Transportation Engineer Tries to Solve America's Worst Bottleneck | WSJ Pro Perfected

[@adriankal]

Good to hear that finally traffic engineers search for solutions instead of bulldozing everything to build more lines.

[@smacpats6379]

The "solutions" outlined in this video are basically to tax people to encourage them to use transit that doesn't exist. Real good solution would be to build better beltways around the NYC region. 287 should definitely connect to Long Island. LI could use a few bridges linking it to CT/NJ actually. It's ridiculous how the 8 million people on LI have 4 bridges (that don't go to Manhattan) connecting them to the rest of the country.

[@ideatsand]

@@smacpats6379such would only create demand and do nothing to halt congestion while the buildings that were bulldozed for the project stay demolished.

[@smacpats6379]

@@ideatsand Last time I checked there's not an abundance of buildings in the Long Island Sound.

[@atle127]

They found out that didn't work with the LA experiment.

[@Ninjabeefyschtick]

@@smacpats6379 It just gives more options to cars. They will still congest the roads/highways. When people use public transit they pay, so charging people to use the highways/roads at certain times make sense too.

[@flarfo348]

ok so like, imagine if we had a form of transportation that let you put multiple trucks worth of cargo on a single vehicle all going the same way. oh wait. TRAINS.

[@JakeSDN]

Umm…the existing trains are over capacity, that is why they said they are considering building more tracks and tunnels across the river. That bridge handles more than 300,000 vehicles a day. Many going all the way up to Canada.

[@leonpaelinck]

@@JakeSDN then scale up the existing trains

[@Sp4mMe]

@@JakeSDN If that's the case then surely the road network as a whole should be questioned - trucks going all the way to Canada should not move through (almost) central NYC in the first place.

[@JakeSDN]

@@Sp4mMe NYC roads and highways were created more than 100 years ago, some don’t have shoulders. Infrastructure was built around them, so changing them is really expensive and requires a lot of studies. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge started in 1869, the George Washington bridge in this video had it’s construction begin in 1927.

[@jpcool95480]

​@@JakeSDNsurely if they are going to Canada they would avoid NYC altogether and keep going North. There are other bridges that cross the Hudson, such as the Coumo/Tappan Zee bridge.

[@stevederp9801]

My biggest thing I’ve been saying for years is that trucking needs to be forced to work with rail companies. They should only be taking these goods the last 100 miles. By making them travel across the country and all around these cities we are causing so much traffic for no good reason.

[@nickprafke6664]

Rail companies hold all the cards.

[@bobloblaw10001]

Nationalize, Nationalize, Nationalize - Alan Fisher

[@Crudmonkey211]

Yep, it's being done here in NSW. Big intermodal loading docks connected to sea ports via heavy rail. The US needs to move away from road-based infrastructure.

[@user2144]

And trucks should only operate and distribute between 19:00 and 07:00.

[@parkyercarcass]

@@nickprafke6664 So let us - an entire nation of people - take those cards and that power back from them - a small group of shareholders.

[@Mira-bt3zx]

So much of the congestion on the George is commuters from NJ who work in NYC. The most effective option IMO would be to massively improve rail connections between the two. At the moment, the North River Tunnels are a major bottleneck, and the unreliability of NJ Transit caused by those tunnels makes it even worse. The tunnels are a pair of 1 track each tunnels that go into Penn Station. They are 110 years old. Any broken train or tunnel takes out one tube, and the need to accomodate trains in both directions means one tube out causes a 75% or so drop in capacity. The Gateway Project is going to add 2 more, fix the original 2, and end up with 4 tunnels total. Adding more rail from NJ to NYC that goes to more office areas will help too.

[@Simon-nw9bf]

New York subways haven't been improved on since the 40s and they're currently infested with homeless people. There is a LOT of improvement to be made.

[@lokomono89]

We probably won’t see that in years. They claim they spend a lot of money to maintain trains and bridges. So building or adding will be most likely difficult

[@JoeFiddle-ls5jh]

Wrong. Most take buses already

[@MariahIsSkinnyFuckBlueLives]

@@Simon-nw9bf "infested" maybe don't dehumanize people by using language that evokes swarms of insects

[@flighted2513]

you clearly don't live here.@@Simon-nw9bf

[@tillkonczak6917]

Literally the only way to solve traffic is to build public transport.

[@SJRS700]

No, that guy didnt solve anything, he just told some of the most basic pre schools ideas and then go on to say that build public transport so the gov could tax people more and earn a heck ton of it and make people suffer in metros

[@Ray03595]

@@SJRS700if NY/NJ politicians weren’t corrupt though it could work. Politics is the issue, not the lack of ideas

[@vipahman]

Are you ready to give up your house or lower its value so that public transportation is built in your vicinity. I figured not. It is close to impossible to build new infrastructure in a built up city or suburbs. That is why every solution to congestion involves tolls, congestion pricing or rerouting of traffic. All the solutions presented in this video are workarounds.

[@illhaveawtrplz]

@@vipahman Right, so we should just bulldoze peoples homes and businesses to add another lane to an already overgrown highway. Sarcasm aside, you mention that public transport projects destroy or reduce the value of homes, and this is entirely incorrect. It is well known that homes adjacent to massive, multi-lane highways have reduced home values and increased mortality rates, while transit-oriented developments generate greater amounts of income through the efficiency that is brought by higher density and access to transport options besides driving.

[@381delirius]

​@@vipahmana nearby rail station is an amenity that would increase property values because for many, not having to drive to work is desirable.

[@PAHDIJDFFDL]

The thing that strikes me the most as a European is that the NYC subway completely ignores New Jersey and doesn't cross the Hudson. Some Americans argue that it is because New Jersey is a different state so there are many political barriers to expand the metro there. Yet, there are numerous examples of metro systems in Europe that expand across two or even three international borders without any inconvenience? (i.e. Geneve, Strasbourg, Basel, Copenhagen, San Sebastián, etc.)

