Transportation in Manchester and Its Urban Life - Essay Example

Transportation in Manchester and Its Urban Life Introduction: The Urban life today is almost incomplete without traffic jams and congestion. Every day, numerous individuals go through the traffic related problems/delays; all of us have a debacle to tell relating to this unavoidable element of urban life. Living in metropolitans has accustomed us to live with the problems to traffic congestion; even though numerous steps are taken by the governments and traffic control authorities regarding solving these problems. The sprawling cities such as London and Manchester attract a copious amount of humans due to their lavish lifestyles and work opportunities. The rural population moves to these urban cities for better opportunities of work, a chance of a better education; this influx of people is from foreign countries too. This human congestion leads to traffic congestion. Although, human influx helps these cities prosper in terms of human capital, intellectual capital and provision of labour; the paradox of traffic congestion comes into play (Smith, 1980). This report will highlight some of the issues that the city of Manchester faces due to traffic congestion. Also, some probable, implementable solutions to the problems will also be provided. Some of them may already be at work, however, can be implemented in a much better way. Transportation Issues in Manchester: According to research in 2002, there are nearly half a million traffic jams in the Britain every year; this means that weekly there were about 10,000 congestion reports in a week. Surely, this figure has decreased in light of the initiatives taken by the transport authority; it still hasn’t completely solved the problem. The issues of traffic in Manchester are never-ending. These issues are likely to multiply if proper policy implementation and technology is not used to curtail the issues. Changing population demographics pose a threat to this deteriorating situation in the city. It is expected that by 2015, there will be multiple changes present in the size and of the city’s population; people will more to new places to work, with diverse backgrounds, increase in autonomy of the people in the policy system etc. The issue of hassle-free transportation has to be catered to on urgent basis and proper planning should be done, based on future projections and trends. One of the biggest issue that the people of Manchester faces considering the transport system is the traffic jams at rush hour. This is a pressing problem being faced all over the world. Traffic congestion at peak hours occurs as most of the vehicle owners start moving around the city. The usual peak times are when commuters are going from work, or when they are coming back from work towards their homes. This phenomenon results in slower speeds of the cars than usual, increased queuing and ending up being late for their desired destination. Congestion on roads results in increased amount of noise and air pollution in the city. As citizens take out more cars at peak times, there is a considerable increase in emissions from cars due to queuing and honking of horns. This can actually be frustrating for the citizens who have their homes in the traffic-prone areas. An example would be that citizens slightly opposed the construction of a Wal-mart in the vicinity of their houses, in light increasing traffic levels due to the development (Wmur, 2010). It has also been noticed, the heavy traffic uses the road network at peak times, resulting in more congestion on the road. The huge vehicles take up more spaces and are considerably slower in moving when compared to other commuter cars and hence slow down the traffic flow; at peak times, this small decrease in speed can spur a substantial traffic jam. There is also lack of safe cycle routes in the city. Cycling has increase health benefits and should be encouraged in the city for multiple reasons. It would increase the activity levels of children who are now spending more time on sofas in front of their televisions; it provides as a refreshing workout for those who wish to come out of the normal routine of gym exercise. Manchester is also facing a lack of safe pedestrian bridges on important places in the city. Closing the road for crossing increases the chances of traffic jams at rush hour; an increase in safe pedestrian bridges would provide pedestrians with an alternate route to cross the road without blocking the traffic. The rail and bus network in the city also needs considerable attention. The public transport network of the city is in a dismal condition, which has led to commuters bringing their cars on the streets for travelling across the city. If the current policies and framework is followed, this situation is likely to persist. In a study released by BBC, at term time of 8: 50, out of five cars one is taking the children to school (BBCNews, 2002). The trend has increased over the years; the probable cause is the poor transport system for children in the city. Solutions to Traffic congestion There are many solutions that have been used all over the world in urban hubs to counter the traffic problems in their cities. According to the demographics of the city and population, some probable solutions to the traffic problems of Manchester are; Congestion Charging: Although