in traffic and goodness knows many of these drivers are being watched with the "1-800 watch my driving" stickers and GPS logging.  Sitting higher in traffic they often have better perspective than other drivers.  Truck drivers are often proactive in traffic, using their rigs to smooth out traffic, turning potentially dangerous stop and go traffic into steady traffic (which queueing theory leads us to understand should improve the overall throughput of the highway).  Often they can administer a unique kind of justice with the massive size of their trucks, returning the shoulders to their intended purpose from the "impromptu kamakaze right hand passing lanes".  The professionalism is necessary because of the greater responsibility truck drivers have to keep their heavy vehicles and heavier loads from squishing families in mini-vans.  

Normally "truckers" are great, but there are certainly a percentage of truckers whose impatience, indifference to human life, or incompetence regularly puts the lives of other drivers at risk.  One day a truck travelled all the way from 176st in Surrey to Mt lehman in Abbotsford in the fast lane, which is a distance of 35 Km, then got out of the fast lane to exit the freeway.  I've seen poorly adjusted brakes for empty or full trailers result in an impaired ability to stop in time.  I've seen trucks blowing tires and not even noticing (or deciding that stopping isn't their best option) despite the obvious risk of flying steel belt radials on the freeway.

I'm interested in what strategies could be employed to make our roads safer within the bounds of our current transportation infrastructure. 

 

Recording devices to help drivers obey traffic laws

I recall seeing on a trip to Europe that commercial buses and trucks at that time had a recording device (some use paper disks) which tracks the driver's speed, stops, breaks, sleep and other items relevant to safe vehicle operation.  In any participating country, police can ask to see the record (paper disk), and can fine the driver for any infraction in the last 3 days, regardless of which country the driver was in when they committed the offence.  It is remarkable to observer how obediently the trucks and buses follow the posted speed limit and other regulations.  An environment is created where the rules apply whether there is a police officer in attendance or not, and as the driver of our tour bus explained, the fines imposed by automated systems like red light cameras, follow the license plate and then the driver themselves.

Most trucks I see on the freeway are driving close to the posted speed limits, others (like the dump truck with trailer that passed us doing about  140KM/H) need to be fined out of business and off the road for the safety and reputation of the other "good" drivers.  No I didn't get the license because it was covered in mud. 

 

Treating Trucks Differently

First of all; Trucks ARE different.  Trucks are;

• slower to accelerate or climb a hill.  In rush hour traffic, trucks appear to be the rocks in the stream with the cars being the water flowing around them.  


• more intimidating if they choose to use their size and weight to "force" a lane change where it really shouldn't take place.


• generally travelling farther than other traffic


• more likely to throw rocks up at car windshields than other vehicles. (I suspect tire tread and weight is a factor)


• prone to kick up far more spray (reducing visibility) on wet roads, in rain storms and in loose dry snow


• big and reduce visibility by blocking the view of vehicles travelling behind them. 


• heavier, harder to stop and much more deadly if they


• driven by drivers who typicaly have more training and experience than the rest of us.

I've observed three really useful strategies for "treating trucks differently";

1. The first strategy I've see involves encouraging trucks to use some roads and cars to use others.  Many cities have signs indicating "truck routes" and other signs indicating that only trucks making local deliveries are allowed on certain streets.  In industrial areas, where corners are wider to allow for the special turning needs of the trucks, cars are the minority.  Because cars and trucks typically don't mix, many of the issues that emerge when they mix are avoided.


2. The second strategy I observed in Washington, Oregon & California, where they have a lower speed limit for trucks.  The trucks are in the right hand lane (except to pass) abiding by a speed limit which is adequate, but 5-10 miles/hour slower than the cars.  There is something predictable about trucks being on the right while other traffic flows past on the left.  This ensures excellent visibility for the cars because the trucks are not impeding their vision.  


3. The third strategy I observed was in Germany on statutory holidays like "Fathers Day" when law requires that all transport trucks be off of the roads.  "It is because so many more people are travelling for the holidays was the explanation offered by our bus driver".  Every road side pullout or rest-stop was full of trucks, pennants draped across the front windows, drivers discussing European Football and catching up on sleep.  

[caption id="attachment_476" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="(flickr credit: austrini)"][/caption]

Perhaps those strategies have their place in British Columbia in the Lower Mainland.  I think that our current highways require trucks and cars to use the same roads to go to the same places, so separate routes may not currently be feasible.  While a lower speed limit for trucks might help trucks behave more predictably, I know all too well what happens when one driver gets stuck climbing a hill...  everyone tries to pass, and here there are only two lanes so the problem snowballs and both lanes slow right down.  It won't be a complete solution to our problem.  I think however that the third solution might have merit if it were applied to rush-hour.

