HOV Lanes: The Future of Sarajevo's Roads
Šifra prijedloga: Hrana-nije-Otpad-2019-07-44
By introducing a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane to the heart of our city and amplifying flow of vehicles in it, we aim to decrease the total amount of cars in the area.
The project proposed by Deloitte is set on reducing the dreadful traffic congestion in the central business district of Sarajevo by attacking the root cause of the issue, working to improve the public transportation system and reduce air pollution. With an ultimate goal of lower volume of cars in the pilot city area, we anticipate less traffic congestion, enhanced public transportation options, better accessibility, reduced parking challenges, and an improvement in air quality.
As per conducted desk research, Sarajevo’s roads currently serve over 150,000 vehicles daily while only being designed to efficiently handle 40,000 vehicles. Thus, Sarajevo residents and visitors spend countless hours in traffic each year. The cornerstone of this idea is to introduce High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane in the designated area. A HOV lane is, in essence, a designated lane only open to public transport vehicles, cars with 3 or more passengers, electric vehicles, taxis, cars with labels for handicapped, and emergency vehicles. Furthermore, the idea is to accelerate vehicles in the HOV lane by optimisation of traffic light system – what will further encourage use of the HOV lane. In addition, once Sarajevo citizens become more accustomed to public transportation alternatives and especially with the concept of carpooling, the options would become more attractive and thus more feasible for investments from economic point view. Traffic light system in Sarajevo currently, at least in theory, operates in “Zeleni val” mode which allows cars travelling at recommended speed to drive through the main streets of Sarajevo without waiting at red traffic light. However, significantly higher number of cars in Sarajevo than planned for Zeleni val ("green wave"), does not allow practical application of this notion. Hence, Zeleni val is only visible in practice during nights, when number of cars in the street is lower. So, with the assumption that from 7:00 to 22:00, seven days a week, we have no Zeleni val in practice, the idea behind this proposal is to put traffic light system in a mode that gives priority to limited number of public transportation vehicles in HOV lane. This will be enabled via sensors put on the vehicles which will communicate with the equipment put on traffic lights, signaling that a public transportation vehicle is approaching – so that the traffic light needs to start closing red light mode and preparing for green light mode. If we examine current behavior of traffic jams in Sarajevo during, for instance, morning rush hours when thousands of people commute to their workplaces – we will see that the majority of cars have one or two passengers only. With introduction of HOV lane concept, we aim for behavior change in a way to promote car pooling, what will have numerous positive impact on drivers’ commuting experience. The 2.5 km pilot HOV lane will be constructed on the right-hand side of a route within the pilot area. The route will be divided from the remaining traditional lanes by a double solid white line. In entrances/exits to the HOV lane, the solid line will be dashed as to indicate the lawful entrances/exits. These dashed lines will be placed strategically throughout the lane in a limited number as to not disturb the HOV lane mission. On the horizontal HOV lane, there will be a painted symbol on the road every 10 meters to make the HOV lane more visible. Examples of symbols include a white horizontal diamond. To signal to drivers about the HOV lane, the idea is to place a number of road signs with the matching diamond symbol to inform drivers of the HOV lane. These signs will include a large instructional sign before the main entrance to HOV lane, multiple entrance/exit to HOV signs, and main exit sign to inform HOV drivers to safely re-enter the traffic lane when the HOV lane ends.
Our main team partner for this project is the Bosnia and Herzegovina Futures Foundation. With the activities of the Foundation, they have acknowledged that formal education needs to be coupled with non-formal education and professional development to ensure that future generations of technical sciences students are well prepared to deal with future challenges. While Deloitte is leading the project, we are utilizing support of the Foundation and their youth to help us foster new ideas and assist our team of consultants during the implementation, monitoring, and prototyping of the solution. Our project intends to promote positive behaviour change by promoting the usage of more sustainable methods of transportation, influencing the culture of driving, and evolving the perspectives of a Sarajevo drivers and public transportation passengers. With more people per vehicle, the incentive of having the privilege of having access to the HOV lane will undoubtedly push more drivers to utilize carpooling tactics or using public transportation. In essence, we are aiming to solve the problem in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, with a goal for behavioural change towards smart sustainability.
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