The best traffic innovations are often the cheapest and most basic. One initiative in the Midwest needs to take legs in Atlanta. The Departments of Transportation in Missouri and Kansas are joining the ranks of those departments in Minnesota and Washington in promoting the idea of the “zipper merge” to its motorists.
We already use this concept (or should) when aisles have to merge in packed parking lots. I was taught this at an early driving age. But I have fought against this idea in a work zone for years and did not even know it.
These states already promote or will promote to their motorists the notion of continuing to use an open lane in a construction zone that closes down the road. Most people’s good nature prompts them to merge into the open lane earlier than the closure. Then as we do that, we fume at the jerks that zoom by in the soon-to-be-closed lane and then merge into the open lane at the last second.
What traffic engineers are encouraging motorists to both do and allow is for all traffic to use the lane right up until the closure. Then the traffic in the open lane next to it is supposed to alternate and let the cars in one at a time, like teeth on a zipper.
For the zipper merge to succeed, we as motorists will have to resist the psychological angst of “shutting the door” on “offending motorists” who “dare pass by us, while we barely move.” For the concept to truly work, more people, including the rule-followers, also need to use that open lane the entire way without guilt. The more people that use the lane, the more consistent it moves with the lanes next to it and the better the actual zipper merge works.
Missouri is trying to get motorists into the zipper mindset with a public relations campaign. Those have some effect, but can only go so far. People need to see it in action to buy into the idea. Kansas reportedly is going to use signs and flashing arrows to encourage the practice. Kansas officials will then measure the traffic flow with doppler radar and determine if the initiative makes enough of a difference to expand in the future.
The zipper merge makes total sense on paper. But its biggest obstacle is psychological. Our vehicles give us this seemingly invincible bubble that surrounds us in a sense of entitlement we would rarely embody as boldly in normal human to human interaction.
Hopefully, Georgia will start promoting the idea of using the open lanes up until the last second. The bigger hope will be that enough of us can take a deep breath, exhale, and catch on. There certainly is enough construction around Metro Atlanta to warrant it.
Mark Arum is off this week. Doug Turnbull is the PM drive airborne anchor for Triple Team Traffic on News 95-5 FM and AM-750 WSB and manager of the WSB Traffic Team. He writes his own traffic blog on wsbradio.com.
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