San Antonio’s Resolution to Road Traffic

Popular cities throughout the United States relate to at least one prevalent obstacle: nightmarish traffic congestion. Each and every year, while sitting in city traffic, billions of gallons of crude oil are discarded and innumerable hours of personal free time is gone. San Antonio is no exclusion to this undesired circumstance. The roadways in San Antonio are not outfitted to withstand the constant demand for road space effectively. This constant gridlock can get quite frustrating for individuals who travel to the inner city on a daily basis. Congestion additionally brings along numerous problems such as an increase in collisions, air contamination, school zone safety, time wasted, and much more. Developing a resolution for the traffic congestion concerns in San Antonio may be expensive and take much time to accomplish, but it could also mean a substantial improvement in the quality of life in our community.

Countless motorists who have to deal with uninterrupted traffic end up getting distraught and in a lousy mood. Why do they get in a bad mood? It is because they are simply sacrificing precious time and hard-earned money. “The conditions of major roads in the Alamo City are the worst of any Texas metro and cost drivers $1,780 in additional costs per year. Those costs include additional repair, tire wear, and vehicle depreciation, lost time and wasted fuel due to congestion and traffic crashes.” (Parker). This would make any normal person upset - and even more upset that “San Antonio drivers waste about 38 hours in traffic annually.” Struggling with substantial traffic does not just make drivers tardy for work or dinner; numerous studies indicate that coping with frequent traffic congestion also comes with negative effects on your overall health and wellbeing. The stopping and starting in traffic jams contribute to the amount of pollutants deposited by the motor vehicles. These emissions generate unwanted and excess pollution. “Recent studies show that breathing street-level fumes for just 30 minutes can intensify electrical activity in brain regions responsible for behavior, personality and decision-making, changes that are suggestive of stress, scientists in the Netherlands recently discovered.” (Hotz). A majority of these toxins that are in the fumes of car exhaust reveal themselves into the surrounding environment and provoke unhealthy consequences such as acid rain, smog, and global warming. Although, other factors can be a cause of those outcomes, contaminants from automobiles are the most significant contributor, and it needs to be reduced if not eliminated.

The most obvious reason to which causes traffic is the fact that many people feel their own comfort in their own vehicles rather than walking or using public transportation. Additional components that need to be considered is the fact that San Antonio is simply developing too quick as city leaders such as Mayor Ivy Taylor and County Commissioner Nelson Wolf have pointed out before. Traffic congestion in San Antonio brings an elevated occurrence of accidents. In peak locations like the main downtown roadways and the highway during rush hour, vehicles are profoundly jam-packed and as a result and it can lead into rear-end collisions, backup collisions as well as side collisions. In areas like IH 35 from Loop 353/Nogalitos to US 281 and SL 1604 from SH 16 to FM 471, congestion continues to build when more automobiles attempt to share the road all at the same time. Deadly accidents can manifest when vehicles cannot exit quickly enough to make way for others.

Nevertheless, there are ways to administer traffic. As reported by the TomTom's annual Traffic Index report, for results accounted in 2016, San Antonio lands at point 113 for the worst congestion in the world and 32 in all of the United States! Even though we are not number one on the list, we cannot wait to make a change until we do. To tackle the congestion challenges here in San Antonio we need to ensure that it is our main priority. In January of 2016, “the city spent $1 million for a sculpture inside the building’s lobby” to publicize in the newly renovated Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. (Baucum). That type of revenue could have been used to diagnose real-time issues from traffic and roads. Money ought to be reserved for traffic until the problems cease. One solution to acquire greater income for the city, yet also, clear up the roadways quite a bit is by implementing toll roads.

Although many people object to paying tolls, the benefits associated with tolling overcrowded roads are so notable that other major cities are also beginning to experiment with them. There are certainly a number of different ways to fund for traffic improvements. Some of the most proficient ways would be by implementing a raise is vehicle registration fees, a driver’s license surcharge, an increase in fuel tax, creating tolls, and even a vehicle mileage fee. By exercising these aspects the city could fund much larger projects such as road expansion, renewing road pavement and so on. Toll roads provide another approach to acquire funds for transportation development expenses and furthermore they generally do an exceptional job of clearing up flash traffic jams. The tolls can be used to charge a toll throughout the day or by making the toll available during the busiest periods of the day. (Texas A&M).

Fortunately, for the city of San Antonio, we already have incorporated a local transportation system, but the downside is the majority of the citizens do not ride the bus, nor prefer it, which means the city ought to give it a new outlook and publicize the benefits of utilizing the VIA Metropolitan Transit system. A great way to promote the public transport buses is simply by bringing down the VIA fees. Once an increasing quantity of people eventually begin using it, it will soon decrease automobile dependency. These VIA buses help clear congestion by eliminating the quantity of single-occupancy vehicles on major freeways and highways. It may likewise be quite advantageous for the riders by with time management: travelers could work on the bus considering they are furnished with wireless internet compatibility features. (Texas A&M).

On top of that, a demand for new roadways for higher occupancy vehicles as they do in many other states such as Arizona. Managed roadways such as HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) and HOT (high-occupancy toll) lanes offer travel alternatives, providing versatility to car drivers by enabling them to select the most convenient route of travel for the trip. This investment helps prevent congestion by expanding existing road space and capacity while also advocating quicker transit and carpool/vanpool utilization. For implementing this, it also helps to eliminate large trucks and transit vehicles from central traffic progression which have a tendency to causes delays and wrecks. (Texas A&M).

Traffic in and around places where there are many people walking around such as downtown and schools zones, traffic can become heavy and drivers frequently do not recognize the people walking around. According to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), traffic accidents that involve pedestrians are more than likely to emerge between the hours of 6-9 am and 3-6 pm – the hours when students are traveling to and from school and people traveling to and from work. (TrafficLogix). Traffic in school zones offers lights for a budget friendly alternative to help combat traffic in and around schools and college campuses.

The compact SafePace 100 and full-size SafePace 400 “Your Speed” radar signs are prominent selections for schools. The SafePace 500 sign is an adjustable speed limit sign that can be programmed to display reduced speed limitations when they are in effect. The SafePace 600 sign features dynamic messaging with the intention to broadcast a displayed message to speeding motorists for example: “Slow Down.” The SafePace signs are all suitable for the additional school zone beacon system. The system contains a set of beacons that can be automated to flash throughout school hours, notifying motorists that reduced speed limits are in effect and to take caution. A recent Safe Kids study found that drivers were less likely to be distracted in school zones with flashing lights installed. Now, not only can the SafePace system be set up in school areas, it can also be implemented near parks or when major city events take place such as Fiesta or even after a Spurs game! (TrafficLogix).

All things considered, the problem of traffic and congestion in San Antonio can be tackled if we keep it as our main priority. The city cannot afford to take action any longer. There are many negative outcomes that come from sitting in traffic, and they can take heavy tolls on our health and our environment. It also takes a toll on our wallets and our time. Although traffic will always be a thing here in San Antonio, simply due to the fact that San Antonio will continue to be an ever growing city, we must buckle down and fix the issue now. Once traffic becomes eliminated or a least reduced, the citizens of San Antonio can enjoy driving around the city. It can also lead to more people wanting to visit the city and be a primary factor to lead to an economic boost.