Just this past week, traffic on the Vineyard has increased noticeably. There is now a backup at the "Blinker". The steamship standby line is longer. It's much more difficult to find a parking spot . Tourists are walking the streets. You have to watch for the bicyclists on Lambert's Cove Road. The season does bring in the money, but there is a cost to the tranquility of the Island.
However, compared to the congestion I find every time I drive on Route 128, a major highway near Boston, the Vineyard's congestion is a mere trifle. My trips along 128 take longer and are more crowded than trips of ten years ago, no matter the time of day or night. This increased congestion is not restricted to the Boston area. A recent report by the Department of Transportation (DOT) has some alarming news. Between 1982 and 2003 congestion in the major cities has gone from 4.5 to 7 hours per day; two-thirds of travel is impacted by this congestion today versus one-third in 1982. More disturbing is that trends say that this congestion is spreading to smaller cities, the suburbs and even rural areas. The report estimates that this congestion results in a waste of 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. There is anecdotal evidence of increased costs - unreliability, more inventory - to business beyond the obvious waste of time and fuel.
DOT believes that much of this congestion is caused by poor management of our transportation resources and they intend to try to do something about it. Some of the mechanisms they propose are: congestion pricing, more use of express buses, promotion of telecommuting and flex scheduling, faster completion of highway projects, better real-time information to drivers. They have more ideas centering around some kinds of privatization, which makes one wonder whether this is part of the "Starve the Beast" strategy.
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