Project Work Survey On Singapore Traffic (Please do help!)
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Hello! I am Jeff, a JC1 student from Catholic Junior College. Basically, JC1s are required to do something called "Project Work". It's essentially just what it is, a project. It is important to us as it is considered an 'A' level subject. A group has about 4 members, and they are required to choose a topic (Either 'Momentum' or 'Tradition'), and fulfill the requirements(which is, actually, not as easy as it seems). Thats just the tip of the iceberg for this killer thing called the Project Work, heh.
Well, to cut things real short: basically one of the ways for us to collect information about our project is to get some information/comments etc on local forums. Thus, here comes this post!
My group is doing Momentum, and our topic of interest is about the traffic (or rather, the congestion) of Singapore. Therefore, we have to think of several "new, unique, manageable, feasible" ideas to solve this congestion problem. The 4 words are in "" as it isnt as straightforward as it looks and appears. For instance some ideas may look old and though before, but because it is not implemented before, it can be considered "new". But yeah, some ideas are used before and we are reusing them again.
Our ideas to combat congestion are(right from our group proposal):
1. Encourage ownership of weekend cars
• As weekend cars do not contribute to the peak hour congestion, encouraging the ownership of weekend cars will aid in the reduction of traffic congestion. Discount cards on petrol and parking for the owners of the weekend cars can be given to further encourage people to buy these weekend cars compared to normal cars. The lower cost of a weekend car may also serve as an encouragement for people to buy it rather than a normal car.
2. Introduce “Traffic Day”
• “Traffic Day” will coincide with “Green Day”, where people are encouraged to use public transports. The fares for public transport will be totally subsidized by the LTA to further encourage more commuters. To ease the subsidization and at the same time discourage drivers from driving on that day, the ERP could be increased.
3. Create a song/rap on traffic congestion
• We will create a song/rap that preferably has a catchy and slightly comedic tone, with Singlish added in. The song/rap will be easy to understand and has easy lyrics to remember. This will create a larger impact of the song/rap on Singaporeans. A competition will also be held for preferably school students (which are the future road users) to produce a song/rap that describes public transport’s effectiveness and its benefits. A web log will be made to host our song/rap and any contestants songs/raps to promote our song, and the competition to the public. The song will also be broadcasted on the television and FM radios - to reach out to drivers – to promote the song.
4. Install weight sensors on roads
• Weight sensors are connected to cameras, working coherently with each other to capture photographs to cars that stop at the roadside for too long. The weight sensors will be placed on roads with double yellow zigzag lines. The photographs will also be referred to the police.
5. Reduction of service roads
• The service roads for various shopping complexes will converted into a long stretch of common service road for all. It will only have one entrance and one exit for the stretch of road serving the shopping complexes (e.g. Orchard Road). This reduces congestion as the main road is only used for traveling across Orchard Road. For example, the service roads for Far East Plaza, Grand Hyatt Hotel and Scotts Shopping Center could be combined, such that the only entrance is from Far East Plaza, and exit at the end of Scotts Shopping Center. This solves the problem of cars filtering in and out of Scotts road. A rule stating that cars should only be given ample time to alight passengers must be enforced for this idea to be effective. The respective valets/security guards of each hotel /shopping center could enforce such a law.
6. Introduce measures to speed up traffic flow
• It is not rare to see cars traveling at the same speeds driving side by side, taking up all available lanes, and effectively setting up their own speed limit by preventing cars behind them from overtaking. Though not written in traffic rules or enforced for that matter, it is common knowledge that Lane 1 is for cars traveling at high speeds, and for overtaking. Slower vehicles such as buses and motorcycles are urged to keep to the left-most lane. A campaign could be introduced to re-instate this idea of differing speeds for different lanes, and constantly remind motorists to keep to their traveling speed’s designated lanes, hence reducing congestion caused by slow drivers holding up other drivers behind them.
As of now, I hope we could hear comments like your thoughts on such ideas being implemented in Singapore, and whether you think it will be effective/efficient in reducing congestion. Also, if not, please do explain why not too! Any other comments, etc are MUCH appreciated! Also, please DO tell me your age and whether you drive. Thank you very very much! =D
Jeff ( [email protected] )
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no cross-posting.
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1 Encourage ownership of weekend cars[/b]
So what makes you think roads on weekends are not congested? Hence the need for Saturday ERP?
2 Introduce “Traffic Day”[/b]
Been there done that. No one could give a fucx.
3 Create a song/rap
Been there, done that.
4 weight sensors on roads[/b]
So, you want to dig up kms of road to install the sensors, not to mention the amount of manpower, resources, maintanence, electrical fees, blah blah, blah blah blah
5 Reduction of service roads[/b]
And so what makes you think that LTA and ERA haven't thought better ideas?