[@wilsonli5642]

The subway itself doesn't, but the PATH system (Port Authority Trans-Hudson), NJ Transit regional rail, and NJ Transit buses do help connect NJ with NYC, although primarily to midtown and downtown Manhattan.

[@snowless456]

the PATH is like NYCs secret subway, it’s a lot bigger of a network than a lot of people realize and it even runs one line that goes intercity to Newark on a heavy rail alignment. The Newark line goes right to the new World Trade Center and has an ultra modern station There’s also a decent light rail network in Jersey City and Newark that connects to the PATH Also I do agree thought that the actual MTA run subway should go to Jersey and that we should build a regional through running network

[@MelGibsonFan]

It’s doesn’t completely ignore NJ. The PATH connects the two.

[@AmyEugene]

The issues that the US can't solve due to political barriers are unending. A modern, flexible system with parties motivated to find a solution that works well for all, would solve a lot of our problems.

[@lilbaz8073]

Watched a vid about energy grids in the us. Was saying they don't like to connect the grids between states as then it is federal rather than run by the states themselves. Could be a similar issue.

[@jokay3732]

Improved Public transit is 100% the answer

[@QemeH]

Not for freight. Although, rail is still the answer ;)

[@nicolasblume1046]

​@@QemeHwell most vehicles on the bridge are cars, not trucks. So if many of those people would switch to public transit, it would free up space for trucks

[@Yannakis1999]

And I'm 100% sure that another line will solve the problem.

[@CHMichael]

Make it clear and safer . I used to take the subway to school - not in the US ofcause.

[@user-jk2zm7uq5s]

A quick, cheap and easy fix would be a bus lane on the bridge...

[@damiensonney9880]

It’s incredible that ALL freight must come to New York by truck. The solution ? Rail. You’re welcome.

[@angelcabeza6464]

yes so simple its not like the r ail system is overcapacity and we import mots goods by rail more than some other countries just screaming out RAIL wont do anything

[@interspect_]

@@angelcabeza6464 It's not cargo that creates the congestion. It is people using their car because that is the only way they can buy eggs.

[@blanco7726]

​@@interspect_are you about to stop people from driving their cars?😂 You can add all the public transport you want to an 18 million city there's still gonna be enough cars for traffic jams if you dont believe me look around the world.

[@Ironpancakemoose]

good luck with NYC price of property.

[@ciro_costa]

​@@blanco7726if you can buy the eggs just walking to the store there's no need for a car.

[@ylw]

Put a train across the bridge's lower deck. Make dedicated lanes for trucks.

[@KhanJoltrane]

No connecting infrastructure on the nj side.

[@thetrainguy1]

​@@KhanJoltrane Then build a system on the other side as well.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I'm not sure the bridge is designed for the weight of a passenger, commuter or subway train; besides, all the car brains will demand no driving lanes be taken and since there's no room otherwise... 🤷

[@hobog]

​@@edwardmiessner6502a super frequent light metro would work. See Vancouver Skytrain's Simon Fraser Bridge

[@christiangomez2262]

If I’m not mistaken, the lower level of the GWB was designed to include passenger rail. When you drive on it, in the middle lanes have a division where the train was supposed to be. But they scratched it and unfortunately New Jersey doesn’t have the rail infrastructure in Bergen County for it to be useful.

[@LordAshura]

Probably build a rail system that goes under the bridge along with a loading station for the trucks to unload/load the cargo onto the train. Sure, it will cost a lot of money, but probably it will save a lot of money and time for everyone.

[@jonm3131]

Would probably save wayyy more money in the long-term

[@JakeSDN]

Over 300,000 vehicle move across the George Washington bridge everyday, many going all the way up into Canada. Your system would be overwhelmed.

[@captainkrajick]

​@@JakeSDNI'm not really sure about that, because we know that heavy rail can carry up to 80,000 people per hour

[@jinsory5582]

​@@JakeSDNThe vehicle capacity hierarchy typically assumes that heavy/passenger rail carries more in one space than a car. Being overwhelmed by the capacity currently faced by cars is the opposite of being an issue. The real issue here is if the transit organization itself can handle higher-capacity train operations reliably. But, then again, getting a train to work at all to serve as an alternative to car traffic is still a productive development.

[@QemeH]

@@jinsory5582 Just as with freight, public transit is mostly a last-mile problem. Over the longer distances it is without a doubt better to clumb cargo/people together and make use of economies of scale, i.e. rail. However, nobody takes the train if you then have to walk 10 miles to your destination from the nearest train station. Public transit will become much more useful (and therefore _used_ in the city) when it is integrated between neighborhood-collectors, inner-city transit and regional/national transit. It should be said, though, that by US standards New York is actually doing a _stellar_ job in public transit (in european terms it's more like an okay-ish job, but still...)

[@herzogsbuick]

"Delays here have cost an estimated $38 million annually" Having used that bridge when I absolutely had to, quite a few times in my life, $38 million seems very low, I think they misplaced a decimal or something

[@wqm-om1ff]

Obviously. The daily usage of the Washington Bridge is 300,000 vehicles. $38 million divided by 109,500,000 annual vehicles is only 35 cents.

[@StartCodonUST]

Autonomous vehicles are way too overhyped at the moment as a hypothetical panacea, but wow, everything else in this video was so sane and logical with the systematic approach. There are so many ways to reduce congestion by providing more efficient alternatives, both on the freight and passenger side. We've wasted too much time, money, and land on relieving single high-profile bottlenecks while ignoring the factors that cause bottlenecks to appear in the first place.

