Smart Freeways Coming To Nevada

12 May 2001 - 8:00am

Electronic freeway signs around Las Vegas are the first part of the a planned traffic management system intended to relieve congestion in the booming state.

"The message signs, which will start operating this summer, are part of a larger freeway traffic management system the Nevada Department of Transportation hopes will alleviate congestion. When complete, the Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation will do the following: detect accidents and other freeway delays with sensors and closed-circuit television cameras; relay information, including possible detours, to motorists via the message boards; regulate traffic flow onto the freeway through ramp metering; and provide special lanes for carpools and buses." These smart freeway features, many of which have been pioneered in nearby Los Angeles, are in response to the state's huge growth, and the traffic that comes with it.

Source: Las Vegas Review Journal, May 11, 2001
Bookmark and Share
All of that only scratches the surface of what's wrong with this study. The idea that complex urban development patterns and human behavior can be meaningfully studied according to one primary criteria — density — is wrong from the start.