6 Introduce measures to speed up traffic flow[/b]
Then there would be only two speeds, VERY SLOW and VERY FAST -
Originally posted by Xef:
1) who says wkend cars do not contribute 2 jam? (on offense here, but) i personally think they cause more jams. wkend drivers don't know their cars well enuff, n anyhow drive, causing more accidents. den imagine if every1 change 2 OPC? wif this proposal, tp will also be busier catching the red plate ppl driving outside the specified time(quite common still). (but u may propose fitting an immobiliser to immobilise the engine outside the specified time)
Our ideas to combat congestion are(right from our group proposal):
1. [b]Encourage ownership of weekend cars
• As weekend cars do not contribute to the peak hour congestion, encouraging the ownership of weekend cars will aid in the reduction of traffic congestion. Discount cards on petrol and parking for the owners of the weekend cars can be given to further encourage people to buy these weekend cars compared to normal cars. The lower cost of a weekend car may also serve as an encouragement for people to buy it rather than a normal car.
2. Introduce “Traffic Day”
• “Traffic Day” will coincide with “Green Day”, where people are encouraged to use public transports. The fares for public transport will be totally subsidized by the LTA to further encourage more commuters. To ease the subsidization and at the same time discourage drivers from driving on that day, the ERP could be increased.
3. Create a song/rap on traffic congestion
• We will create a song/rap that preferably has a catchy and slightly comedic tone, with Singlish added in. The song/rap will be easy to understand and has easy lyrics to remember. This will create a larger impact of the song/rap on Singaporeans. A competition will also be held for preferably school students (which are the future road users) to produce a song/rap that describes public transport’s effectiveness and its benefits. A web log will be made to host our song/rap and any contestants songs/raps to promote our song, and the competition to the public. The song will also be broadcasted on the television and FM radios - to reach out to drivers – to promote the song.
4. Install weight sensors on roads
• Weight sensors are connected to cameras, working coherently with each other to capture photographs to cars that stop at the roadside for too long. The weight sensors will be placed on roads with double yellow zigzag lines. The photographs will also be referred to the police.
5. Reduction of service roads
• The service roads for various shopping complexes will converted into a long stretch of common service road for all. It will only have one entrance and one exit for the stretch of road serving the shopping complexes (e.g. Orchard Road). This reduces congestion as the main road is only used for traveling across Orchard Road. For example, the service roads for Far East Plaza, Grand Hyatt Hotel and Scotts Shopping Center could be combined, such that the only entrance is from Far East Plaza, and exit at the end of Scotts Shopping Center. This solves the problem of cars filtering in and out of Scotts road. A rule stating that cars should only be given ample time to alight passengers must be enforced for this idea to be effective. The respective valets/security guards of each hotel /shopping center could enforce such a law.
6. Introduce measures to speed up traffic flow
• It is not rare to see cars traveling at the same speeds driving side by side, taking up all available lanes, and effectively setting up their own speed limit by preventing cars behind them from overtaking. Though not written in traffic rules or enforced for that matter, it is common knowledge that Lane 1 is for cars traveling at high speeds, and for overtaking. Slower vehicles such as buses and motorcycles are urged to keep to the left-most lane. A campaign could be introduced to re-instate this idea of differing speeds for different lanes, and constantly remind motorists to keep to their traveling speed’s designated lanes, hence reducing congestion caused by slow drivers holding up other drivers behind them.
Jeff ( [email protected] )
[/i][/b]
2)if i'm not wrong, there was a "car free day" a few yrs back in april. Trust me. it didn't work, n it won't. we s'poreans r 2 enslaved by technology.
3)pls lah. who pays attn 2 this kind of stuff??? has the courtesy campaign made us more courteous aft so many yrs??? now courtesy cat retire alrdy i think...(if u duno the ans, ask readers digest).. dun waste ur time.
4)such sensors nd lots of maintenence. jus look at the condition of the left lane which is frequented by buses...all cars hv diff weight. how? den buses isn't it always kena at popular bus stops? n if still traffic jam how? camera will take photo until spoil arh??? dun tell me u 1 2 place camera all over spore meh??? even then, dun tell me u 1 2 hv rd works all over spore? road works n accidents are the main cause of congestion lor! btw, the LTA alrdy has plans 2 hv all junctions n rds to be fitted wif cams tt can zoom, pan, tilt, freeze n rec... real-time somemore... if u dun believe, go on the expressways... every few hundered metres gt 1 alrdy...
5)pls!!! NO MORE ROAD WORKS!!!
