Items tagged with 'traffic'
Traffic problems, relatively speaking
Sometimes it's good to get a wider perspective on the sorts of things we all complain about.
Like traffic. From a national perspective, the Albany area doesn't really have traffic.
Albany ranked #118th in the United States for traffic congestion last year, according to the new global traffic scorecard from the transportation data consultancy INRIX (more about the report). Drivers in this area were estimated to spend just 4 percent of their driving time in congestion, 14 hours across the whole year.
In Los Angeles -- which topped the ranking for US cities and the world -- the total was 102 hours spent in congestion. And in New York City, ranked #2 in the US, the total was 91 hours.
Here are a few more things about that.
Van Rensselaer Boulevard, on a diet
We got a chance the other day to to head over to Van Rensselaer Boulevard in Albany/Menands and check out the road diet reconfiguration there.
The state Department of Transportation paved and re-striped about one mile of the road this summer, from Northern Boulevard to Menand Road. The new configuration reduced the number of travel lanes from four to two with a center turn lane, buffered bike lanes along each side, and wide shoulders. The speed limit is now 45 mph, down from 55 mph.
A spokesman for NYSDOT says there are still a few minor details to finish up, including some signage.
The goal is to make the street -- which borders a residential neighborhood -- friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists. It was the scene of two fatal crashes in recent years, one involving a pedestrian. Neighborhood residents had been pushing for changes to make the stretch safer. [TU x2]
The Madison Ave Road Diet moves to phase two
The second phase of the Madison Ave Road Diet -- one of the area's most interesting transportation projects -- is set to start this summer, and officials say they hope the bulk of the work will be finished this year.
That timeline was one of the details discussed a during a public meeting about the project Thursday evening at Saint Rose in which the city and project engineers continued to express optimism about the traffic calming plan in the face of skeptical comments and questions from the crowd.
Not a display of prudent passing
The clip embedded above is dash cam video posted by Youtube user T M26 from Quay Street on the Albany riverfront this past Tuesday. (It's that street that runs along river side of 787 by the USS Slater.) And, well, you can see what happens.
Albany Police Department public information officer Steve Smith says the driver of the BMW was ticketed for unsafe passing. And three children on the school bus were taken to a hospital as a precaution -- Smith says there were no major injuries.
[via @dinoman22]
Adapting to the Madison Ave Road Diet
Some follow-up on the roll out of the Madison Ave Road Diet in Albany...
Since the new striping has gone down on the section of Madison Ave starting at Allen Street this week, we've heard a lot of comments from people hailing the traffic calming project for slowing vehicle speeds and providing bike lanes.
We've also seen a few complaints that traffic has become very slow during the late afternoon. For example: one person said it took her 25 minutes to get from New Scotland Ave to Allen Street on Wednesday, a distance of 1.3 miles. (Though maybe there was an unusual circumstance contributing to the backup.)
So at the city of Albany's official unveiling of the project's first phase Thursday afternoon, we talked with city officials about these complaints.
They urged patience as construction continues and they work out the snags. But they also called for people to adapt.
Meeting to talk about two alternatives for the Madison Ave Road Diet
The city of Albany has a public meeting set for March 9 at Saint Rose to discuss options for the Madison Ave Road Diet. As you know, that's the project to reduce the number of traffic lanes along the corridor and, perhaps, add some sort of bike lane.
Blurbage from the meeting flyer:
The City of Albany is progressing a Locally Administered Federal Aid project to design and construct a road diet along Madison Avenue from South Allen Street to Lark Street. The project will reduce the number of travel lanes, while improving bicycle accommodations and completing all work between the existing curbs. The purpose of the meeting is to review concepts and trade-offs for two feasible alternatives and to obtain public input on the preferred Complete Streets solution.
Update March 7: From a new press release from the city Monday: "The meeting will present the preferred Complete Streets alternative, including the selected bicycle infrastructure."
The path to this point hasn't been a straight line. After the city presented five options for the road diet last summer, it scheduled a public meeting last November to present proposed plan -- and then the meeting was cancelled.
One of the most vocal groups leading up to road diet decision was a coalition pushing for protected bike lanes along the corridor -- these would lanes that are separated in some way from car traffic, either by some sort of barrier or parked cars. The argument for these lanes is that they are not only safer for cyclists, but they also feel safer, encouraging more people to bicycle. The argument against is that they could cut into the number of parking spaces available and would be more costly to maintain.