[@helloonearth2871]

I drove through GWB pretty frequently, one of the major road design flaw this video didn't mention is that right after GWB before exit 1C-D to Maj Deegan exp way, is like driving a go kart course in a nutshell. Typically the truck would ended up at the inner most lane right after GWB and when the trucks tried to exit to the exp way. It caused a lot of the slow down and that's where the bottle neck happened at first. Secondly on the opposite side of the road where the truck has to merged from outer most lane to inner most lane getting on to GWB is also badly designed.

[@KhanJoltrane]

Correct, cross Bronx to major deegan is always terrible for trucks (and drivers). After driving in nyc for years, I can say that is one of the most challenging areas.

[@jonathanmarte4251]

Came here just to post this, as a truck driver this is correct truckers going to jersey( using the MJ Deegan ramp ) have to merge from the right lane all the way to the left(lower level)

[@ikmarchini]

He failed to mention elevation differences. The GWB is about 200 feet high and the Deegan is at sea level- that explains the go kart ramps.

[@alglis7900]

I have been driving over it for years and always thought that if the only flipped the ramps to lower and upper levels at NY side(both in and out) it will solve many of the trucking bottle neck. also if they had police on motorcycles to quickly get rid of minor accidents(always stopping when no injuries in lieu of driving to a area to wait for police or just take each side insurance info and move on). The police change is a simple thing they can implement right away at no cost and major saving.

[@bradfordjhart]

90% of congestion can be solved just by proper lane usage and signs. Having two lanes become one with no signs is 90% of the problem

[@89five3five]

We built our cities and suburbs for passengers cars instead of public transportation. If we got rid of half of those cars, it would greatly solve this issue. We need more public transportation (trains) ESPECIALLY in NJ.

[@isaacheaton1805]

I totally agree we should look to build our cities around public transport and people. But I'd disagree that we built our cities for the car we bulldozed them for the car. Ironically the cities of the future look a lot closer to the cities of the past, and most importantly don't require any new technologies, just rethinking how we should use the space

[@jeromegans2754]

😂😂😅 1:45 ❤ 1:45

[@patmcbride9853]

We built them for horses and pedestrians. Then things changed.

[@89five3five]

@@patmcbride9853 only the old cities like Boston, New York City, Parts of Brooklyn. Most of the USA is built for cars.

[@patmcbride9853]

@@89five3five LA had a great transit system. Then people started buying lots of cars after WWI and roads became crowded enough to delay the streetcars and people didn't want to pay more than 5 cents to ride. Then buses were used, but later fell out of favor too.

[@lukethompson5558]

“16 lanes into 7”.. he forgot to mention that after the bridge, that becomes just 3 lanes!

[@robertewalt7789]

Four lanes on the top, three lanes on the bottom.

[@themickymousewaffle6837]

Used to flow easier when they was still using the toll booths since it used to cause cash users to go on the right and now It feels like it’s gotten worse since they went AET

[@robvelez882]

Not so fast, immediately over the bridge is exits for the FDR and MDE the takes a good amount of traffic from I-95

[@JimTomatore]

I think you forgot that 95 (traveling from the upper level as all trucks do) actually drops down to only 2 lanes BEFORE the exits for the Major Degan (I-87). Trucks aren't allowed on the FDR. Also, NYC is so big that 87 isn't always the best route to your destination. 678 is the main corridor to JFK and 295 is THE ONLY legal route for 53' trailers to access Long Island and usually the only route that makes sense when coming from 95.

[@JimTomatore]

​@@themickymousewaffle6837I disagree. The splitting and merging from the toll booths was horrible. But the real bottleneck was never actually the toll booths and their removal makes that more apparent. The real bottleneck is the configuration between the end of the bridge/the FDR exit and the exit for 87 n/s. Exits, entrances, only 2 through lanes briefly on 95. Then there's all the local entrances/exits on the Cross Bronx that cause slow downs as traffic changes lanes, merges and backs up onto the highway while waiting for local traffic lights.

[@markallen242]

Great video, but one piece they missed is that I-95 (the busiest interstate in the country) is the main source of traffic on the GWB. A large portion of the traffic, including trucks and cars, traveling over the GWB are not going to the tri-state area, however to populated cities in Massachusetts, Maine, etc. It would be great to have more routes into lower parts of Manhattan, however, anyone who regularly drives on I-95 knows that traffic doesn't get any better after crossing the bridge.

[@Distress.]

Sounds like they need express lanes

[@Wurtyy]

@@Distress.or even a detour that doesn’t go thru the city

[@Awesome_Aasim]

@@Wurtyy Something like the Big Dig?

[@Wurtyy]

@@Awesome_Aasim that would be pretty crazy but i’m sure effective. seems like the best solution as suggested in the vid is to improve passenger rail in NYC. but if the problem is regional travelers than that’s where our regional trains come into play which are…not good as of now.

[@Awesome_Aasim]

@@Wurtyy I agree improving passenger rail is going to help. However, one issue is why are cars slowing down truck traffic? Having truck and bus only lanes actually helps alleviate congestion, since more people are going to be on the same road, just in a bus rather than a private automobile. The problem isn't that we built highways, the problem is that we never thought about segregating different types of vehicles to make best use of the road space.

[@noblehazards9713]

America’s dependence on cars will forever hold it back from true prosperity and greatness

[@kaseyc5078]

I don’t feel like getting shot on the way to work taking the subways

[@bigswings2414]

@@kaseyc5078One of the leading causes of death is car crashes. Especially for children. Come back with facts instead of fear mongering.

[@darrenncanton1836]

@@bigswings2414 It's THE leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 55.

[@dillon17]

@@kaseyc5078 The LEADING cause of death for young people is CARS... 😭😭😭😭

[@abdiganiaden]

Cars give you more freedom to not have a life stuck to spine of public transport network. How do you carry week worth of groceries anyway without car.

[@tower454545]

Stop building highways through downtown cities. Start investing in real solutions like public transport.

