Bike Lanes Reduce Congestion

OK, not really. The New Republic is using that as an example of what to do with theoretically closed streets.

Three scientists have shown that closing specific streets will reduce congestion because it will push drivers away from the Nash equilibrium - where each route takes the same amount of time - and toward a mix where the average time is reduced.

Looking at the map[linked here], if you shut down any of the red streets shown, you'd make travel times worse. Close any one of the blue routes, and you wouldn't make much of a difference one way or the other. But close the black dotted roads—turn them into bike lanes—and traffic could actually speed up, sometimes by as much as 30 percent, because they'd bring the equilibrium closer to the "optimal" total travel time between key points:

Comments

[jeffb]

Hey could we get a better URL to the article? I can't find it and would like to read it.

[ohmypolarbear]

here's the article link:

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/archive/2008/11/07/if-you-build-it-they-will-clog.aspx

[Washcycle]

Sorry about that. I've fixed it.