A suggested solution for improving rush hour traffic on the #1 highway in the lower-mainland is to create a time when cars can move without having trucks on the road.

In the past 40 years zero lanes have been added to widen the freeway.  Our capacity to move traffic has not grown with the population and the traffic.  Peak load on the freeway (6-8AM and 3-5PM) occurs because people must arrive at work within a limited time-frame.  The absense of truly viable transit or any form of commuter rail in the South Fraser corridor means commuters are in cars. We must reduce the number of vehicles travelling on the freeway during rush "hour".   The transport of many non-perishable goods in many cases is date sensitive and not time sensitive.  Did the lumber arrive at 7PM or 3PM?  It is still usable lumber.  So truck traffic in many cases could be loading and unloading "at the dock" during rush hour, and then hitting the road as the commuters come off of those roads.  If we were to regulate that commercial trucks could not be on the road during those hours, suddenly the "truck/car" dynamics would be gone and the roads would be largely homogenous and less full.  Clearly there is more definition work to be identified.  Where do the in-coming trucks "wait" if they arrive from outside the lower mainland? Chilliwack from the East or South Surrey from the USA?  What trucks if any are exempt.  are the 3ton cube trucks fine, but 18wheelers are out?

This may not be the idea that solves the interaction of commuters and heavy trucks during rush hour in the lower mainland of BC, but we need to do something... maybe several things to make life more reasonable for car and truck alike, in the interests of safety and efficiency.

Thanks for listening.  I'm interested to hear your ideas.

Greg.

Crying Wolf in Traffic

When we cry wolf in traffic, we desensitize drivers to real dangers and real warnings and reduce the overall safety of traffic.

Growing up I was told a fable about a bored little shepherd boy who "cried wolf" to amuse himself.  The townsfolk responded quickly, coming to the boys aid only to learn there was no wolf.  Several times he played this game and each time the townsfolk rushed to the field to defend boy and sheep.  At last a time came when there was a wolf, but no willing townsfolk to answer the boy's cries.  For the little boy who cried wolf, was the threat real? not at first.   There was no wolf, until he had consumed the good will of the townsfolk.

Crying Wolf in construction zones

We see the same principle of crying wolf applied in traffic warning signs located at construction zones.  Now I'll start by stating that being cautious around construction workers and  construction zones is important.  Where it gets silly is when the warnings stop protecting workers and instead start desensitizing people and effectively teaching them that the signs don't mean what they say.

[caption id="attachment_354" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Construction Zone Warning Fines Double"][/caption]

 At 3 AM in the middle of the night on the weekend when there are no construction workers around, the construction speed zone sign applies just as much as it does in the middle of the weekday when workers are just feet away from the roadway.  So when there is no obstacle or risk to workers, the signage causes motorists who would normally drive 110 KM/H must slow to 80 KM/H although the road may be clear, safe and intact.  Do you think the public can continue to take the warning signs seriously?  I suggest to you that we are not doing these workers the justice of making the construction zone safer during work hours because we wear on the patience of motorists with unreasonable demands. One such work zone is on the Transcanada highway near Abbotsford which has been in place for about a year, while a freeway improvement was being made.  A year of reduced speeds?  (where full speed still seems safe)  It is silly to stretch our warnings to cover too much time.

We also do a disservice to these workers by exagerating the area where speed must be reduced. Often in BC, 1-2 KM before the construction zone, there are signs telling drivers to drop their speed by 30 KM (20 below the limit since the limits in BC seem to be arbitrarily about 10KM/h too low and most drivers compensate.)  So you drive for 2 KM at that speed limit until the “real” construction zone begins.  As you drive slower, everybody is piled up on your bumpers because nobody else is willing to obey the ridiculous speed reduction.   If I drive at the reduced speed, before, during and after the construction, I impede the flow of the other drivers who (reasonably) are not slowing.  Likely I'm contributing to an increase in their frustration and that makes the roadway less safe, not more safe. Most drivers know that the sign isn't to be taken seriously, even though there is an accompanying sign saying that "traffic fines double in a work zone", and another flashing sign warning that "speed limits are strictly enforced" (which they aren't) It is another lying sign. I know they are not enforced, it is another rule with no teeth. The police are never there when I go by, pulling over the entire freeway to give it a ticket. STOP LYING!

