Gridlock Game Great for Geeks, Short on Complete Streets

Move over XBox; step aside Playstation.  The height of game-playing action is free and it's online.  The new game in town is University of Minnesota, Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute's "Gridlock Buster".  Test your mettle on the increasing levels of difficulty in processing vehicular traffic through a network of intersections.

3 minute read

July 24, 2009, 12:46 PM PDT

By Ian Sacs


Move over XBox; step aside Playstation.  The height of game-playing action is free and it's online.  The new game in town is University of Minnesota, Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute's "Gridlock Buster".  Test your mettle on the increasing levels of difficulty in processing vehicular traffic through a network of intersections.  As you begin at the bottom rungs of a city traffic department, you're encouraged and coached by a senior traffic group member to take on more challenging conditions as you climb the bureaucratic ladder.  If on your watch honking cars max out the so-called frustration meter, you lose your tenure in the city's traffic group and it's back to the mailroom for you.  Manage the downtown grid's peak traffic successfully and, eh, well, I didn't exactly get that far.  As a matter of fact, my home's proverbial Mayor (that's my wife) was not happy with all the horn honking resulting from my mediocre efforts, and I was forced to submit my resignation (I did try to appeal to her that it should be expected for communities to have a negative initial reaction to changes in signal timings, but she wasn't willing to put up with the grumblings).  But look, every public meeting I attend at least one person insists I don't understand their traffic as well as they do (which is usually true), so why shouldn't it be true in Gridlock Buster's fictional Metro too?



Note the mute is on since The Mayor insisted I get a handle on the racket!



Regardless, this game is sure to pique the traffic engineering geek in you and offers a chance at aspiring to the dubious rank of the new Gridlock Demagogue.  At the very least, you may come to realize via this game that the modern solution to solving congestion hasn't much to do with answering old-school gridlock gripes.  Instead, I have to agree with Sarah Goodyear in her Streetsblog post today that, despite the subtle implications here that there's more to solving congestion than merely futzing with signals, all the modern-day progressive solutions to solving urban congestion are regrettably absent from Gridlock Buster.  I was hoping to get the chance to insert a bike lane, assign a Bus Rapid Transit corridor, prescribe a road diet, or maybe even introduce a roundabout.  And what about the advanced levels including pedestrian crossings?  Search the web as I might, I just couldn't find any of the following cheat codes: BKLANE, BRT, TRFFCLMNG, RNDABT, MXDUSE, PEDPRORTY.  Despite these shortcomings, Gridlock Buster is a fun diversion and a great way to introduce younger engineers to the basics of network traffic management.  Perhaps Version 2.0 of UMITSI's Gridlock Buster will include transportation demand measures as "assessment options" after each level.  In the meantime, try to keep your frustration meter level down low this weekend, and fulfill your lifelong dream at being a traffic engineer!


Ian Sacs

Ian Sacs has been playing in traffic for over ten years. He solves challenging urban transportation and parking problems by making the best possible use of precious public spaces and designing custom-fit programs to distribute modal demand.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 25, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19, 2025 - Outdoor Life

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?

Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green public transit bus at stop in Silver Spring, Maryland.

DC Area County Eliminates Bus Fares

Montgomery County joins a growing trend of making transit free.

15 minutes ago - The Washington Post

Close-up of full beer glass with purple train-themed design sitting on bar between two frosty tall cans.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?

TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

June 30 - Cities Today

Vintage red Toronto streetcar passing in front of Rogers Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events

Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

June 30 - blogTO

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Write for Planetizen