[@HelloWorld-hb7yt]

GWB not too bad, but 95 Bronx is the worst, right after the GWB.

[@dr.woozie7500]

Exactly. The Cross Bronx expressway is the most congested highway in the nation. It handles I-95 and the majority of truck traffic in/out New England. There are no other alternatives thru the NYC area for trucks except the Tappan Zee bridge, which is about 20 miles north.

[@coolboss999]

Which is why NYC is tryna get rid of the Cross Bronx Expresway

[@HelloWorld-hb7yt]

@@dr.woozie7500 because trucks can only go through GWB, lincoln and holland don't allow trucks.

[@kingsittystudios2400]

every highway should be triple decker, witha train in the middle, simmiliar to what they have in chicago

[@billwilliamson1506]

For so long the US found it’s solutions in more lanes and bigger lots. Then when it doesn’t work, we shrug our shoulders and say that’s that. So glad to see we are finally moving past our fixations to real solutions

[@Demopans5990]

Because the city is too broke to buy out the property needed

[@manan-543]

There is no solution to traffic congestion except viable alternatives to driving.

[@alimfuzzy]

In sydney, we built a tunnel. The result is traffic jams on both bridge and tunnel. Better public transport helped, but what really did the trick and can work any where....pandemic. 😊

[@manujadesilva22]

What do you mean by pandemic ?

[@alimfuzzy]

@@manujadesilva22 where have you been for last 3 years? I think you may have to sit down, we have some things to tell you.

[@eudofia]

​@@manujadesilva22 Lock downs. Everyone stayed home. No one driving = No congestion. A bit extreme, but it worked. Of course, things should be back to normal now.

[@danieldaniels7571]

Good call. We should totally have another pandemic and stay at home doing nothing again.

[@SJRS700]

sydney is a bad city, no one knows what they are doing the only want the gov to earn money

[@neuideas]

They definitely hit the right ideas: increasing the number of alternative routes, smoothing traffic flows, and enticing drivers to choose alternative forms of transport.

[@purpledevilr7463]

I think it’s best to remove cities. What’s the point nowadays? Many cities don’t have any manufacturing, it’s all information technology. Stuff that can be done remotely and online. You could have a dozen spread out offices across a country rather than a big building.

[@bthome123]

You mean America's worst bottleneck is a bridge? In America's largest city? Shocking. Great work WSJ.

[@smacpats6379]

And their guy's "solution" is to raise the toll. Genius. This is journalism...

[@rhino6634]

It’s funny it’s a liberal solution. But ironically it hurts the poor. Rich people dirt cars don’t care. It’s the poor pple with vehicles are now hamstrung with poor public transportation

[@oogmastaa4]

@@rhino6634 "liberal solution" is a cool way to show your ignorance lol. Theres no other way around it and improvements wont fund themselves

[@harcoom]

@@rhino6634 ridiculousness. New york is lucky it wasn’t destroyed by car infrastructure

[@TheLiamster]

Ramp meters and congestion pricing are proven solutions to improve traffic flow rather than just expanding roads with more lanes which induces demand

[@VintageToiletsRock]

Doesn't do much unless commuter and freight rail become viable alternatives.

[@mind-of-neo]

Yes let's just tax people for how many other people happen to exist. Call it the redundancy tax and it will help people to understand how worthless they are.

[@brennanconway3728]

@@VintageToiletsRock commuter rail is already a viable option in new york

[@reubenvm]

​@@mind-of-neoIf people want to choose inefficient, polluting, dangerous transportation methods it's perfectly reasonable to tax them for their poor choice.

[@JakeSDN]

The congestion pricing plan currently being implemented will put more pollution in poor areas according to the environmental studies.

[@eksbocks9438]

That's what I noticed. Traffic usually happens because of a bottleneck. In my city, rush hour is bad. Because people from 3 different places are having to go through one traffic light. In order to get to the other side of town. On a normal day, it's not so bad. But when a lot of people are picking up their kids or leaving work. It's unbelievable.

[@miles5600]

And because they all use a private motor vehicle (a car) which takes up a lot of space, good busses, cycling infrastructure, and metro/streetcar infrastructure can fix this. Cars can’t

[@andrepoiy1199]

Is it Pittsburgh?

[@ikanmesra]

@@miles5600 That's why I'll buy a van, so my family don't need a car to mix the family members.

[@miles5600]

@@ikanmesra that’s a really good solution. We have that here in The Netherlands too and it works great, however when the other kids are at school you can also use the cargo bike to get groceries or take someone with you on a ride, you see a lot more on a bike than in a car too. Sadly infrastructure in the US is begging people to take the car instead of literally anything else, but hopefully this’ll change in the future. Glad i moved to The Netherlands (not just for that stuff)

[@ikanmesra]

@@miles5600 Buses in US are designed for people who can't afford cars. And even how poor they're, they'll just buy cars anyways.

[@victoriamcclure266]

A tunnel going from Jersey city to Brooklyn would also take congestion out of lower Manhattan. There is major demand for a route to get to and from the Newark airport without having to drive through the city. I think it’s one of the biggest problem with the congestion pricing.

[@lvjungle2840]

I think they should go ask Japanese about train. Having better efficient rain system will off load those traffic and bring more speed

[@JakeSDN]

We would but they would tell us, many of their rail lines are over capacity passenger wise, and that they transport over 90% of their goods on trucks just like NYC. Also did you know Japanese rail ridership is down?

[@_ryanc]

⁠@@JakeSDNso rail is so much more efficient that it’ll be over capacity? Sign me up

[@Fools_Requiem]

​@_ryanc Rail capacity is high in Japan because owning a car is often prohibitively expensive for many Japanese. People don't get paid nearly enough to own a car. They also can hardly afford the apartments they live in despite working ridiculous hours.

