Solutions to Atlanta’s Traffic Problems, Essay Example

Introduction

Atlanta is one of the biggest cities in the state of Georgia and just like all big cities, there are problems that people especially elected officials ignore. For some cities, crime is a big issue that is being controlled at a slow rate and other cities have problems with lack of housing for people in need of them. Cities face problems that people in that city cannot control and it becomes a city wide problem that affects everyone equally, some people can deal with the problem then there are those who can’t.

Thesis

However, an examination of Atlanta’s traffic problems talks of one headache that most Atlanta residents face today, inability to fix Atlanta’s traffic problems because of issues bound by the past such as race, political powers and active solutions. Jurney (2012) points out that the urban sprawl in Atlanta has caused many a problem for young and old alike, it is to the point where a plan needs to be implemented to “decongest” the interstates or more people will continue to suffer from this (Jurney, 2012, pg.1). Georgia is a state that has many counties where people commute to every single day to do things such as work, pick their kids up from daycare or a relative’s house or even to go to the mall to get things for an upcoming party. Atlanta’s traffic problems will only worsen as time goes on because there are solutions in place, but no one wants to follow them. Solving this problem does not have to be a hardship for most people.

Body

One of the ways that Atlanta’s traffic problem could be fixed is if people chose other modes of transportation instead of their cars such as saving up money and riding the train to work every single day. Let’s face it, a train pass for a whole month doesn’t even begin to equate the amount of money a person would otherwise spend on gas a month. Gas prices have climbed exponentially within the last few years and that only adds to the traffic problem. Awwad (2010) points out that solving the traffic problem is not as hard as most people think, public transportation has always been one of the easiest ways to get around even if no one else think so (Awwad, 2010, pg.1).Transportation by bus is one of the ways people can avoid the interstate traffic getting to work and risk being late because of the interstate congestion, there is a lot less headache when a person takes the bus. One of the biggest reasons why people should be open to taking public transportation more to get where they have to go is because of the fact that, the driving is being left up to someone else. Paying a small amount of money to ride the bus or the train is well worth the price, if everyone did this then the interstates would not be congested or even full; rush hour wouldn’t even exist. Cox (2010) points out that people who do drive their cars to and from work during rush hour make it hard on themselves, solving the traffic problem would make travelling easier (Cox, 2010, pg.1). Now, if people are insisting on driving their cars then another way they can solve the traffic problem is by finding different alternate routes to work or wherever they have to go. Ironically, people don’t realize that consistently taking the same ways to work also adds to the traffic problem because as long as a person travels about the roads then they are congesting traffic ergo becoming part of the problem. Atlanta’s traffic problems are being caused by people who can’t see the problem in front of them and the headache it is causing. Variety is the spice of life, people should try doing different things.

Part of solving the traffic problem in Atlanta does not always lie in just public transportation, people can go about solving the problem in other ways as well. For example, people could ride bikes to work which would ultimately save on gas and on the possibility of getting stuck out in congested traffic for hours on end. For example, for people who work near their office, take a bus or bike ride to the job. The greatest thing about finding creative ways of getting to work is by being smarter than everyone else, there is no shame in taking a bicycle or even a moped to work. Another thing people can do is carpool, this is one of the easiest way to avoid Atlanta’s traffic woes and still get to work on time. Feigenbaum (2013) points out that using a different method, a tollway, can get traffic flowing like fine wine and people can get to where they are going in half the time which guarantees that work productivity goes up (Feigenbaum, 2013, pg.1). The problem is that Atlanta’s citizens are used to driving cars and going the same ways to work instead of trying to find alternative methods to get there, this is a situation where people cannot afford to keep contributing to the traffic problem because it will only hurt them in the long run. The methods that people can employ to get to work and solve the traffic problem woes is not that complicated.

Conclusion

Atlanta’s traffic problem has caused a lot of problems for people who commute to different places every single day, work is one of those things that people cannot afford to not have so getting there on time is mandatory. In light of this, there are several things that people can do in order to deal with the traffic problem so they are not out in it. Coincidentally, there are too many people who are not thinking outside the box when it comes to avoiding rush hour traffic. Riding a bike, taking the train to and from work, taking a different route even walking to work are just some of the way people can solve the traffic problem in Atlanta.

References

Awwad, Alia. “What is the solution to traffic congestion in Atlanta?.” examiner.com. N.p., 30 Jul 2010. Web. 2 Nov 2014. <http://www.examiner.com/article/what-is-the-solution-to-traffic-congestion-atlanta>.

Cox, Wendell. “Traffic Congestion In Atlanta.” newgeography. N.p., 18 Jan 2010. Web. 2 Nov 2014. <http://www.newgeography.com/content/001351-traffic-congestion-atlanta>.

Feigenbaum, Baruch. “Practical Strategies for Increasing Mobility in Atlanta.” Reason Foundation. N.p., 28 Aug 2013. Web. 2 Nov 2014. <http://reason.org/news/show/strategies-mobility-atlanta>.

Jurney, Russell. “How Can Atlanta’s Traffic Problems Be Solved?” Quora. 5 Oct. 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. <http://www.quora.com/How-can-Atlantas-traffic-problems-be-solved>.