Sydney Traffic

[Halcyon]

So, I just spent the last 2 hours travelling the 55 kilometres from Sydney City to home. How the hell is it possible that a "world class" city such as Sydney is lacking basic road infrastructure in that I didn't even hit an average speed of 30KM/hr! It's not just today, but it's the same every single weekday morning and evening. Honestly, whoever thought it was a brilliant idea to make a tunnel on a major freeway in and out of the Sydney CBD just 2 lanes needs to be shot.

In case you were wondering, there was no breakdown, no accident, nothing at all. If there had been, Sydney and the surrounding area within a 30KM radius comes to a grinding halt.

Absolute insanity!

[zapta]

Highways are like hard drives,  any free capacity get filled up over time.

[Maxlor]

If I were to leave the office between 17:00 and 18:00, it'd take me roughly an hour by car to travel the 3km to where the highway begins. And it's the same almost every day.

Traffic in Sydney is a lot better than in most other cities in the world!

[Halcyon]

If I were to leave the office between 17:00 and 18:00, it'd take me roughly an hour by car to travel the 3km to where the highway begins. And it's the same almost every day.

Traffic in Sydney is a lot better than in most other cities in the world!

I honestly don't know how to respond to that. I don't know which is more crazy; "it'd take me roughly an hour by car to travel the 3km" or "Traffic in Sydney is a lot better than in most other cities in the world".

[EEVblog]

Welcome to Sydney 

Guess why I decided to get a lab within walking distance from home.

[Halcyon]

Welcome to Sydney 

Guess why I decided to get a lab within walking distance from home.

This is why I'm moving to the Blue Mountains very very soon! I also have the opportunity to work walking distance from home. I won't know what to do with all my spare time!

[aargee]

Don't worry something will come up to fill the available capacity (time) 

I work from home now and it's surprising (or not) the low tolerance I now have for traffic. I go to the office once a week for my sanity's sake.

[nctnico]

If I were to leave the office between 17:00 and 18:00, it'd take me roughly an hour by car to travel the 3km to where the highway begins. And it's the same almost every day.

Let me guess: you work in Geneve? That is about the worst city to drive in due to the traffic light going green for 3 seconds and then staying red for 5 minutes. The traffic just doesn't move. Even cities like Paris or Jakarta (Indonesia) are better!

[Gribo]

30km/h for rush hour traffic in a western is reasonable. The question is, do you have alternative method, such as buses or trains?

[EEVblog]

I also have the opportunity to work walking distance from home. I won't know what to do with all my spare time!

You'll just piss it away like I do 

[Towger]

Dublin Corporation bought the traffic management software you guys wrote for Sydney. I can see first hand that it does not work.

[coppice]

30km/h for rush hour traffic in a western is reasonable. The question is, do you have alternative method, such as buses or trains?

I think most 30km commutes mix some fast roads in the middle of the journey with some slow access roads at the beginning and end. Averaged over the whole journey, 30km/h seems about what you would expect for fairly clear roads, with just a bunch of traffic lights causing you to stop and wait a few times. Of course, a journey which starts and ends really close to the fast roads should have a higher average speed, but few are fortunate enough to have such a journey.

[SL4P]

Dublin Corporation bought the traffic management software you guys wrote for Sydney. I can see first hand that it does not work.

SCATS was a great platform, and a leader when it was first developed in the 70s.  While it has evolved, it is still based on the same principles as most traffic management systems...  measuring traffic flow on the inbound side of the junction (i.e. where it's come from), rather detected in the outbound side (where it's going to) .
This can only have one effect - that the traffic flow algorithms are one step *behind* the actual traffic flow... with all the the accompanying consequences!

[Maxlor]

Let me guess: you work in Geneve? That is about the worst city to drive in due to the traffic light going green for 3 seconds and then staying red for 5 minutes. The traffic just doesn't move. Even cities like Paris or Jakarta (Indonesia) are better!

Zurich actually. And because of the above, I very rarely use the car. I have some options: public transport, which works quite well, using the motorbike and filtering through traffic (on reasonably clear roads, twice as fast as public transport,) or just shifting my work hours back a bit to 10:00-19:00.

Imo, a reason the traffic is so bad during rush hour is because of geographic constraints. Between the hills and the lake, there are a couple of choke points that you can't really evade, that's where traffic grinds to a halt. It's similar in other cities that aren't built on flat open land with lots of space, as far as I can see. Berlin for example is big and flat, and as a result there seem to be a lot more routes through the city available. Even when there's been an accident on, say, the ringautobahn, the taxi drivers usually find an alternative route that's clear enough.

As for 30kph average through the city: that seems quite reasonable, I certainly don't complain there. Of course, if that's mixed roads with highway parts included, it does seem a bit slow.