congestion charging is a concept that has gained widespread criticism in Britain, people have seen its benefits in cities such as London, Oslo and Stockholm after the implementation. The charges that are taken can be used to subsidize or develop the public transport system of the city, further helping to the cause of lesser traffic congestion. People are unaware of the costs that congestion has; they believe there are no costs associated with congestion. However, there are numerous costs associated to the people directly, as well as the society. Some of these costs are environmental costs such as noise pollution, health costs such as obesity, economic costs such as increase in fuel expense and personal costs such as missing family meals and spending less time with family. Congestion charging can provide answers to all these problems. Considering the USA, The department of transport recognized the devastating costs of congestion to the quality of life, environmental damage etc and provided funds of about $800m to start congestion charging schemes in major cities of New York, Miami, San Francisco and others (Jerram, L.). Stockholm was able to reduce traffic by 20 to 25% and reduce waiting times by 20 – 30%. Simultaneously, the money ploughed back into the system improved the transport system and more and more people are using public transport today (Jerram, L.). Travel Planning: The concept of travel planning can also be employed to curb traffic at rush hours. Travel planning would include services to tell the commuter regarding the possible routes that one could take to avoid rush hour traffic, provide guidance regarding the fares and develop timetables for those travelling to ensure steady flow of traffic. Such a marketing plan can work for frequent commuters and help disseminating the traffic equally amongst all road networks (The Free Library, 2007). Car-pooling: Car-pooling initiatives at peak hour is bound to decrease the number of cars on the road at the peak times; this can be great tool to counter road congestion. Organizations should create incentive based programs to use car-pooling techniques so that lesser cars are on the roads at travel times. Introduction of Innovative Policies: According to Joyce Wenger, an innovative technique to counter road traffic and increase car-pooling initiatives and usage of public transport is to introduce incentive policies to not use the car as frequently as it is done. Pay-as-you-drive insurance, which means that if a person drives more, they’ll have to pay more for the insurance, should decrease the amount of time the car is taken out of the garage; it would help increase healthy activities such as walking, cycling or using public transport as an alternative. ( Boze Allen, 2008) Improved Public Transport System: Steps should be taken to inject money into the public transport system so that it is improved and becomes the proffered mode of transport in the city. This money can alternatively be raised through congestion charging initiatives. Also, development of safe pedestrian bridges in areas of high pedestrian traffic would greatly benefit both kinds of bottlenecks i.e., vehicle as well as pedestrian traffic. Cycling should be encouraged through public safety programs and also by providing safe cycling zones in the city. Conclusion: The discussion has highlighted the main traffic issues that the people of Manchester face every day in their lives. Issues such as traffic jams, noise pollution, air pollution and many others are likely to persist if proper action is not taken to implement strategies to counter of decrease the likely hood of traffic congestion. Traffic congestion is basically the mother of all transport problems. Considering the health benefits that one can have from cycling, cycling routes can be introduced and encouraged. Travel planning techniques at rush hour can also help in significantly decreasing the traffic congestion issue in the city. Congestion charging as well as improved public transport system can be termed as the two important solutions to the mounting problem of traffic jams at peak hours. Although congestion charging has met initial criticism based on past experiences in the world and in Britain, once implemented it would greatly help to the cause of commute in the city. It is such a solution, whose fruits can only be visible after it is been implemented. References Smith, W. (1980). Urban Development, the process and the problems. University of California. Booz Allen. (2008, July 23). New Solutions to traffic congestions may also reduce environmental concerns. Retrieved March 11, 2010, from http://www.boozallen.com/consulting/industries_article/40131908 Leif, Jerram. Congestion Charging, Transport Improvements and Manchester. Retreived March 12, 2010, from http://www.unitedcity.co.uk/downloads/media/08.07.31_Dr_Leif_Jerram_paper.pdf BBCNews World Edition. (2002, April 22). Britain’s Nightmare Roads. Retrieved March 11, 2010, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/4x4_reports/britain_in_a_jam/1938177.stm WMUR9. (2010, March 3). Residents around Walmart Project Express traffic concerns. Retrieved March 12, 2010, from http://www.wmur.com/money/22731998/detail.html People Strategy Machester 2015. Retrieved March, 11, 2010, from http://www.manchester.gov.uk/egov_downloads/7_People_Strategy_document.pdf Read More