Analysis on Urban Traffic Congestion

王紫

【Abstract】With the acceleration of urbanization and motorization， as well as the enhancement of population， urban traffic congestion has become more serious and had an influence on peoples normal life. The author thinks it exists imbalance between the supply and demand of urban transport， and unreasonable traffic route planning and transportation management also aggravate traffic jam. This paper mainly explores the major causes and harms of traffic jam， and proposes some suggestions to alleviate traffic congestion and establish a harmonious relationship between residents and transport.

【Key words】traffic congestion； green transportation； urban development

I. Introduction

Transportation has become an important part in economic and social activities of our country， and it is one of the significant elements in the modern social acceleration. In recent years， with the rapid development of urbanization in China， the increasing of population， the enhancement of private vehicles， and the irrationality of urban traffic route planning， traffic congestion problems are very prominent， which cause a great number of social problems. In some big cities， the average speed of motor vehicles has dropped to 12 kilometers while it is only 8 to 10 kilometers in the center of cities， generally speaking， the average speed of an ordinary bicycle is about 15 kilometers an hour. It is worth considering that cars are not as fast as bicycles， which seriously arouses the convenience of people （Huan， 2007）. As a consequence， it is necessary to take effective and comprehensive measures to alleviate and relieve urban traffic jam and improve peoples lives quality. In the face of the severe situation， the government should increasingly develop public transportation and green transportation， and enhance the usage of subway， bus， bicycle， and so on.

II. The causes of urban traffic congestion

1. The contradiction between the supply and demand of transportation

With the booming of economy and intensification of urbanization， the vehicles increase in an extremely rapid speed as well. Above all， the urban transportation construction and development lag behind the increasing of private vehicles and trucks， which cause serious traffic congestion. According to statistics， Chinas motor vehicle drivers are about 270 million and the number of cars is about 127 million at the end of 2013 （Wu etal.， 2015）. At the same time， from the current situation of urban public transportation， the investment of pubic transportation is very insufficient， public transport infrastructure construction is backward， the proportion of buses and bicycles is still low， and the dominant position of public transportation is not established.At the end of 2009， the population of 122 and 41 cities in China is deliberately more than one million and two million while the total length of city rail transit operation line is about 1000 km， which is lower than that of Paris （1500 km） （Guo， Liu， & Yu， 2011）. These all cause the supply of transportation can not meet its demand and increase the phenomenon of traffic congestion.

2. The unreasonable structure of urban road network

Despite the fact that urban public transportation has also gained long-term improvement and China has shifted from traditional and single ground transportation system to a multifunctional composite type of multiple traffic system， the urban traffic congestion has not been still relieved owing to the increasing of population and vehicles in city （Wu etal.， 2015）. Many cities are keen to repair main roads， do not pay attention to the construction of secondary and branch roads， which give rise to low density of roads， and concentrated. traffic flowing. Meanwhile， the imbalance between the primary and secondary trunk road， road maintenance， natural disasters and other emergencies intensify the occurrence of traffic congestion in urban.

City traffic construction is a dynamic process， it not only needs to protect the basic stream of people， logistics， railway， highway， water and airplane flow， but also promote the coordinated and sustainable development of city transportation， that is to say， it is necessary to guarantee the city traffic safety and comfort， construct a prudent and orderly transportation， and relieve the vehicles energy consumption and pollution （Zheng， 1998）.

3. The violation of traffic laws and order

Peoples overall traffic legal， safety and civilization consciousness are very low， and a substantial proportion of people， especially low-educated individuals often violate traffic laws， which bring about poor traffic order and traffic jam. In 2002， the country handled 259 million cases of traffic violations and punished 197 million people （Huan， 2007）. However， it can not make people recognize the importance of obeying traffic laws and remaining extraordinary traffic order. The violation of traffic laws and traffic disorder are the direct causes that affect traffic efficiency and traffic jams， endanger traffic safety and give rise to traffic accidents. According to statistics and analysis， one third of traffic congestion is caused by violation of traffic participants.

