FAQ from MIW give weird answers on CTE Jam

[Apollo]

Multi-pronged approach to ease CTE traffic jams I REFER to Mrs Cindy Brown's letter, 'ERP isn't working, rein in number of cars instead?' (ST, Feb 3) and Mr Chia Yong Soong's letter, 'Evening ERP on CTE ineffective after gantry' (ST, Feb 10).

Mrs Brown commented that Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) has not been effective in managing traffic congestion and suggested reducing the number of cars on the road. Mr Chia suggested that additional ERP gantries be installed at the entrances to the Central Expressway (CTE) at Braddell Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 to ease the heavy traffic.

 

ERP helps to manage congestion by encouraging motorists to change their period of travel, mode of travel, use a different route or not make the trip at all.

 

Since the implementation of ERP on the CTE, it has been effective in improving the average travel speed to 45kmh and above, which is within our optimal speed range during the morning and evening peak periods.

 

However, the situation is never static as improvement in travel speeds will wear off over time as the car population grows, and as more drivers feel it is worthwhile paying the charges for the reduction in travel time.

 

Hence, the Land Transport Authority needs to constantly monitor the traffic situation and make timely adjustments to deal with it.

 

Nevertheless, we do not rely solely on ERP to manage traffic congestion, as a holistic and multi-pronged approach is necessary. We also adopt other measures such as moderating the growth of the vehicle population, as well as increasing the carrying capacity of our road network by building new roads or widening them. The Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) currently under construction will help relieve some of the congestion on the CTE.

We are also widening the CTE from Ang Mo Kio Avenues 1 to 3, which will ease the traffic situation there.

 

In the longer term, a more sustainable approach to cater to the increase in travel demand is to encourage more people to take public transport, especially at peak hours. Hence, the cornerstone of our policy remains the development of a quality and reliable public transport system.

 

Construction of the Circle Line is well under way to serve as an effective mass mover when it starts operations from 2010. Buses that complement the MRT will also become more attractive when measures such as full-day bus lanes in the city to improve bus travel times come into effect from April 1.

Lin I Wun (Ms)

Assistant Manager,

Media Relations

Land Transport Authority

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strange hor... adding more car to the population on road = moderation car population

adding 1 more link to reduce traffic time fr Nichol Highway to PIE = relieving the CTE jam

 

[Porche]

that ah chia backside itch arh....

[PointyEwe]

An ideal situation is that all vehicles travel at constant speed, flowing at a constant stream. Once we have more entrance and exit points, the flow would be disrupted and speed would be affected.

 

To solve this, one solution is to errect various "mini" ERP gantries at the entrance and exit along the CTE and charge differently at the these points, instead of the existing "giant" ERP gantry on the CTE.

 

There is a max on CTE to how many vehicles it could support at any one time. Use these "mini" ERP gantries to make the count on how many vehicles enter and exit and adjust the ERP charges on the different entrance and exit points.

 

During peak hour, drivers could be discouraged from entering or exiting the various CTE entrance point with high ERP charge. Without the chaotic lane changing at the critical bottle neck points, smooth traffic can be ensured.

 

Instead of using current white elephant EMAS to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, the EMAS system would warn you of the high ERP charges at various entrance and exit points. (Don't understand why non of the high paying civil servants never thought of reusing the EMAS effectively even though it cannot fulfil its original purpose.)

[Picanto]

seems like a model answer to an often asked question from the LTA.