評論
打印
Smart motorways
智能高速
Tailblazers
道路開拓者
How to make life easier for motorists without building new roads
無需費力新路造，司機生活更美好
IDLING on a motorway for an hour or two has long been a part of any British summer holiday. But this year fractious drivers on the southern strip of the M25, an orbital road around London, may have some respite. In April part of the road, between junctions five and seven, opened as a “smart motorway”. It is one of around a dozen projects currently being undertaken by the Highways Agency, the body which manages Britain's motorways and trunk roads. The scheme is an innovative way to reduce congestion cheaply. But it is also a striking example of how the government is quietly making life easier for motorists.
堵在高速上一到兩個小時一直是英國人暑假生活的一部分。但是今年對于環倫敦城的M25公路南部地帶的司機來說，這一問題或能得到緩解。4月份該公路的部分路段被打造成“智能高速公路”。這是目前由管理英國所有高速及主干道路的高速公路管理局負責實施的系列工程之一，該計劃主要是以創新的方式以及低廉的價格解決交通擁堵問題。但這同樣也是一個令人震驚的案例，因為政府就這樣默默為司機減輕了生活負擔。
Britain's roads have been creaking for years. According to the World Economic Forum, its lanes are worse than the underfunded stretches of tarmac in America. Spain and Portugal—two countries which suffered far more during the financial crisis—score higher. Funding is part of the problem: cash for maintaining major roads has halved since 2010. But motorways in Britain are particularly jammed. Although the number of people driving in cosmopolitan areas such as London is shrinking, the rise of online shopping and a growing population are pushing more delivery vans and cars on to busy roads.
英國的公路問題已有多年。根據世界經濟論壇數據，英國車道的狀況甚至比美國因資金不足而滿是碎石的停機坪還要差。連西班牙和葡萄牙這兩個受金融危機影響更為嚴重的國家，道路評分都高于英國。資金問題只是其中一方面，自2010年以來，主干道路的維護費用便減少了一半。但是英國的高速公路實在是太擠了。盡管在諸如倫敦這樣的國際大都市內駕駛的人數正在縮水，但是由于網絡購物的增長以及人口的增加，仍然有更多的送貨車以及汽車加入到擁擠的車流當中。
Rather than spend lots of cash laying more tarmac, however, the Highways Agency has sought to invest in other ways to reduce congestion. In 2006 the Labour government ran a pilot programme, known as an “active traffic management” system, on part of the M42 in Birmingham. The scheme placed gantries with electronic signs every 500 metres along the motorway, installed CCTV cameras and allowed the hard shoulder to be used as an extra lane at busy times, boosting capacity by around a third. A variable speed limit was introduced, determined by sensors. Making cars travel at a slower, more uniform speed means more can be squeezed on the roads.
盡管如此，高速公路管理局仍選擇尋求其他辦法以解決交通擁堵，而不是花費大量資金擴寬車道。2006年，工黨政府在伯明翰M42公路推出一項試點計劃，即“主動交通管理”系統。該計劃沿公路每隔500米設置電子信號架、安裝閉路攝像頭并允許交通繁忙時將路肩帶用作額外車道，將道路容量提升了約三分之一。議員們通過了可變限速的議案，即在車輛低速、勻速行駛下亦可增大道路容量。
Since then the project, now known as “smart motorways”, has become more ambitious. On certain roads the hard shoulder can be used as a fourth lane at all times. Rather than plaster a motorway with words in flashing lights, more effective signs with pictures are now in use, says Graham Dalton, the chief executive of the Highways Agency. This means that non-English speaking truck drivers are more likely to take note, he adds. Future schemes may also have fewer emergency lay-bys, after it was found that many Britons used them to fiddle with their phones or for a toilet break.
自該項目以后，現在被稱為“智能高速”的這一項目變得更加雄心勃勃。在一些路段，堅硬的路肩可以被用作第四車道。高速公路管理局首席執行官格雷厄姆·道爾頓稱，公路上張貼的閃光字將會被更有效的圖片標志所取代，他補充說道，這意味著這些標志將更可能被不使用英語的卡車司機留意到。未來預計將減少應急車道，因為調查顯示很多英國人占用應急車道只是為了玩玩手機或者去趟廁所。
Elements of smart motorways have long existed elsewhere. But Britain has taken the idea further, says Mr Dalton. In the Netherlands and Germany an extra lane can be used at peak times, while a few flashing signs may also manage traffic. But Britons appear to need a shove, not just a nudge.
道爾頓說，智能高速的想法由來已久，但英國采取了進一步的舉措。在荷蘭和德國，交通高峰期可以使用附加車道，并由閃光標志指揮交通。但一點小小的改變對英國人來說似乎是不夠的，他們需要的是大變動。
Motorists should expect more of this: politicians like the scheme, which is far cheaper than traditional road-widening programmes. The M25 programme cost 129m. By contrast, adding more lanes between four junctions on that motorway cost 361m. And the government is adopting a friendlier stance towards motoring groups. The budget for the Highways Agency is projected to double under the next government. Flush with cash, the smart motorways scheme may move into second gear.
由于這項計劃成本遠低于傳統的擴路項目，因此備受政客們的青睞，司機們也可以期待更多的進展。M25公路項目將花費1.29億英鎊，相比之下，在四個路口間增加車道將耗資3.61億英鎊。政府也以更友好的姿態對待公路項目，預計下屆政府期間高速公路管理局的預算將翻上一番。若資金充裕，智能高速計劃或將進入高速時期。