It appeared at the time, based both on the earlier public presentation and unofficial word circulating, that the city was probably leaning toward "regular" bike lanes rather than protected bike lanes. But then the meeting was cancelled and the city said the road diet was getting further review.
So... it'll be interesting to see which options are presented at this meeting -- and the arguments made for and against those options.
The public meeting is Wednesday, March 6 9 at 6:30 pm in the Lally School building (1009 Madison Avenue) at Saint Rose.
Earlier on AOA: A new pitch for protected bike lanes in Albany
Looking at the latest numbers from Albany's red light cameras
The Albany Police Department released the latest bunch of numbers from the city's red light camera system this week. And for the months of October, November, and December of 2015 the system registered almost 2,900 violations across 25 intersection approaches.
We've sifted and sorted the numbers in some easy-scan tables -- and a map.
Speed bumps for Washington Park?
Alison emails with a question that's not exactly an Ask AOA question so much as an idea:
Should there be speed bumps in Washington Park? People often fly through there like it's the highway, which is really unsafe for everyone who uses the park. A couple years ago, I was there when a dog ran into the street and was hit by a car going way too fast. The dog should not have darted out in front of traffic of course, but in a park these things can happen, and wouldn't it be best if people were driving like they were in a crowded park full of kids, bikers, walkers, and pets?
The 'driver must stop' signs in the crosswalks aren't really working, and drivers often speed up to avoid having to stop when they see someone trying to cross. So, speed bumps in the park...friend or foe?
Alison's idea reminded us of something Albany Bagel floated earlier this year (in addition to speed bumps): car-free Saturdays in Washington Park.
For whatever reason, car/pedestrian interactions have been a frequent topic of discussion in Albany in recent years. (Whether that's a result of increased issues or increased awareness is a good question.) And city leaders have said the push for red light cameras grew out of hearing neighborhood groups consistently express concerns about traffic safety issues.
So, thoughts on whether this is a step in a good direction?
Albany red light camera program set to start soon
The city of Albany's red light camera system will start operating within the next two months, the Albany Police Department said Friday as part of an announcement about the selection of vendor for the system.
The city has picked GATSO USA to provide the equipment for the 20 intersections that will get cameras as part of the new system.
A couple of key details from the announcement:
Albany red light camera intersection map
The Albany Police Department released the final list of intersections for the city's new red light camera system Friday. There are 20 intersections in all.
Here's the list with some crash stats, along with a clickable map, and a few quick things and thoughts.
The Capital Region's vehicle arteries
Map gawking: Check out this map of traffic volumes on major roads around the Capital Region. It's like an angiogram of the area's vehicle arteries.
The map is a clip from a national map created by Mapbox using data from the federal Highway Performance Monitoring System and OpenStreetMap. Here's a zoomable version over at the Mapbox site.
The data is limited to roadways, marked in yellow, that are eligible for federal aid. The wider the yellow line, the higher the daily average volume.
The relative volumes probably won't be much of a surprise -- you know, it's not unexpected that I-90 through Albany and I-87 from Albany north to Saratoga County are the most-traveled arteries (each averages more than 100,000 vehicles per day).
But one thing that did strike us about the map is the way it highlights the degree to which the Capital Region sprawls northward much more than any other direction. We've always been a little curious why areas such as, say, southern Rensselaer County and southern Albany County haven't been built up like southern Saratoga County.
[via @omarjpeters]
Earlier on AOA: The busiest Thruway exits
On the road to Albany red light cameras
Now that red light cameras have been approved for Albany, where will they be set up?
The Albany Police Department is currently sifting through traffic accident and ticket data as it prepares a list of 20 proposed red light camera intersections around the city. APD assistant chief Brendan Cox says the department is hoping to have the list ready by the end of December. Along the way, Cox says APD wants to share what it's learning about intersection crashes and tickets, as well as get public input about potential camera sites.
That was one of the aims of public information session about the program Tuesday afternoon. (There was another session scheduled for Tuesday evening at Albany High School.) Cox shared some preliminary data -- including a list of intersections that are among the sites currently up for consideration.
So, let's have a look.
Albany Common Council passes red light camera ordinance: comments, votes, thoughts
The Albany Common Council passed the ordinance for a red light camera demonstration project in the city Monday night. The ordinance passed 11-4 after some impassioned comments from council members.