[@JakeSDN]

@@Fools_Requiem Europe has similar pricing on vehicles. In Japan and Europe the bigger the engine or classification(luxury) the more you pay in taxes and insurance. Europe average gasoline/petro is when everything is good is $5.00 a gallon. It is just generally more expensive to own and operate a vehicle in those countries vs the United States of America.

[@Fools_Requiem]

@JakeSDN I'm not talking about taxes and what not. K Cars allow people in Japan to get around those taxes. The problem is low income and long hours.

[@SeverityOne]

Here's another one: charge employers who demand that their workers come into the office, even if they could easily work from home. Not every job can be done from home, obviously, but too often employers essentially don't trust their staff. I work from home 60% of the time, in one of the most densely populated (and congested) countries on earth. The only "traffic" I get on those days is a couple of cats.

[@franklinauguste415]

Traffic engineers i can fix this New york traffic says hold my beer .😂

[@freeplax17]

And it only gets worse once NYC puts its congestion pricing through and more people use the bridge SMH

[@DonovanHunt-o6v]

The problem is trying to send everybody by car. Cars are the problem car centric infrastructure.

[@theothqueenofengland]

I’d assign this guy this: drive from 95 (RI, CT, NY) into Jersey on this bridge, in both directions, for a month. More public transit is not the answer. None of there higher charges on the middle class will change a darn thing. Getting off the GW bridge is super confusing. Problem number one. Adding another bridge that will connect to 95 North and have no access to manhattan would help immensely.

[@MsEvilgenius101]

I live around here. It’s bizarre the amount of traffic that happens on a daily basis and how ineffective, expensive and time consuming it is to cross that bridge. The George Washington Bridge had a carpool option where you can transport three passengers total for the amount of seven dollars give or take. They took that out now. Everybody has to pay $17 to cross that ineffective bridge because they’re so greedy. 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@markpippin3891]

Raise it to $100 and the congestion goes away. The actual solution is morons leaving NYC. This helps that as well.

[@internetandrew]

the solution is fixing our car addiction

[@0liverLloyd]

Great video, thank you for the consistent content 👍

[@joeyvalentino7]

I find traffic engineering so interesting. I never understood why school never taught a basic course of transportation engineering in school. I can’t imagine how many talented people there are out there who could make life easier for all of us, but never thought to study thus.

[@Dancing_Alone_wRentals]

You know....for as many things that have been suggested ....Your idea should go towards the top of the list. Over the years we hear how economics should be taught in school, even a return to cooking etc.....Exploring traffic would open the eyes of middle schoolers to many issues they will encounter in life.

[@voetbal12]

"We want to get people out of cars and on to public transit... so we're gonna charge them more". That's negative extrinsic motivation, literally rhe worst kind. Sure would be better if you just made the option more appealing.

[@XecuttioneR]

Congestion pricing is such a weird way to do this. It already costs $15 per crossing into NY, and now people will have to pay an additional toll for getting into midtown manhattan. Seems like greed more than “this is the only way”

[@crypto_que]

I rode my motorcycle across the GWB in 2016. The “paved” surface nearly shook my bike apart. While that was happening my motorcycle cover was being shaken out from under the seat cowl/cover… I had to hold it with my left hand & the throttle with the right. That’s when I noticed that there were spots you could literally see through on the lower level. The GWB was the scariest bridge once you noticed it was falling apart every day. The Whitestone wasn’t much better. Driving over sketchy American Infrastructure by motorcycle really opened my eyes to how bad our roads & bridges are here.

[@jeffghant4760]

I travel through these bridges often. Even overnight, they close lanes for road work and you'll be bumper to bumper at 2am. There's no hope.

[@mattjones2303]

As a Cities: Skylines player, his suggestion of a cloverleaf is worrying for his qualificiations

[@paulzrimsek9013]

As a regular victim of the I-93/95 cloverleaf north of Boston, I agree.

[@ideatsand]

I think the point of mentioning a Cloverleaf is to offer a solution that would commonly come up when talking to an uneducated crowd And mention how it doesn’t work.

[@bruhmoment2381]

Haha yeah I think he’s just proposing one of many solutions that are brought up, like mentioned in the thread already

[@mattjones2303]

@@ideatsand I'd agree, but the only con he states is it's size, not anything to do with it's actual traffic managment ability (or lack thereof).

[@santitobendito]

all this video said was that the people who are experts with degrees in these problems, proposed an answer that didn't make sense and was too expensive, and then the rest of the video saying every other plan the government wants is too expensive and falls on us

[@TomisaLami]

Trains???? Who woulda ever thought trains are like an efficient and easy cost-effective and easily maintainable way to solve every single traffic problem just about?

[@eddiew2325]

i gotta be honest with you. we dont need stupid trains we need another lane

[@TomisaLami]

@@eddiew2325 OK what about a train lane?

[@robotx9285]

​@eddiew2325 We've adding lanes forever half a century, destroying countless neighborhoods, towns, city centers, and suburbs and traffic is still messed up. The iusse is cars simply do not hold the capacity to handle traffic alone, they take up massive amounts of space while only seating one or two people the majority of the time. Buses and Trains are the answer as the former can handle afew hundred in each vehicle, while the latter could handle over 3,500 people per set with in high capacity configurations. Literally thousands more people when those services are ran at highh frequency.

[@Sauce_E9]

@@eddiew2325 just one more lane bro I swear it'll work this time

[@stephenc2296]

Maybe there is an alternate universe that I drive on. The traffic comes from being on a bridge and not being able to get off because local traffic is at a stop. So they need to focus on a local road and not the bridges.

[@einsteinisbae27]

dont think this guy really did much other than restate ideas that have been in the works for years.

