A description of your target organization? An existing policy or program in that organization; Background about the current state of your policy/program; what are its accomplishments, c

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Problem Statement

It is impossible to avoid an increase in traffic congestion in huge metropolitan areas that are expanding, such as those found in New York City and other major cities across the world. Congestion during rush hour is an inevitable consequence of how modern societies are organized (Lu et al.). It results from people’s widespread desire to pursue specific goals, which invariably leads to overloading already-existing roads and transit systems daily. The vast majority of Americans in New York City who are on the move during peak commute times do so in their own cars. all forms of public transportation lack the comfort, speed, privacy, and convenience of privately owned vehicles. The global trend toward private automobile ownership directly results from rising per capital incomes, leading to an exodus from public transportation and other less convenient options. Because of many people drive their own cars on the road, despite the New York City government efforts to alleviate the problem, traffic congestion continues to get worse. This is something that is universally despised. It presents a substantial challenge for public policy, frequently leaves commuters feeling irritated and helpless. Although it’s possible that governments may never be able to remove traffic congestion completely, there are a number of steps that states and municipalities can take to alleviate the problem. The primary mobility problem we face is that too many people want to move simultaneously every day. In order to keep the economy and educational institutions running smoothly, it is important that individuals go to work, school, and do errands at around the same time. It would be disastrous for our economy and way of life to abandon that fundamental requirement (Lu et al.). Every big city in the world faces the same issue. In my research plan, I will use the New York City as my target organization and New York State Department of Transport especially the engineering division as the agency to deal with the congestion during the rush hour.

Background

Agency Culture

In 1967, New York state department of transportation (NYSDOT) was formed. It is a department of New York state government responsible for the operation and development of mass transit systems, railroads, highways, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the US state of New York. They also develop the transportation policy for the New York state. NYSDOT coordinate with the transportation and ensure all customers who live in New York have an efficient, safe, and balanced transportation system. The New York state department of transportation engineering division have the responsibility of addressing the challenge of congestion that has been reported in their desk. The New York state department of transportation engineering division is receiving the detailed report that argues that New York City is not doing well when it comes to the traffic flow especially during peak hours and this is where the agency has a role to play to handle the problem.

Core Issue

Twenty million people live in New York City, where they are dispersed in 25 counties in three states. At almost 4,500 square miles in size, it far surpasses all other metro areas as the largest in the world. Reducing congestion and making the most of mobility needs are two of the primary goals of traffic engineering, which plays a pivotal role in the design and planning of infrastructure. Moving people and products quickly and safely is the primary focus of traffic engineering. New streets, roads, and highways are often designed and built with input from traffic engineers. It’s a vital sub-field of civil engineering that requires a high level of expertise (Asgarzadeh et al.). The New York state department of transportation engineering division agency have admitted that the design of the road network within the city was done well and the infrastructure quality is high but the challenge of coordination during peak hours was not much anticipated and it is more of a planning issues that demands for a technological intervention.

The New York state department of transportation engineering division agency contends that the greatest difficulty in avoiding congestion occurs during rush hour, when people are rushing to go to work, school, and other daytime commitments. The mornings and evenings tend to be the busiest times of the day, therefore rapid action is often necessary. As 87.9 percent of New York’s daily commuters use private cars and millions more want to travel at the same time, the NYSDOT engineering division has adopted the data that the country’s primary challenge is that its road system lacks the capacity to handle peak-hour traffic without causing many people to wait in line (Lu et al.). Congestion is typified by traffic jams, which plague all fast developing big cities today. New York City’s traffic congestion is among the worst in the world, but fortunately, American roadways are far superior. According to data collected by the New York state department engineering division, rush-hour traffic in the Central Business District is exacerbated by the concentration of businesses and employment opportunities in the area.

