Urban Problems and Planning
Urban problems is very common in major cities around the world, it can happen in either a developing country or a developed country. Urban problems are those problems that arise from over crowding and the too rapid uncontrolled development of urban areas. There are many different categories that intertwine to form the urban problems. The two main categories being focused on is congestion and urban blight. Congestion is used to discuss traffic problems, traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occur as use increases, and is characterised by slower speeds, longer trip times and increased vehicular queuing. Urban blight is usually used to identify rundown inner city areas, such as slums and poor residential areas.
Perth congestion is very noticeable in sections of the freeway and highway. Congestion in perth is the result of a rapidly growing population and cheaper cars. There has been many studies conducted to support that Perth congestion is becoming a more rapid issue that needs to be dealt with. The travel time study shows the enormity of the transport task. Rapid population growth, major developments around the CBD and our strong economic performance have created the perfect storm in terms of traffic congestion. The study showed congestion is not only affecting traffic coming into the CBD but East-West bound travel is also suffering. It also confirmed travel times for the drive home were usually better than for the morning trip to work. The most congested commutes were:
Kwinana Freeway northbound from Cockburn to the City, with drivers experiencing a travel speed of less than 40 km/h during morning rush.
Albany Highway between Gosnells to the City, with drivers experiencing speeds of less than half the posted limit during the morning peak.
Mitchell Freeway southbound between Ocean Reef Road and the city during the morning commute, and the city to Hutton Street in the evening.
Since Perth experiences traffic congestion, main roads Western Australia has developed a program called Keep Perth Moving, it is a Traffic Congestion Management Program (TCMP) is being prepared which will be delivered over the next five years. This program is aimed to provide a smart, coordinated, proactive approach to congestion management that increases capacity, improves performance and enables road users to make informed decisions about their journeys. The traffic congestion program includes a number on projects targeting known congestion hotspots in the metropolitan area, research and analysis conducted by Main Roads identified eight areas of focus that aim to increase capacity on our roads.
The program have been broken down into various projects and trails which fall under one of the following eight areas of focus:
Planning & Evaluation
Monitor and report on current traffic congestion, model and evaluate proposals to better manage traffic congestion. Arterial Road Optimisation
Minimise delays at traffic signals and intersections and get the most out of the arterial road network Freeway Optimisation
To get the most out of the freeway network in terms of reliability and efficiency. CBD Traffic Management
Carefully manage traffic impacts of CBD projects, roadworks, lane closures and network changes Public Transport
Support the Public Transport Authority (PTA) in implementation of public transport priority projects on the road network Traveller Information Provide timely and accurate information to travellers both pre-trip and en-route Demand Management Work with Transport agency partners and others to reduce traffic demand in peak periods Network Expansion Increase the capacity of the road network at known bottlenecks e.g. additional lanes, bridges
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports there were 1.97 million people in greater Perth in June 2013, up four per cent from 2012. Perth has been the second-fastest growing capital city in Australia after Brisbane, and ABS estimates