[@plane7453]

Soon as I saw the title I thought of the George Washington Bridge. I used to drive from Montreal to deliver stuff in New York. The bridge was always stressful cuz I didn't have an E-ZPass. I think it would have been my second or third trip with a full-size cube van and when I cleared the rock Cliffs on the Jersey side the wind shear grabbed the truck, I think it was the closest I came to Wrecking on the 25 or 30 trips I did. I was always happy to get back over that bridge after that!

[@bftjoe]

You drove for work and lacked basic equipment?

[@semipenguin]

I remember crossing the GWB on the lower level when I first started driving a truck. I think after 9/11, they made it mandatory for all commercial vehicles to cross on the upper level. Since I got my CDL and became a truck driver (25 years ago this month), I’ve gotten to cross a lot of bridges and highways all over this country. Some bridges are cars and buses only, like the Golden Gate Bridge. Others are scary AF, like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, US 13 in Virginia. Last time I crossed it was about eight years ago, and they I was one of the last trucks to cross that day, before they closed it to high profile vehicles, because of the wind. The only bridge or highway that I haven’t gotten to cross is the Mackinaw Bridge, from the UP to Lower Michigan. They close that to high profile vehicles sometimes, too.

[@bensonr2]

trucks have always been required to take the upper level.

[@exchaoordo]

"and because there's no rail, all of that freight has to come by truck." That's the story in a nutshell but it's passed over as an aside.

[@happily_blue]

Wow, never realized that there was no freight rail coming into Brooklyn and Queens. Really eye opening. I wonder what the GWB would look like with that much fewer trucks going through.

[@jitagan]

Prosecute price gouging landlords in NYC so people can afford to live there, reducing commuter traffic. Confiscate properties that sit unused for extended periods of time, creating false scarcity which increases rent. Yeah, these aren't very American ideas, so they would never be enacted.

[@bigswings2414]

The only thing that will "fix traffic" is good public transportation and active transport. It's not complicated.

[@JakeSDN]

It is complicated, that bridge and road (i-95) goes into the North East United States into Canada, it doesn’t just stop in NYC.

[@stephanjones3239]

Been dealing with this for years while driving I-80 E through to CT. If coming in from PA I think a lot of people have learned that you check the traffic conditions on the GW while on I-80 in Hazelton PA. If it's bad, you take I-81/I-84 around NYC into CT. Otherwise your second "out" is I-287 in Parsippany up to the Tappan Zee Bridge. I like that NJ has divided the roads into Express and Local Lanes. I think this would help GWB and the Cross Bronx also. Backups are created by the exits in Manhattan. Providing express lanes thru Manhattan with no exits would speed up a lot of thru traffic. Possibly make the Lower Deck Express Only and the Upper Deck Local Only. Easy to say, but I think it's worth some study.

[@chrise7180]

Solution: get single-passenger vehicles off the road. The road infrastructure going across to Manhattan should be used for freight or busses.

[@ikmarchini]

Correct. And most of cars are going to Manhattan while the trucks are passing thru.

[@JakeSDN]

@@ikmarchiniYou think the majority of the traffic on i-95 is going to Manhattan? How would one get to Canada or any state in between NY and Canada from Florida?

[@doh-nc8ku]

Lol nice try

[@justincovert6943]

I live on Long Island. How should I get anywhere in PA, Northern NJ, basically anywhere west

[@gatolibero8329]

@chrise7180 work for Amazon?

[@nosaj3856]

I lived in Edgewater, NJ, and had a business in North of NYC. The cost of the tolls on the GWB and the traffic are insane. Getting onto and over the bridge can easily be an hour or more if you go between 7 and 930am or 4 to 7pm. Forget about Fridays during the summer. Hours...

[@HumberStudent]

Great idea! Charge citizens more money because the government/state does not have any to build new infrastructure! Not believing another lie, plenty of money being spent overseas instead of making this the greatest nation in the world, starting with our cities! Trenton, NJ📍

[@LaLaGrunge]

Highway Robbery, that's what this is! You're going to charge taxpayers to use roads that they paid for, maintain, and, in effect, own? Need money? Prosecute fare beaters. That'll make you some big money. Also, build garages near Manhattan's entrances so people entering Manhattan by car can park, pay a fee, then catch trains or buses to their ultimate destinations thereby lessening traffic and making the State some money.

[@warweasel2832]

I agree the congestion pricing is a bad idea, but chasing down fair beaters would actually lose us more money. Spend 20 dollars in cop overtime for every 50 cents in fares and fines recovered.

[@mahadevovnl]

I think zeppelins are where it's at. They can carry immense loads, especially with helicopter rotors assisting with lift, and if given a wing-shape their movement will also create lift.

[@jan-lukas]

And think of the flying cars! They will definitely not create bottlenecks in the airspace too!

[@mahadevovnl]

@@jan-lukas Flying cars should be launched with catapults and caught by anti-catapults, obviously. If Elon can land rockets, surely we can catch cars.

[@bradonvelueta7117]

WOOHOOO! This guy is my hero!! He is exactly what the highway's need to reduce congestion!

[@klapiroska4714]

Most of the traffic seems to be personal vehicles, so here's a simple, cost effective and easy solution that could be implemented within a year or so: Convert one of the existing lanes in each direction to a bus lane. Add multiple bus lines connecting places where people want to go, and make sure that each line has service at least every 10 or 15 minutes. Ideally you'd have at least 30 busses using the bus lane on the bridge for each direction. All you need is busses, bus drivers, paint and little bit of law enforcement to keep drivers out of the bus lane.

[@SJRS700]

thats not a solution kid, no sane hard working man would travel in a BUS. Its not dummy europe, everyone just runs away from the problem, the solution is to Upgrade the Decades old infrastructure

[@helge2696]

@@SJRS700 Toronto has a great bus rapid transit network with plenty of riders and it's also not "dummy" europe

[@smacpats6379]

Yeah we already tried that on the Lincoln tunnel 5 miles south of the GWB and it hasn't done anything.