Pending a signature on the bill from mayor Kathy Sheehan, who supports the measure, Albany will be on its way to becoming the first municipality in the Capital Region to get the automatic cameras.
Comments, the votes, the ordinance, and a few thoughts...
Thinking about red light cameras
Talk to a lot of people in Albany about red light running and you'll probably get many stories about drivers blatantly blowing through lights. It is, anecdotally at least, a pervasive and persistent problem.
In an attempt to address the issue, the city of Albany is considering an ordinance that would allow it to place red light cameras at 20 intersections around the city. It's an interesting topic because the situation surrounding red light cameras ends up being a bit more complicated that you might at first think -- and because of the way the issue is pushing a lot of buttons for people. Opinions seem to span a range of something like "yes, the city needs this" to "no, this is a very bad idea."
Here's a walk through of the issue...
A slight case of congestion
We've said this before, and we'll say it again: The Capital Region doesn't have traffic.
OK, sure, it has traffic. It has cars that go on roads and sometimes they have to slow down. Sometimes -- gasp! -- they even stop. But compared to most other larger metropolitan areas -- what passes for traffic here is nothing.
The annual INRIX Traffic Scorecard continues to provide evidence on this account. The congestion monitoring company's latest annual report, for the year ending in March, is out this week.
The Albany metro's national rank: #74.
INRIX figures traffic and congestion in this area caused a typical commuter to "waste" 3.6 hours over the course of the year. That's roughly 29 seconds per commuting trip.
That's down a bit from the previous year, in which INRIX figured the average commuter was caught for 4.6 hours.
To put this in some perspective, here are the figures for the top 5 most congested metros in the INRIX rankings (metro - hours per year):
1. Los Angeles - 60.3 hours
2. Honolulu - 51.1 hours
3. San Francisco - 49.7 hours
4. Austin - 38.7 hours
5. New York - 51.5 hours
Stick that in your breakfast taco, Austin.
Obviously, those metros are larger, so it's natural they'd be more congested. And Albany would probably be willing to trade some increases in congestion for some of the stuff those places have. But, hey, we'll think about that while we're relaxing at home after a short commute home.
Here's an explainer on the methodology.
Bonus commuting fact: The average commute time in the Albany metro area was 22.2 minutes in 2010, according to Census Bureau estimates. That was less than the national average (25.4). And it ranked 276th in the nation.
graph: INRIX
A pledge for pedestrians and drivers
This has been a bad week for pedestrians. One person was killed on Central Ave in Albany, another hit just up the street during a vigil for the first person. And in North Greenbush, a pedestrian was hit by truck with a snowplow attached. [TU] [Troy Record]
Unfortunately, a week like this isn't surprising. I walk a lot -- because I have a dog, because I prefer it to driving when possible, just because I like it. Rare is the week that I don't have a an encounter with a vehicle that's a little too close. A lot of times it's a result of something a driver did (or didn't do) -- roll through a right on red, not respect a crosswalk, or just not pay attention to what's going on. But I'm also sure there are times I could have been a better pedestrian.
So, pedestrians and drivers need to come to some sort of understanding. And toward that end, here's a pledge for pedestrians and drivers (and municipalities) to do better...
Driving the new Washington Ave/Fuller Road florcle
The new flyover/circle at Washington Ave and Fuller Road in Albany opened Monday morning. The final section -- the re-routed eastbound side of Washington Ave Extension north of the new nanotech buidling -- was connected over the weekend. It's an important intersection -- about 30,000 vehicles pass through it each day, according to NYSDOT.
We happened to be out that way yesterday so we gave the florcle a few spins.
A few initial impressions...
Multiple-week Fuller Road closure near Washington Ave
This should keep things interesting at the busy Washington Ave/Fuller Road intersection in Albany: Fuller Road will be closed between Washington Ave and the ramps for I-90 from today until the morning of September 25.* (Fuller will be open from the ramps north to Central Ave.)
If you've passed by there recently, you've probably noticed the progress on the new circle/flyover (we're calling it a "florcle") that's part of the re-alignment of Washington Ave. The road is being moved to open up space for Albany NanoTech.
*The message boards on I-90 yesterday said the road would be closed until September 23. The September 25 date is from NY511 (full text post jump -- it'd be great to be able to permalink stuff there).
Twin Bridges
Speaking of closures: the weekend closure of the northbound side of the Twin Bridges starts this Friday night. Northbound traffic will be routed over the southbound bridge. Both directions will be sharing the same bridge (heartwarming, right). That means there will be one lane for each direction, which will probably mean traffic backups at times.