Present Program

Accelerating traffic flows with the use of Intelligent Transportation System gadgets is a recent technology that has been adopted and not fully implemented. The New York state department of transportation engineering division has a national program called ITS. ITS represents intelligent transportation systems. ITS is used for travel smarter, faster, safer and more convenient by using modern computers(algorithm) and communications. It uses technologies such as CCTV systems, electronic message signs, traffic detectors to monitor the road and collect information on traffic conditions, manage traffic and quickly provide solutions. The ITS can also help us reducing the time spend on red lights or waiting on freeways when an accident occurs. Electronically coordinated signal lights on local streets, variable-sized signage alerting drivers to upcoming traffic conditions, one-way street layouts, GPS units in cars and trucks, and radio broadcasts of current road conditions are all examples of such aids. Existing today, this technology can be useful on surface roadways and enlightening on freeways.

Challenge

· Lack of transparency and data privacy when monitor the city road.

· Lack of coordination between management department and engineering department in NYSDOT

· Lack of technology algorithm of connecting and monitoring huge New York City transportation.

· The high cost of technology and complains of stakeholders.

Proposed Solution

NYSDOT engineering division can meeting together to approach in getting the best solution to the traffic congestion during peak hours. Eliminating the cause of congestion, an excessive number of people trying to use the New York roads. As planned by civil engineers, alternate routes to the same destination can help alleviate congestion in densely populated locations. As a result, drivers will wait in traffic fewer times and be able to get through on fewer streets. Engineers that specialize in traffic flow are vital to the public good because they solve pressing transportation problems. Researching the state of public roads, figuring out what’s causing issues, and implementing fixes are all part of their job. The solution is that the traffic engineers should take the responsibility on the establishment of traffic lights that facilitate, rather than impede, the free flow of vehicles and uses the real-data technology in guiding the motorists in using the less busy roads. Congestion and accidents are two results of poor traffic lights and the failure to coordinate the real-data analytic and information sharing to the drivers. The operation of a traffic signal is not limited to only directing traffic; in the event of an accident, for example, the immediate response must be to halt traffic temporarily and offers alternative routes that are important in easing the flow in the roads. The engineers have the role of designing traffic lights that offers the best guidance in limiting congestion in a single road or lane at a particular time and ensure that motorists reach their destination on time. If you want your traffic system to last, it needs to be based on sound engineering that takes these concerns into account and this is much crucial in involving all the stakeholders to have a significant solution to the problem. Intersections and roundabouts on roads typically have signalized intersections and roundabouts. Code interpretation allows for the analysis of traffic data for automobiles and within a technology-enabled traffic network via wired and wireless connectivity. In order to reduce gridlock, one of the most effective technical solutions is to upgrade call centers that ensure that the signal that is shared from the traffic lights is communicated fast to facilitate guidance in the road network. With the use of engineering and information technology solutions specifically on the advanced traffic lights, helps in offering reasonable and reliable solutions.

List of Resources Already Reviewed

· Documents of New York state transportation focus on congestion information

· The mission and development of NYSDOT

· Information about NYSDOT engineering divisions of how they eliminating the congestion, researching the state of public roads, figuring out what’s causing issues, and implementing fixes.

· .Documents on the ITS programs background information

Next Steps

The next steps for the research include conducting interviews to understand the topic of concern better. The interview participants include the staff working in the New York state department of transport (NYSDOT) engineering division. Ask their feedback and opinions. The other data sources are secondary sources, which include targeting the reports of the most successful cities globally, reviewing the intervention they adopted in managing their traffic, and looking into the challenges that come with the modern strategies to do it differently for New York City.

Future Research

New York transport department engineering division should look for lasting solutions for the traffic congestion in the city, including adopting technology, especially data analytic (Jaffe). Future research should focus more in involving all the relevant authorities in the approach to solving traffic congestion and addressing the problem in a more detailed way. The population understand the problem better, and their involvement would give a better outcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Barr, Jason. “Solving Traffic Congestion: A Plan for New York City – Skynomics Blog”. Building the Skyline, 2019, https://buildingtheskyline.org/traffic-plan-nyc/.