[@melunz8138]

@@SJRS700Clearly you’re not from NYC. Everyone takes the bus. Rich or poor, and especially the hardworking.

[@miles5600]

⁠@@SJRS700and what is that supposed to mean? “upgrade”

[@christansdad]

I almost always entered and exited New York City via the George Washington Bridge. It is the fastest, easiest, and most cost effective route to and through New York City when coming from Virginia and points south. I-81 to I-78 to NYC. The problem is more for truckers, not cars. Trucks can only cross the bridge on certain levels. Passenger cars can cross on all levels.

[@kenostrovsky1825]

Just keep increasing the tolls for private cars until the traffic subsides.

[@RantRantJoe]

Let's just increase the taxes on all Americans so they can build and improve the infrastructure..

[@michaeldouglas5096]

Yea

[@drewclark2928]

So Rich people get to drive while average people only can afford the train.

[@Johnrl21]

@@drewclark2928I see we understand each other

[@dpg227]

@@drewclark2928 Base the toll on income or price of vehicle.

[@eLNeneM360]

can that bridge support another level underneath the lower level ? seems high enough for that. Now, the keyword here is ''supporting or handling'' that

[@KartKing4ever]

After playing Cities Skylines for a few years now, I can't believe how absolutely terrible real life road systems can be.

[@YouMakeItHappen]

TLDW: George Washington Bridge commuters will never not be screwed

[@Cosmic_Hobo]

The real answer is to build public transit and freight rail. The other solutions are just useless.

[@joebidenofficialpotus]

Don't forget ships, multimodal transport is good

[@beckpack2400]

People think trucks and cars go only to NYC forgetting that Long Island has another 3m+ people between Nassau and Suffolk counties. One more way to ease congestion is build the bridge/tunnel or both in Long Island Sound, so trucks and cars that go to LI don't go thru NYC

[@rpvitiello]

The answer is what no one wants to hear. There is no cheap easy fix. Simply put, NYC needs more infrastructure. It has gotten too big for existing transportation infrastructure and needs more investment to expand it.

[@smacpats6379]

The entire US needs more infrastructure but it costs somewhere between a trillion and a quadrillion dollars to do anything now.

[@robvelez882]

Public transport and the like are not good solutions for people who come and go from places further than the immediate area. I do not want to take mass transit every holiday to travel from south Jersey to central CT. It will take much longer and will cost a lot more in train/bus tickets for the family and then for a rental car at the destination.

[@elsociord7553]

As a Uber drivers in NYC this is the worst bridge to cross it! The George Washington Bridge

[@russelloppenheimer3970]

How many of those cars, and trucks, on that bridge aren't trying to get to or from NYC or any destination in NY State at all? There aren't enough ways to travel along East Coast roadways without heading directly towards each major city. So traffic passing through has to mix with traffic heading to, or from, major city.

[@MegaLokopo]

And as always trains are the solution.

[@ikanmesra]

We need private trains!!

[@MegaLokopo]

@@ikanmesra Those already exist, not everywhere though.

[@ikanmesra]

@@MegaLokopo I meant personal trains.

[@MegaLokopo]

@@ikanmesra you could have those as well, yhey just dont exist yet.

[@ikanmesra]

@@MegaLokopo PRT (Personal Rapid Transit). Goood idea though, but create traffic jams just like cars do.

[@OPFOR-SQUAD]

Its so bad if you live in the area youve to check the bridge traffic even if youre going nowhere near the bridge. Source: I just moved out of that area and traffic was a factor on the decision. And the two tunnels also back up terribly. If you must drive into the city. Take the lincoln and avoid peak hours.

[@CoyoteGuru]

The only real solution to traffic is remove cars from the road by providing other options.

[@themickymousewaffle6837]

I mean there is good options but we just like being in the privacy of our car. Plus I 95 is like the busiest interstate in America and a lot of that traffic could be heading up to Boston

[@cncaliguy09]

Easy, build another bridge further north with public transportation, rentable biking and walks ways.

[@maciejz7892]

US: We are adding more lanes to increase the number of cars on our road network Europe: We are building rail infrastructure so that we do not have to add new lanes to existing roads. US: Wait. What?

[@mihastih]

To get rid of cars you need good public transport. To get rid of the trucks you need a tunnel from New Jersy to Brooklyn under Manhattan that will have only one underground EXIT (no enterance) to manhattan while continuing further to Brooklyn. The trucks going accross will avoid manhattan, while trucks entering manhattan will not use so many space at bridges so there will be more for cars. And no enterace to tunnel in manhattan because exiting manhattan isn’t as big as an issue as entering it

[@QemeH]

"And because there is no rail, all of these goods have to come in via truck." aaaaaaand.... that's your problem.

[@themickymousewaffle6837]

No no there is. It’s just overcapacity already

[@tmmsplace]

One option, not discussed anywhere but with immediate impact, is build a truck only route in-between the cars lanes on Palisades thereby bringing North bound traffic to the Mario Cuomo Bridge. Much of those truckers aren't stopping in NYC but going to CT and beyond. If they're coming from Port Newark/Elizabeth, this extension "295" is a good solution to congestion in the Bronx

[@davidmatten8519]

There's a reason that the Palisades is called a Parkway. Besides overpasses that aren't tall enough for trucks (like the Northern and Southern State on LI), the roadbed itself likely isn't built to Interstate weight capacity standards. There's a lot more to a roadway that the asphalt on top. 287 connects the way it does for a reason, but I guess the trucks still prefer 95 for some warped reason. Maybe not as much is headed to Boston and beyond as one would think.

[@Maxime_K-G]

Just one more lane bro, I promise

[@ikanmesra]

Until we paved the oceans. How great!