So too many of these warnings exagerate the danger in area and time. A reasonable person looks at these warnings and they disregard them  as silly.  I’ve watched ambulance drivers, truck-drivers, Police officers and normal commuters all ignore the “STRICTLY ENFORCED CONSTRUCTION SPEED ZONE” and drive 110 KM/H through the 80 KM/H.  In fact the other day there was a whole freeway of us driving at 110KM/h in an 80 zone, nobody flinching or looking guilty, nobody checking nervously for police officers. These freeway commuters have been completely desensitized to the speed limit signs and just don’t believe them anymore because the signs are not reasonble.  I imagine that they must be set by some beaureucrat who has never seen how wide and straight and flat this highway is, or how little construction there really is out here, who is out of touch with reality. One of the signs I saw today was a bright orange diamond shaped construction sign, saying “warning no lane markings!”. I drove past that sign on a road that bore, probably the finest lane markings I’ve ever seen, crisp and clear and bright, not confusing in the least. I drove for kilometer after kilometer after kilometer over these new lane markings. It doesn’t make sense that thousands of dollars would be spent on painting the markings on the lanes, only to leave up the warning signs.  The irrelevant sign clearly needed to come down the night the lane markings were painted. Construction signs in particular tend to be irrelevant in this area. “Sign Management” does that have to become part of the project manager’s job? Is it already? It doesn’t make sense to start saying something unless we know when to stop.  It doesn't make sense to overstate the danger.  Just looking at how people drive indicates how ineffective the signs are. (and should be if they are unreasonable).

Crying wolf in school zones
Here is another example. All summer long I see school zone signs warning motorists to slow to 30 KM/H. but I know that school zones are only in effect on school days, but school days are not during the summer unless “summer school” is in session. But how would a member of the public who did not have a child in summer school know which schools had a summer school running and which didn’t? A law abiding citizen who wants to stay on the right side of the law would have to drive 30 KM/H through every school zone year round just in case a summer school was in session. The same problem extends for the rest of the school year when there are professional development days when the students are not in school. The average commuter has no way of knowing that this is a day when the school zones are not in effect, whereas the 16 year old driver who gets the day off would know this and would drive 50KM/H through the school zone. This is a case of special knowledge.  Not enough information is available for the driver to make an appropriate decision. The people have to obey a warning, that really doesn’t apply, they have to drive 30 KM/H just in case the school zone is in effect. How simple it would be to make the principal of the school (who could certainly delegate this) responsible for covering the signs on days when no school is in session. Issue the principal some heavy burlap sacks with zippers he could use, or make the sign hinged, so it could be locked open or closed.

Another traffic oddity I’ve seen in school zones is those “extra” bright yellow little plastic bag signs handed out by the auto insurance companies, which are posted in school zones as children head back to school. Saying “Drive Carefully” “School Zone”. The problem is not with handing these out or setting them up when school is back in session in September, those are great ideas, the problem comes when they get left up all year long and they mean nothing, or even worse, when the school principal and all the teachers have grown so incredibly numb to these signs, that when the school breaks for summer holidays and there are no children at the school, they continue to leave the signs up throughout the summer, only to replace them with new signs when the students actually return to school in the fall.  (You can't make this stuff up!)

Crying wolf at the local Thrift store.

Now not related to traffic I saw something similar the other day in a Christian thrift shop here in Abbotsford. There was a sign there warning about the security camera that was recording people and that shoplifters would be prosecuted.  As I looked around at the $0.30 teacups and other discarded items that had been donated. I thought this was ridiculous, who would prosecute anyone for stealing such low value items? Then I looked carefully at the camera, and sure enough it was one of those fake cameras you can purchase at a novelty store with some silly name l ike “view all” or “sky eye” or something. Cheaply composed from plastic. The sign was an attempt to scare people to do the right thing. There was no means of enforcing it, and it was a Lie! “DON’T STEAL OR WE WILL VIDEO TAPE YOU”, well you aren’t going to video tape me, so don’t make that threat.  How about you just say “Don’t steal”. In the case of a Christian thrift shop perhaps the sign should have read; “If you need something just take it” since that would fit more with Christian charity and giving to someone who is in need.

We need to be asking ourselves these questions; "Is the warning reasonable?", "Is the threat real?".

Conclusion

When I ask you to do something for me and you do it because you honestly believe you are helping me, I’m relying on your good will to meet a need. Now if I keep asking you and you keep helping me because you believe it is benefiting me, this is good, we have a healthy relationship and there is trust. Now if you find out that I’m asking you to do something I don’t really need, but I’m just amused by watching you serve me, or I’m too lazy to stop you when I don’t really need your help, then you will get tired of helping me, and rightly so. This is what is taking place on the freeway. The whole “enforcement side of things” would not be necessary at all if we could ensure that we are not abusing the good will of people.

Thanks for reading, maybe you will find yourself in a position to offer an unreasonable heavy handed warning and you can instead offer something more reasonable.  Maybe you put up construction signs.  The point is that you can make changes to improve the world we live in.  This is about improving things for all of us, because we’re all in this together.

Thanks,
Greg.