Asgarzadeh, Morteza, et al. “The Role of Intersection and Street Design on Severity of Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Crashes.” Injury Prevention, vol. 23, no. 3, 2016, pp. 179–185., https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042045.

Jaffe, Eric. “Bloomberg – Are You A Robot?”  Bloomberg.Com, 2014, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-20/the-plan-that-could-finally-free-new-york-city-from-traffic-congestion.

Lu, Juan et al. “Expansion of City Scale, Traffic Modes, Traffic Congestion, and Air Pollution”.  Cities, vol 108, 2021, p. 102974.  Elsevier BV, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102974.

Moynihan, Michael. “The Impact of a Surcharge on Taxi and For-Hire Vehicle Trips on Traffic Congestion in New York City: Early Evidence from Traffic Sensors”. SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019.  Elsevier BV, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3357893.

New York State Department of Transportation. (n.d.). Department of Transportation. What is ITS? Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/oom/transportation-systems/systems-optimization-section/ny-moves/what-is-its

New York State Department of Transportation. (n.d.). Department of Transportation. Mission and Values. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.dot.ny.gov/about-nysdot/mission

 

 

 

 

 

USEFUL NOTES FOR:

Background about the current state of your policy/program; what are its accomplishments, challenges, where it fits within broader city operations and how favorably it is viewed by senior leadership;

Introduction

Your class is going to be a great success, and I’m excited that you’re taking part in it. However, there are some things that I think would help make this even better. One of them is getting everyone involved in writing their own presentation on Wednesday morning—I want each group to do a short presentation for class on Wednesday. The idea behind this exercise is simple: by doing so, we can give each student an opportunity to practice communicating ideas through writing and speaking without feeling pressured about how good the content might be or whether they can get their point across clearly enough (which happens quite often when someone else writes out what they’ve already said).

Background about the current state of your policy/program; what are its accomplishments, challenges, where it fits within broader city operations and how favorably it is viewed by senior leadership;

What is the current state of your policy/program? What are its accomplishments? What are its challenges? Where does it fit within broader city operations? How favorably is it viewed by senior leadership?

What are the policy/program’s goals? How does this policy/program create value for your community?

The goals of your policy/program should be SMART:

Specific (goals should be clear, specific and measurable)

Measurable (you can measure progress toward your goal)

Attainable (the project will come in on time and under budget)

In order for this to work, it needs to fit into a broader vision for the city. If you have no idea what that looks like or how it could get accomplished, then you’re probably not ready to pursue this type of program yet because there won’t be any evidence that what you’re proposing will actually help achieve those outcomes.

What is the high-level work that needs to be done in order to achieve the policy/program’s goals?

You might be wondering what the high level work that needs to be done is. The answer is simple: define your goals before you start.

Do not start working on this project without first defining what you want your program or policy to achieve.

Remember that other people’s goals may not line up with yours, so don’t worry about theirs! Take a cue from them instead and focus on yourself, especially if you have some ambitious goals in mind.* For example: if someone else’s goal was simply “to make sure our employees are healthy enough,” then yours could be “create an active workplace where employees feel comfortable coming into work everyday.” In this case, it would probably make more sense for both parties involved (the employee AND his/her boss) if he/she had more specific ideas about how best accomplish those ideals than just saying something vague like “make sure everyone works out at least once per week!”

I want each group to do a short presentation for class on Wednesday.

You will have the opportunity to present your findings from the investigation on Wednesday.

Conclusion

The policy/programs in Chicago are diverse and complex. Each policy addresses a very specific need, but they all work together to create an equitable environment in which people can live their lives. The first two weeks of class have been spent learning about the different challenges our city faces and how those challenges can be addressed through the use of data and technology. I hope you will continue to participate in these discussion groups on Wednesday so we can continue building upon what we’ve learned during class time!