Newswise — ITHACA, N.Y. – If you’re speeding to Grandma’s house this Thanksgiving, there may be ways to avoid the Great American traffic crawl. Whether it is weather affecting airline schedules, or climbing all aboard Amtrak, or finding Interstate corridors clogged with SUVs, Americans are forced to endure the annual nightmare of holiday travel.
Cornell faculty members Mark E. Lewis and Francis Vanek of Cornell’s College of Engineering, and Michael Manville of Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning, are experts on varying aspects of traffic and traveling. They offer insight and solutions:
Mark E. Lewis, professor of engineering, Cornell’s School of Operations and Information Engineering, studies applied probability, queuing network design and analysis and supply chain management. In 2008 and 2010, he and several Master’s of Engineering graduate students conducted research on the time required to evacuate U.S. cities during emergencies.
Lewis says:
“Holiday traffic always presents the likelihood of bottlenecks. Automobile drivers – going in the same direction – are trying to fit into a finite space that is not designed for heavy volume. It sounds obvious, but to avoid bottlenecks, do not travel at peak times and carpool when possible. If getting home faster and with lower stress is not enough incentive for you, keeping as few cars on the road during holiday peak driving time reduces our carbon footprint as well. So from a social standpoint, you will be helping the environment.”. . . . .
Michael Manville, Cornell assistant professor of City and Regional planning, studies land use and transportation policy. He advises local, state and federal officials about transportation policy, and has consulted with both developers and environmental organizations. He will be teaching “Traffic Congestion: Policies and Politics” at Cornell for Spring 2012.
Manville says:
“Holidays are a magnified version of what happens every morning – lots of people want to use the road, but now people going to and from work are joined by many people heading in and out of town. Holiday traffic is compounded because the holidays can be a stressful time, and because drivers are more likely to have been drinking. These factors can increase accidents, and accidents increase congestion. It’s a perfect-storm.
“If you travel on the roads for the holidays, try to travel at off-hours. If you can drive in the middle of the night, then that can save your sanity. Drivers like to keep moving: we mentally perceive time spent waiting very differently than time spent in motion. So if the interstate is jammed take a country highway - but don’t get lost! A longer route might take a longer time, but save you a lot of mental health.
“Above all, remember to stay calm. Congestion happens every year and it is always frustrating. Offer your kids games they can play, listen to books on CD and focus on music that you love.”. . . . .
Francis Vanek, Cornell lecturer in engineering, teaches and conducts research in energy efficiency, alternative energy and energy for transportation. He is lead author of the full-length textbook and technical reference “Energy Systems Engineering: Evaluation and Implementation,” published in 2008 by McGraw-Hill.
Vanek says:
“The United States suffers from chronic congestion of our intercity passenger transportation system, which is especially apparent at times of peak travel such as national holidays. There is limited space or publicly available funding to expand highways or airports to accommodate additional demand. And expanded highways often encourage excessive driving, so that the system returns to a congested state, with even more total vehicles on the road.
“Our transportation system in the U.S. is almost entirely dependent on petroleum products as an energy source, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. These fuels contribute to climate change and also make us vulnerable to spikes in the world price per barrel for oil.
“At the same time, our passenger rail system carries just a fraction of its former load. Especially at medium distances, like 200 to 1,000 miles, investments in high-speed rail in key corridors such as in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, and Mid-South, could alleviate transportation woes.”
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