[@VARMOT123]

Cringe meme

[@CTrail1711]

It's easy to fix. Hudson River tunnels and expansion of NJT Rail.

[@schnitzjr]

If you travel south on 87 mobile gps will 9 times out of 10 navigate you TOWARDS the GWB, particularly if your destination includes trips over the Throgs Neck or Whitestone Bridges. I think there is more to this story than "Congestion" when traffic is being directed towards the problem and not towards a potential solution.

[@johnnysecular]

gps does this because it is still the quickest way to destination; which is a testament to how much of an efficient beast the GWB really is. which route is quicker?

[@schnitzjr]

@@johnnysecular um, no. 87 to the Tappan Zee to 4 solid choices to points south and east. There is an agenda as to why gps sends you to the gwb to sit in standstill traffic and it isn't efficiency.

[@johnnysecular]

@@schnitzjr mm maybe. what is the agenda?

[@SirHeinzbond]

the problem was pointed out 3:11, there is no rail... a good traffic solution would not be build more lines, bridges or tunnels alone for one mode... the mixture makes the difference, the people that could choose between train, bus or car and all other possibilities might choose the best solution for their needs and will reduce overall traffic... i do not t´need a transportation engineer to see the fundamental truth about human psyche and grand scale...have the opportunities they are available and reasonable and a part of the people stuck in traffic jams will choose a different mode...

[@KSmit490]

It seems that many traffic bottlenecks are caused by the expectation that single occupant private vehicles can go on any road anywhere at any time. Imagine the GWB or any other congested highway with only trucks, buses, vans and emergency vehicles at peak times-much of the congestion is gone. That is the beauty of congestion pricing. Test this the next time you are stuck in traffic. Look around and see how many single occupant cars are around you. (I usually get 8 or 9 out of 10). Now imagine that same stretch of road at the same time with only trucks, buses and vans.

[@miltoncanada7469]

The roadways are bottleneck into three not seven. Live from the BX

[@raulingaverage]

Transit and ebikes are the best solutions. Transportation 101

[@rhino6634]

No one is taking an e-bike over the GW. The noise and pollution is horrible. Not to mention you will probably get mugged in the Bronx

[@ikanmesra]

But no license plate. I love number plates more than the vehicle itself!!!

[@rikbillz543]

Transportation expert saying the only way to minimize congestion is by not driving sounds like a lazy solution to me

[@Bfould3120]

WSJ great video with a real topic expert. Now get the politicians to listen experts when allocating funds rather than donors and the uniformed public.

[@WhatsUpGazpacho]

1:43 that Roundabout looks more like a Traffic Circle. The vehicles aren't constantly moving. Looks like there are traffic lights

[@doh-nc8ku]

True we can see it on the west side

[@ZeusAVI]

Easy solution. Just build a train, bike lanes, and extra sidewalks. We don’t need trucks. When trucks come into NYC from the rest of the country they can just transfer everything to bikes, buses and such and people on bikes can deliver the goods. I’m sure this new freight bottleneck won’t impact the supply chain in NYC and maybe we can add a delivery tax to pay the walkers and bikers delivering goods. Our store shelves will still be stocked. Then add more public transit as well. All 5 boroughs and Long Island should be covered with subway lines. To pay for the construction and additional police presence to make it safe just raise the taxes. I’m sure the people of NYC aren’t taxed high enough as it is. Then if people don’t want to use the transit just spend another billion to make it better. Eventually they will change their mind. That’s all it takes bro. We don’t need engineers like this guy I figured it out. Just one more billion bro. Just get it done bro.

[@JakeSDN]

How do you transfer washing machines to bikes?

[@chauhannishith]

​@@JakeSDNeurope has transportation bikes. Give it a search

[@JakeSDN]

@@chauhannishith I tried, and all that came up is information on transporting your bicycle via trains. Can you point me to maybe a website that provides the service?

[@chauhannishith]

@@JakeSDN sorry they are called cargo bikes. They are used for transportation of goods

[@JakeSDN]

@@chauhannishith Unfortunately, those cargo bikes would create more problems than what they will solve. Over 300,000 vehicles go over the bridge each day. Many are going into more northern states and Canada. The NYC metro area is home to over 20 million people, and has many more high rises than europe. NYC has 1851 schools, many of which need to use school buses. Those bikes can work for Europe because they have a lower density. Then there is an entire bike storage problem that would be created.

[@SpruceOaks]

In fewer words - this guys has no idea how to reduce the bottleneck. None of the stated “solutions” address travel on the GW. Of course, he never considers the most obvious answer - another traffic bridge near the GW. Yes, it’s expensive, but not more expensive than a rail tunnel or any of the transit projects discussed.

[@Razagul319]

Pricing and fees while work only target people without money and is unfair. Instead let's just make a Lazer guided missile system that shoots and obliterates a vehicle at random. this will thin out the traffic very fast and also keep things fair.

[@mardiffv.8775]

😄I love it.

[@London755]

Probably worth mentioning the major grade changes from the GWB down to the Henry Hudson and Harlem river drive.

[@oziqpl]

JUST ONE MORE LANE BRO I SWEAR WE WILL FIX TRAFFIC THIS TIME

[@adamosman2142]

Get this man on everything now.

[@poluticon]

why? He's not saying anything new or revolutionary

[@edwardmiessner6502]

He didn't talk about using lane mathematics to alleviate the Jerseyside choke point before the GWB, that would alleviate northbound congestion, a lot.

[@SlowDriver2024]

So the solution to minimize traffic jams, is to force people into mass transits instead of expanding roadways and infrastructure. smh.........

[@yolo_burrito]

Wasn’t most of Manhattan Freight Rail served last century?

[@obifox6356]

Yes. But trucks proved to be faster and more efficient. And still are.

[@davidcarias4407]

90% of goods coming into NYC via truck is just stupid