New plan unveiled to reduce traffic congestion
As congestion continues to persist across Australia, a major new report by think tank Grattan Institute has flagged ‘skinny lanes’ as one of the possible solutions.
According to the report, the narrow lanes would reduce congestion and improve driving safety.
Under the plan, the standard Australian lane width of 3.5 metre could be reduced by up to 14 per cent to accommodate more cars without taking up more road space.
The report argued that skinny lanes could be safer for the motorists sharing the road.
“Larger cars cause more congestion than smaller cars. They not only occupy more space, but also induce other drivers to slow down, partly because they impede the sight lines of those in smaller cars, and partly because those in smaller vehicles know that they are likely to come off worse in any collision,” the report read.
The plan would also encourage more Australians to opt for smaller cars, the report said.
“Australians have increasingly chosen bigger vehicles, as their price has come down and our incomes have gone up,” the report said.
It noted that the ‘reference’ car width used by Austroads is 1.9 metres, corresponding to large vehicles such as a Holden Commodore or a Jeep Cherokee. In comparison, the cars in Europe and Asia are “substantially smaller”, with Japan seeing the rising popularity of 1.48-metre wide ‘kei’ cars.
“Drivers who choose a smaller car would have the advantage of a safer, less crowded lane. Over time, more drivers would choose to buy smaller, less-congesting cars.”
The National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) said the think tank’s proposal was “pretty alarming”, with spokesperson Peter Khoury questioning the plan’s feasibility in Australia.
“I don't think this idea will get much traction. It won’t really solve the congestion problem,” Khoury told news.com.au.
“You can’t narrow the lanes of say the Sydney Harbour Bridge, for instance, because there are already concerns about trucks, cars and buses sharing the road safely.”
Khoury said Australian drivers are unlikely to follow other countries’ lead in shifting to smaller vehicles due to different circumstances.
“You can’t compare Australia to Sweden or Japan. Australians buy cars for very different reasons from people overseas. We have fewer public transport options, so the family car is not just something to drive the kids to school in, it has to do everything.”
Apart from road alteration, the think tank also suggested introducing a congestion charge into the CBDs of Australia’s capital cities during peak hours to ease heavy traffic.
While the report did not specify a price, Grattan’s transport and cities program director Marion Terrill said the charge should be similar to the cost of taking public transport.
“Our plan tackles congestion without asking communities to pay billions of dollars for major new roads,” said Terrill.
“New York, London, Beijing, Singapore, Stockholm, Milan, and Jakarta all have congestion charging or are heading that way. It’s time for Australian cities to embrace the idea.”