2008-10-06 Does closing roads cut delays

2008-10-06 Eoin O'Carroll Christian Science Monitor \traffic congestion\science reporting\counterintuitivity http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/10/06/does-closing-roads-cut-delays/ Does closing roads cut delays? Does closing roads cut delays  File this one under "intensely counterintuitive." A recent study has found that closing off certain streets can actually relieve traffic congestion.

Using Google Maps, a trio of scientists – Hyejin Youn and Hawoong Jeong, of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Michael Gastner, of the Santa Fe Institute – looked at traffic routes in Boston, New York, and London. Their paper, titled "The Price of Anarchy in Transportation Networks: Efficiency and Optimality Control" [PDF] and published in the journal Physical Review Letters, found that, when individual drivers seek the quickest route, they sometimes end up slowing things down for everybody.

&ldquo;A recent study has found that closing off certain streets can actually relieve traffic congestion.&rdquo;   