III. The harms of urban traffic congestion

1. The influence on lives quality and level of residents

Traffic congestion delays our time and lets us spend our precious time waiting on the road. A majority of people go out for studying or working and time is very significant for us， while it takes too much time to travel on the road because of traffic congestion， which causes their late for work or school. Driving cars is to improve peoples convenience for travelling while it is bad for the life quality and level of people due to traffic congestion. Besides， when we wait on the road， we will feel anxious and nervous， which is likely to has a negative impact on our psychological state. According to the research data， serious congestion may cause restlessness and mental imbalance among drivers and passengers and increase traffic accidents.

2. The increase of social costs and traffic pollution

When the vehicles travel slowly on the road， it not only wastes our time， but also enhances fuel costs. Because of traffic jam， we have to park the cars very frequently， which causes high fuel consumption and improves fuel costs. Whats more， traffic congestion has also greatly increased the costs of traffic management. Because of traffic jams， it is indispensable to add more traffic facilities， booths and other facilities and even more preparation and organization because of the enhancement of workload for traffic policemen. These extra costs are ultimately borne by the entire city or society.

At the same time， traffic congestion is a major cause of air pollution. The frequent idling， low speed， acceleration and deceleration of the car aggravate the air pollution in the city. Air pollution caused by traffic jam is detrimental to the health and lives quality of residents. As a result， it is of great importance for us to settle down traffic congestion and relieve air pollution to improve peoples quality.

IV. The solutions of traffic congestion

1. Developing public transportation and controlling the number of private cars

With the implementation of transit incentives in some prosperous cities， the subway， bus rapid transit line and lane are set and refined， and urban public transportation have gradually attained development. In consequence， it reduces and saves road resources to some extent （Yang， 2015）. By the end of 2013， there are 19 cities with rail transportation in our country， the total mileage reaches 2509 kilometers， where the subway covers 2032 kilometers. Shanghai has 16 rail transit lines containing 578 kilometers， and in Beijing， there are 18 lines with a total mileage of 465 kilometers. The achievement of rail transportation construction is optimistic in many big cities， but it still exists some cities where the traffic facilities are not refined and their operation efficiency is low， which bring about great inconvenience. The ideal public transportation should take up 60% of the whole transportation， so it is very indispensable for government to increase public transportation investment and take effective measures， such as， setting special bus transit line， improving the construction of road network and reducing the transferring time.

The surge in cars is an important force in urban traffic congestion， so controlling the number of cars is one of the effective ways to solve congestion problems. The increase of private cars is faster than transportation construction in cities， therefore， it enhances greatly urban traffic congestion. The government is able to take comprehensive policies and measures to constrain the development of private cars， for example， increasing car ownership threshold and car costs， demanding the self-provided parking stall， and so on.

2. Regulating traffic laws and order

With the booming of economy， more people purchase private cars， which causes serious traffic jam. Besides， some people violate traffic laws and order and it intensifies the traffic congestion to some degree. As a result， it is important for government to regulate and implement strictly traffic laws to control these uncivilized phenomenon. Meanwhile， in order to alleviate traffic congestion caused by the disorder of transportation and violation of traffic laws， the government should increase the punishment of illegal driving and deal with severely the drivers and all kinds of illegal driving behaviors to guarantee the order of traffic and the impartiality and authority of law.

3. Encouraging green transportation

At present， the residents in China prefer to choose more fast transportation as soon as possible， they prefer to spend time in working， chatting and socializing instead of walking， riding a bicycle， or taking public transportation. Therefore， with the purpose of relieving traffic jam， we need to make reasonable choices of transportation means according to the actual situation and practical needs. We can construct an ecologic and diverse lives styles to improve physical and mental health of people by means of insisting on morning runs， walking， cycling， and public transportation.

V. Conclusion

The strategic position of traffic in urban development is very important. A convenient， efficient and unblocked traffic system is an significant guarantee for the sustainable development of the city. It is also a vital symbol to measure the level of urban modernization. Traffic problem is a major livelihood problem but it is also a difficult problem encountered by major cities in all countries （Guo， Liu & Yu， 2011）. This paper recognizes the traffic congestion， try to analyze its main causes， harms， and put forwards some tentative suggestions to alleviate traffic jam.

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