This weekend is the first of six weekend closures as part of the deck replacement for the bridge. The southbound bridge will get the same treatment next spring.
The not-so-rapid rise of bus rapid transit
There's an interesting article in Governing on the growing popularity of bus rapid transit systems (BRT) -- like CDTA's BusPlus. A short clip:
Generally, the thinking among U.S. transit officials is that "choice riders" -- those who don't have to take transit but opt to because of its convenience -- are willing to ride subways, light rail and streetcars, but not buses. Advocates of BRT argue that bus service itself isn't the problem; it's the way the service is implemented. Offer riders buses that are fast, clean and safe, they say, and passengers will embrace them. "If you build it right, people will come," says Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City's transportation commissioner. "People aren't going to get on dirty buses that are slow."
The article hits on the potential of such systems, but also their problems and critics -- including those who say that BRT is just a decision to "cheap out" on building more robust systems like light rail.
When transportation issues come up here, people often call out for light rail. But here's the thing: the chances of that ever happening in the Capital Region are very small. Building such a system would cost a ton of money (that Governing article mentions the projected cost of 7 miles of light rail in Cleveland was $1 billion). And it would be a political nightmare -- any worthwhile system here would cross numerous municipal lines, requiring the cooperation (or at least non-opposition) of a long string of county and local governments. It'd be like setting off an atomic NIMBY bomb.
BusPlus isn't perfect -- far from it. CDTA needs to keep adding features and make the system faster in order to at least fulfill its initial promise. And it will have to expand the service to make it more than a Albany-Schenectady express line. There's a long way to go. But it's probably the closest thing we'll get to a transit rail system.
[via @drewbkerr]
A few things about riding the bus
The battery died. That's why I became a semi-regular bus rider.
When the battery finally conked out for good on one of our cars, it was going to be a day or two before I'd be able to buy a new one to replace it. And my wife needed the car the next day -- so I took the bus downtown.
That ride started a mostly unplanned experiment in becoming a one-car household. We had kicked around the idea of not replacing our older car whenever its time came to be donated/junked/Craigslisted. But talking about that and actually doing that are two different things. So, the dead battery was an opportunity to try it out.
We still have the car, but we haven't driven it in about two months. In that time I've become a semi-regular bus rider.
Here are a few things I've learned, remembered, or noted along the way...
Major construction on Twin Bridges late this summer/early fall
The state Department of Transportation announced this week that the $29 million project to replace the decks on the Twin Bridges (ahem, the Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge) will start this month.NYSDOT says traffic disruptions will be "minimal" during the summer travel season.
The heavy work -- the stuff that sounds like something more than a minimal disruption -- will start in late summer. NYSDOT says the northbound bridge will be closed for six weekends so the decks can be replaced. Traffic will be routed in both directions -- one lane each -- over what would normally be the southbound bridge. The weekend closures won't start until after Labor Day.
The work will then switch to the southbound bridge for six weekends next spring.
The Twins carry more than 100,000 vehicles each day, according to NYSDOT.
Earlier on AOA: Kosciuszk-who?
Something to be happy about: traffic
Worth pointing out (again): the Albany metro area has a relatively low level of traffic congestion. In fact, compared to a lot of large metros, it essentially doesn't have traffic.
The Albany metro area ranked 78th for traffic congestion during the 12 months that ended in April 2012, according to the traffic data firm INRIX. Trips here on average took 2.1 percent more time because of congestion (down from 3.6 percent during the same period the year before). It estimates that the average driver here wasted 4.1 hours during that period because of congestion.
For some context: the most congested metro area last year was Honolulu, where INRIX figures drivers wasted 58 hours during the year. The Honolulu metro is roughly the same size as Albany-Schenectady-Troy in terms of population (Honolulu is #53, Albany is #59).
The time of the week with the most congestion? Thursday and Friday afternoon rush hour.
INRIX didn't identify any corridor bottlenecks here. The most congested corridor in the nation was a portion of the 405 in LA.
Austin: Q: Why did the semiconductor consortium cross the road to Albany? A: Maybe because it couldn't cross the road in Austin -- the Texas city had the 6th worst traffic congestion in the nation.
We're joking about that. Mostly. But there's research that traffic and commuting make people unhappy -- and that we often underestimate the degree to which it's a downer. [Wired]
Here's the INRIX explainer on methodology. Last year were able to find out which roadways it was tracking in this area -- we can't find that this year. (Last year it was I-87, I-90, I-787, I-890, and Route 7.)