6)we had campaigns against road hogging, spding etc. but look arnd lah... road hoggers n speedsters still everywhere! they campaign until dun 1 2 campaign liao lah...
in conclusion, i believe tt the plans which u hv proposed r not very pragmatic(no offense man), n won't solve the pblm of congestion. but i guess a BIG fine n a jail term when caught road hogging, not keeping left unless overtaking n causing obstruction may alleviate the pblm. spore is still a FINE city.
Gd luck 4 PW! -
i'm afraid u wun find any constructive answers here. truth is, if there was a solution to (or a means of alleviating) heavy traffic, the guys at LTA would have found some way of implementing it. heck, they even build double decker roads and underground burrows to cut down on jams. driving in sg is already a b!tch as it is. any form of increase in inconvenience to discourage vehicular movement is likely to be frowned upon more than anything else in the motoring fraternity. izit too late to change project title?
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Hi Jeff,
Honestly? I think traffic congestion can be greatly reduced if:
- They could better synchronise the traffic lights. Sometimes, one turns green, I drive ahead....just before I reach the next one, it turns red.
- They could reduce the number of traffic lights. So many traffic lights are unnecessary.
- They should close down the traffic police department!
Then people will drive faster and not roadhog.
- They should increase the speed limit of the roads. Wah....if everyone follows the 50 km/hr rule, the economy won't move lah!
Anyway, here are my comments to your point, as a former CJCian too.....
Weekend cars (now called "off-peak cars") have already been cheaper than normal cars for years - and there are still much more normal cars then weekend cars. I think when people buy cars, the main aim is usage and daily convenience.....not just for convenience on weekends (they could rent a car for that).Originally posted by Xef:1. Encourage ownership of weekend cars
• As weekend cars do not contribute to the peak hour congestion, encouraging the ownership of weekend cars will aid in the reduction of traffic congestion. Discount cards on petrol and parking for the owners of the weekend cars can be given to further encourage people to buy these weekend cars compared to normal cars. The lower cost of a weekend car may also serve as an encouragement for people to buy it rather than a normal car.
But I kinda like the idea of weekend car drivers getting special discount cards, because......I will make friends with one, ask him to pay for petrol on my behalf, then I pay him after that. Then I can drive around more in my normal car.
I think you mean "NO traffic day", or "Traffic-FREE Day"? Traffic day would imply encouraging more traffic.Originally posted by Xef:2. Introduce “Traffic Day”
• “Traffic Day” will coincide with “Green Day”, where people are encouraged to use public transports. The fares for public transport will be totally subsidized by the LTA to further encourage more commuters. To ease the subsidization and at the same time discourage drivers from driving on that day, the ERP could be increased.
Look at it this way. I've paid S$100,000 for my car. But for one day per year, LTA says they will subsidise S$1 if I take public transport. Heck lah, I'll foregot the S$0.40 and still drive my car today. After all, my car depreciates by much more than S$1 per day, even if I leave it at home.
And this "No Traffic Day" is only one day per year. There's still the other 364 days of each year to consider. But you know, I doubt that LTA would be willing to subsidise public transportation fees everyday.
[quote]Originally posted by Xef:
3. Create a song/rap on traffic congestion
• We will create a song/rap that preferably has a catchy and slightly comedic tone, with Singlish added in. The song/rap will be easy to understand and has easy lyrics to remember. This will create a larger impact of the song/rap on Singaporeans. A competition will also be held for preferably school students (which are the future road users) to produce a song/rap that describes public transport’s effectiveness and its benefits. A web log will be made to host our song/rap and any contestants songs/raps to promote our song, and the competition to the public. The song will also be broadcasted on the television and FM radios - to reach out to drivers – to promote the song.
I always had doubts about the effects of adverts, songs, raps, etc. Anyway, if you suggest this for your school project, the teacher may ask you to give an example of a song/rap. Be careful.....
[quote]Originally posted by Xef:
4. Install weight sensors on roads
• Weight sensors are connected to cameras, working coherently with each other to capture photographs to cars that stop at the roadside for too long. The weight sensors will be placed on roads with double yellow zigzag lines. The photographs will also be referred to the police.
Yes! Yes! And to save money, they can dismantle the sensors which are currently used to activate red light cameras. Take them all out from the junctions....and put them as sensors to catch people who stop too long by the roadside instead.
And redeploy the red light cams too. Take them out and place them elsewhere to catch people who stop too long by the roadside.
No more traffic light cams!!
