A solution for traffic congestion

Commuting to work and back is not fun. It’s not even fun when you work at home but commute 90-minutes a day.

It’s my own fault. I work at home but I gave my wife the elixir of magical companionship while I drove her to work one day, and now she’s hooked, addicted to passenger status and can’t get the monkey off her back. Driving someone else to work and back should be illegal.

Honolulu’s downtown traffic during the morning rush hour (why is it called “rush hour” when nothing moves?) and afternoon pau hana is hectic and slow at the same time, full of discourteous lane changes, horns blaring, and snail’s pace movement through traffic lights that always change to red just before I reach the intersection. Often it’s worse.

Traffic congestion is a modern phenomenon best viewed from afar. If you’re forced into traffic at the worst time of the day, at least practice safe planning and check the route before you leave. How? Try the Honolulu Traffic Cameras online.

You’re a few clicks away from viewing near real-time traffic via video cameras set up on major routes and important intersections. The Zone View shows a map graphic of Oahu. Click on a region of the map and view cameras in that area.

The Text View lets you select routes and intersections from a pull down menu. The Regional View breaks the island into sections and you can view the cameras one by one. The Fast Check View lets you see multiple video cameras in a single area. Images are updated every three minutes or so.

There’s a problem. Traffic is dynamic. It changes. By the time you check cameras on your destination, see that traffic looks good, then head to your car and onto city streets, traffic could become congested again.

Instead of a costly rail system which will further isolate the social and economically and vehicular challenged population of Honolulu, the City should invest in a computerized traffic schedule system.

Anyone who desires to use Honolulu’s streets and highways would be required to file a Drive Plan online, similar to pilots who file a flight plan before flying to a particular destination. Driver’s would log on to the Drive Plan web site, enter a destination and arrival time, and a departure address. The Drive Plan computer would map the appropriate destination and time, and provide the driver with a departure time, and a Google-like map which could be used enroute.

Drivers could be rated on traffic navigation proficiency. Better drivers would have more options and could plan longer and multiple routes. Tourists, older drivers, women with children, and immigrants with less driving experience would be limited to driving on specific routes and times.

The result of the computerized Drive Plan System, or DPS, would be a dramatic improvement in traffic conditions throughout the island, specifically during the morning rush hour and pau hana traffic.

In fact, the City could utilize the system to increase revenue instead of raising taxes of those who can least afford it by charging for access to the computerized Drive Plan System. Cars without a DPS sticker on the bumper would not be allowed on select streets or any highway. Drivers who make more money would pay more for the privilege of using the system.

No pay? No go. This is a plan whose time has come. My wife will not pay to have me drive her to work.