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[xenophobe]

So I commute to work. Not just me actually, I carpool with my brother and Sarah. It's not a particularly long commute.. or at least not in geographical distance. Going an average speed of maybe somewhere between 65 and 70, and assuming normal-ideal traffic conditions, it would take us maybe 35 minutes to get to work. Not bad right

Comments

So much...

[zurvan2]

First of all, welcome to "old". :)

You say the traffic is caused by the inability to handle the cars, but generally, it's the opposite. People choose to live and work where they do *because* there's this huge road in between them, not in spite of it. There's a bit out there about this, including specifically that the big dig has had the opposite of the intended effect for many drivers... the traffic didn't go away, it just moved. freakonomics frequently refers to traffic and how it relates to economics and incentives.

There is major work being done on nearly every inch of the commute from that point north... 128. Practically (literally?) every bridge along there is being rebuilt. Some of this is nearing completion, and might actually improve things. They've been working on that 95/93 split for a long time, and I think there are still more major changes going in there... but I don't know what it'll look like. We decided to move somewhere that *didn't* involve that intersection every day.

Re: So much...

[xenophobe]

mm, i understand that a road never really "causes" traffic, i guess i was just speaking to the roads ability to facilitate the the volume of cars it receives daily. And, without really ever knowing too much about the big dig, I can understand that result

Re: So much...

[zurvan2]

http://www.google.com/search?q=+site:freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com+freakonomics+traffic

[poziomka]

Newton is a black hole of bitter trophy wives.

[xenophobe]

lol, yes, yes it is.

[number18]

What I wish Massachusetts had more of, when I was living there, was a public transit system that extended into the suburbs. The state struck me as so small. My actual distance from Boston (40 minute drive), versus the time it took to travel there via regional rail (1.5 hours) was absurd to me.

Anyway, I notice the same things about drivers on roads here, as a cyclist... although slightly different due to the nature of city driving. The bottleneck thing sounds absolutely infuriating, and I would make it a point everyday to have something funny to focus on while being stuff in obnoxious traffic...

The thing about wanting to speed up simply because you're in front is too fucking true. There's a lot of one-way, two-lane streets in Center City, and the right is designated for cyclists and buses (another story). Often time I ride in the center of the right lane in heavy traffic, because it moves at such a slow pace that my 15-mile-an-hour ass doesn't screw with the flow. Still, people get furious that I'm in their way, even though they

[xenophobe]

Yeah bicycle training might not be a bad idea...

And yeah, for a major US city, the public transit system is a little lacking. If you're talking about the "greater boston area" it's not so bad, but anything outside of Route 128 (which essentially forms a ring around the city and surrounding area) and it gets a little tougher.

I really think the most important factor in safe driving (and i think this would apply to biking too) is anticipation. People seem to think that if they're tailing someone at 75 mph, and something goes wrong, that they'll actually have time to react, which is ludicrous. Being aware of your surroundings, and sensitive to what could happen is critically important.

FOAFing

[discreet_chaos]

It isn't cheap, but there is a commuter rail line that starts in Franklin and runs through Walpole.

Re: FOAFing

[xenophobe]

mm, i'm aware of the commuter line, I used it when I worked in the city proper (and you're right, it's not cheap). It can be handy from time to time, especially when you share a car with 2 other people...