[quote]Originally posted by Xef:
5. Reduction of service roads
• The service roads for various shopping complexes will converted into a long stretch of common service road for all. It will only have one entrance and one exit for the stretch of road serving the shopping complexes (e.g. Orchard Road). This reduces congestion as the main road is only used for traveling across Orchard Road. For example, the service roads for Far East Plaza, Grand Hyatt Hotel and Scotts Shopping Center could be combined, such that the only entrance is from Far East Plaza, and exit at the end of Scotts Shopping Center. This solves the problem of cars filtering in and out of Scotts road. A rule stating that cars should only be given ample time to alight passengers must be enforced for this idea to be effective. The respective valets/security guards of each hotel /shopping center could enforce such a law.
Service roads are the property of the property owner leh. How to tell them how to build roads within their own compounds? Sounds a bit too dictatorship/totalitarian liow, controlling people right in their own compounds. Soon, property owners would say "basket, I think I do away with the road and extend the mall forward instead. Can display more products and sell more things".
The danger is.....if you have one long service road, the service road will be jammed. And people will not want to enter the service roads. Instead, they will stop on the main roads to let down their passengers instead. Its impossible to monitor every road, everyday....especially for an offence which lasts only a few seconds.
[quote]Originally posted by Xef:
6. Introduce measures to speed up traffic flow
• It is not rare to see cars traveling at the same speeds driving side by side, taking up all available lanes, and effectively setting up their own speed limit by preventing cars behind them from overtaking. Though not written in traffic rules or enforced for that matter, it is common knowledge that Lane 1 is for cars traveling at high speeds, and for overtaking. Slower vehicles such as buses and motorcycles are urged to keep to the left-most lane. A campaign could be introduced to re-instate this idea of differing speeds for different lanes, and constantly remind motorists to keep to their traveling speed’s designated lanes, hence reducing congestion caused by slow drivers holding up other drivers behind them.
Er....I think there have been repeated campaigns about road-hogging liow. As I said, I have my doubts about the effectiveness of adverts, campaigns, songs, raps, etc. Once behind the wheel, not many people will remember what they saw on TV last night.
Hey......not everything is solved by micro-managing people, using small money to sway people, and adding new laws to restrict people. Wah lau....after you graduate, you can join the chenghu liow lah.
Lets face it. The roads we have are limited. When you put in more cars on these roads, no matter what you do, there will still be congestion. Just like if you build just one lift for the tall UOB building.....even if everyone behaves well, there will still be congestion. Its natural! The only way is to build more alternatives (eg. more lifts).
Likewise, for our roads, the only way is to improve public transportation. What I'm saying is....instead of driving fear, worries, restrictions and controls into drivers....why not try give people a reason not to drive? (and since people need to move around, the only way is better public transportation). Follow places like London, Japanese cities, HK, Seoul, etc....where almost every street corner has a subway station entry/exit, all sheltered from the sun and rain. Or at least, their network is extensive enough to give people a reason not to drive. I'm sure people in those cities love driving too.....just that they have the INCENTIVE not to. Yes, incentive....very important word (as opposed to "fear & control").
To illustrate the level of incentives for public transportation, I'll show you a difference between here and some other countries (and this is from personal experience):
- Ask a Japanese whether he loves to drive. He'll say "yes I rerv to durive, but for work everyday, subway much better!". (you have to remember that many Japanese in the cities don't even have to be subject to the weather to go from place to place.....everything is either underground or sheltered).
- Ask a Singaporean whether he loves to drive. He'll say "Wah lau, siow ah? Of course if got car, I take public transport for fiak? Car so much more convenient!".
Or maybe we can have free coke and weekly lucky draw for MRT and public bus passengers. Singaporeans all attracted to such things one. All will rush to take MRT and public bus.
Actually, the traffic here is not congested that bad. Its kindergarten compared with most of the other countries in this region. But our success in controlling traffic is due to suppression by law. It would be wonderful if one day, it will be naturally suppressed by alternatives (incentives) instead.
(Wah lau....nowadays with the internet, doing homework and school projects is so easy).
Good luck in your project! -
none of your method will work... trust me...u have to redo ur project...
here are 3 examples of how u can cut down traffic jams
1. less traffic lights.... if people need to cross...just build more underpass or overhead bridge..
2. abolish ERP system..the reason goverment implement erp system is because its the easiest way for them to earn money... if they really want to cut down congestion..they should create the 3 in 1 rule like in other country which means during peak hour ur car must have at least 3 person or more or u will get fined..that way more effective
3.put stricter measures to pass new drivers... there are too many bad or rather dumb drivers on the road..and trust me.. one way or another they cause jams.. -
Cannot!!! i want 2 take test n pass this yr!!!Originally posted by t3r:3.put stricter measures to pass new drivers... there are too many bad or rather dumb drivers on the road..and trust me.. one way or another they cause jams..
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me too manOriginally posted by HANDSOME_1:Cannot!!! i want 2 take test n pass this yr!!!