I-787 construction in downtown Albany
The $20.8 million reconstruction of part of I-787 in downtown Albany (between exits 3B and 4) officially started today. (It actually started last week -- you might have noticed the lane closure on the northbound side). From the NYSDOT press release:
The I-787 rehabilitation project will include replacing the concrete driving surface, along with bridge bearings and joints, and rehabilitating the Clinton Avenue interchange ramps. The project will make the bridges along this stretch of interstate safer and provide a smoother driving surface for motorists. Quay Street and Water Street also will be paved as part of the project. ...
This year's I-787 work, focusing on the northbound lanes, began last week with a left lane closure. The lane is expected to be closed until early June. From June to September the right lane of I-787 northbound and the ramp from Clinton Avenue to I-787 northbound will be closed. The project is expected to wrap up for the season in November.
Also: "Significant traffic delays are expected, especially during the afternoon peak commuting hours of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m."
The southbound side will get attention next summer. Projected completion: fall 2013.
Earlier on AOA: "The Life and Death of Urban Highways"
Reconfiguration of Washington and Fuller starts
The state Department of Transportation announced today that the realignment of the Washington Ave Ext/Fuller Road intersection has started. (You might have noticed the recent tree clearing around the site.) From the press release:
NYSDOT will realign Washington Ave. Ext. to the north and install a two-lane roundabout at the Fuller Road/County Road 156 intersection. A flyover bridge will be built to carry through-traffic, thereby removing 20,000 cars daily from the intersection and providing improved access to CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex, which is currently engaged in a $366 million expansion project. Nearly 30,000 vehicles travel through the intersection each day.
Pedestrian and bicycle access will be improved with new sidewalks and a new, 10-foot bicycle lane that will connect to existing bike trails. Reduced congestion will enhance transit schedules; new bus bays on Washington Ave. Ext. will provide safer stopping areas for riders.
Most of the work can be done without impacting traffic. More than 3.5 miles of Washington Ave and Washington Ave. Ext. will be reconstructed, together with a half mile stretch of Fuller Rd.
NYSDOT says it's an $18 million project, funded by the Fuller Road Management Corporation -- a not-for-profit org created to manage the nanotechnology facilities at UAlbany's CNSE -- Albany County, and the state. It says FRMC is picking up 45 percent of the cost.
The project is expected to be "substantially completed" this fall -- with minor work on Fuller Road next summer. The re-alignment will open up more space for Albany NanoTech. (The area under the bridge that currently spans Wash Ave Ext will become a parking lot.)
Large-format renderings are after the jump.
So, what's this intersection called? We were hoping that a flyover bridge over a roundabout had a special name or transpo planner slang -- you know, like SPUI. So we checked with NYSOT spokeswoman Carol Breen -- and, alas, it does not. Of course, that's an opportunity to coin one. Florcle? FlyAbout? Roflyover?
Like sitting on the handle bars
Check it out: Rob Gierthy emailed us with a video he created of commute home via bike:
I have a small video camera attached to my bike that I record my commutes with. This past Monday was such a surprisingly nice day that I thought I would share it and uploaded the video to YouTube. It documents a slow ride up the sidewalk on Madison (I know I shouldn't be on the sidewalk, but the traffic is so congested there that it seemed safer), down and across Swan to Hudson, and then through Washington Park. It might not be that exciting but for me it is a celebration of the arrival of spring.
There's a surprising zen quality about watching the video. And the images (cinematography? biketography?) are beautiful in spots -- the wide angle lens makes the sky look huge.
A little more from Rob about his commute
I've been commuting by bicycle the two miles to my job at the Empire State Plaza for almost a year now. My initial plan was to keep going until it got too cold and then stop, but a combination of a mild winter and my stubbornness kept that from happening. Covered in wool from head to toe during those cold months I forgot how enjoyable biking actually is. Now that it is suddenly warm enough that I can bike in shorts and sandals it is a revelation. No longer is it a mental and physical struggle to fight the wind and cold. Instead it is fun and liberating. The warm breeze feels great and actually seeing people out reminds me that I don't live in a barren lifeless wasteland.
Here are more of Rob's commutes. A snow-filled commute video is embedded after the jump -- it's speeded up, so it feels a bit like a skeleton run.
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?