I think you Australians simply have a low tolerance for bad traffic. Kudos to you for being able to keep that up, and actually getting the government to do something about it. Over here, drivers are either mostly ignored, or if they complain too loudly, taxed more (in the hopes that fewer people drive.) 

[nctnico]

Hmm. I don't recall Zurich being that bad. Still no matter where you are the number of cars is going to increase with economic growth. At some point economic growth is held back because people can't get to work and goods can not be transported when the roads are too cluttered. The NL government finally realised that after trying to make driving a car more expensive every year (which didn't work except just pushing inflation up). The economic crisis triggered a major reconstruction and upgrade project of several major highways in the NL in order to aid companies involved in building infrastructure. Even laws where changed to make appeals by environmentalists a short process. In the past some roads got delayed for close to 40 years due to appeals and other procedures.

[Zero999]

Hmm. I don't recall Zurich being that bad. Still no matter where you are the number of cars is going to increase with economic growth. At some point economic growth is held back because people can't get to work and goods can not be transported when the roads are too cluttered. The NL government finally realised that after trying to make driving a car more expensive every year (which didn't work except just pushing inflation up). The economic crisis triggered a major reconstruction and upgrade project of several major highways in the NL in order to aid companies involved in building infrastructure. Even laws where changed to make appeals by environmentalists a short process. In the past some roads got delayed for close to 40 years due to appeals and other procedures.

What about in cities where there isn't the space for more roads?

One solution could be a large underground rail network, as in the case of London but it's expensive.

[nctnico]

Hmm. I don't recall Zurich being that bad. Still no matter where you are the number of cars is going to increase with economic growth. At some point economic growth is held back because people can't get to work and goods can not be transported when the roads are too cluttered. The NL government finally realised that after trying to make driving a car more expensive every year (which didn't work except just pushing inflation up). The economic crisis triggered a major reconstruction and upgrade project of several major highways in the NL in order to aid companies involved in building infrastructure. Even laws where changed to make appeals by environmentalists a short process. In the past some roads got delayed for close to 40 years due to appeals and other procedures.

What about in cities where there isn't the space for more roads?

Those cities will turn into ghettos filled with poor people who can't afford a car anyway. It is already happening to Amsterdam.

[SeanB]

Takes me 40 minutes in the morning and evening, and I live 5km from work. Different though in that I do a car pool, so it becomes 12km each way. Leaving work after 5PM ( we close at 4.30, but I am the keyholder so never get that) the trip can be an hour if something is wrong ( normal, I listen to the traffic forecast and route around using ways I know are less congested), and at 4AM ( yay crime) I can do it faster than the security company armed response. Durban South Africa. Some of our staff who use public transport leave home at 4AM to get to work at 7 on the train, and get home after 7 every day. Those who use minibus taxis might spend 2 hours each way.

At least I do not live in Gauteng, where you can take 3 hours to move 2km in the outer business areas, even off peak. CBD it is faster ( though not safe) to walk.

[ez24]

You'll just piss it away like I do 

Or make videos while driving for YouTube     Please use more outside shots, I like looking at your area.  I really enjoyed the traveling video, but I cannot remember the subject 
So please make more videos while driving in traffic.

[BradC]

One solution could be a large underground rail network, as in the case of London but it's expensive.

That works because it's a tiny little city. Not at all applicable to a geographically sparse city like we have over here.

[ez24]

You guys in Sidney need to figure out how a PIC32 can help you and get Dave to put on a video about it 

I would love to see Dave do a video while stuck in Sidney traffic, if really bad traffic maybe a teardown ?

[continuo]

Or make videos while driving for YouTube     Please use more outside shots, I like looking at your area.  I really enjoyed the traveling video, but I cannot remember the subject 
So please make more videos while driving in traffic.

Check out a few of this guys "Daily Observations" vids, watching him battle his way through the streets of London... I love these, he's the master of filtering   

[Galenbo]

So, I just spent the last 2 hours travelling the 55 kilometres from Sydney City to home. How the hell is it possible that a "world class" city such as Sydney is lacking basic road infrastructure in that I didn't even hit an average speed of 30KM/hr!

You could replace the word Sydney by the word Brussels and still talk the thruth.

As a result, wages/month on "the wrong side or place" are 500 to 2000 euro higher, but I chose to spend 10K hours of my life in a nicer way.

[nctnico]

Takes me 40 minutes in the morning and evening, and I live 5km from work.

I'd definitely use a bycicle in your case! During my EE study I bought an extra bycicle to travel between the trainstation and school. Even though I had a pass to use the public transport for free I opted for the fastest and most flexible option.

[ez24]

Check out a few of this guys "Daily Observations" vids, watching him battle his way through the streets of London... I love these, he's the master of filtering

Did you see the number of subscribers and views he has?  He can make a living just by driving around and dogging the police.  I subscribed so I can see if he records his hospital visits.  In reality a dangerous person (but he likes dogs so he is not all bad)

Thanks continuo