Source : The Straits Times, Forum, Sep 5, 2007
DESPITE the Government's repeated calls for Singaporeans to be more creative, the latest moves to raise electronic road pricing (ERP) rates to ease vehicular traffic overloads confirm our lack of creative juices if not a reluctance to be creative.
Sure, raising ERP levies may keep motorists out of the traffic gridlock perhaps for a while, but is this the only way out? Obviously not, because if so why have regular increases in ERP charges not been effective?
One reason why the three main expressways - Central Expressway, Pan-Island Expressway and East Coast Parkway - are always jammed during morning and evening peak hours, is that they are the main arteries to and from the major heartlands where more than half the population lives.
Given that congestion peaks for city-bound traffic during morning peak hours, and vice versa for the heartlands in the evening, it is the motorist who travels in the opposite direction who enjoys free flow on the road. This is where the Land Transport Authority could take a leaf on peak traffic management from Melbourne, which already had 'real-time' information on bus schedules at bus stops there long before we launched ours recently.
In the Melbourne central business district, I have found many city highways temporarily closed during morning and evening peak hours for use by traffic travelling in the opposite direction so as to smoothen traffic flow. Even as a non resident, I have no difficulty driving as there are ample overhead signs to advise motorists.
The Melbourne example could be considered along our expressways, with a lane or two which could be redirected to ease traffic congestion in the opposite direction during peak hours. Given our well-designed roads, I believe this can be done without raising levies further.
This would certainly be optimum use of our roads, especially those in the opposite direction which would otherwise be relatively unused.
Paul Wee Kian Nghee
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