A recent update to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development website allows users to take advantage of new ways to look at traffic.
The website, 511la.org, features streaming video as opposed to the old static-image cameras. According to the website, this is true of all camera locations except those around U.S. Route 90 and the Greater New Orleans Bridge.
Associate professor of civil and environmental engineering Brian Wolshon said the new DOTD website may help with the public’s perception of problems on the road.
“People don’t like to sit in traffic, but at least if you can tell them why, they’ll understand a little better,” Wolshon said.
The site also gives drivers the option to select another route if they know there are problems along their usual paths. Its mobile application, Way to Geaux, allows users to access the information anywhere.
Most people do not appreciate the science and engineering that goes into designing traffic systems, according to Wolshon, whose work focuses on transportation engineering.
“You want to balance getting people where they want to go quickly with safety and environmental factors,” Wolshon said.
Wolshon said the intersection of Airline Highway, Siegen Lane and S. Sherwood Forest Boulevard is a good example of an efficient traffic system change that isn’t always well received. On westbound Airline Highway at Siegen Lane, drivers are able to turn left unopposed. This is a maneuver that normally requires going against the flow of traffic.
“There’s an old adage in traffic engineering that we don’t solve problems — we just move them to a different location,” Wolshon said.
There is also an economic angle to traffic studies, Wolshon said. If there is a high-traffic area where people are likely to be injured or with a high rate of property damage, more money is spent there.
“There may be project where you spend $10 million,” Wolshon said. “But you’re earning back $100 million in benefits.”