by David Alpert
Michael sent along this amusing “FAIL” photo… but is it really a fail at all?
Image from FAIL Blog.
At first blush, this looks ridiculous. How can closing a lane ease congestion? But actually, it can.
Let’s say you have a road that’s one lane in each direction. At one spot, it turns into 2 lanes each direction, then back to 1. What will happen?
People will speed up when the road widens, then merge back where it narrows. Merging creates “friction,” forcing drivers to slow down a little more than usual and to wait for each other which can be inefficient. The end result is lower throughput overall than if the road simply stayed one lane.
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https://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/11481/lane-closed-to-ease-congestion-actually-not-a-crazy-fail/oldId.20110801013012874