Spreading the news about zipper merging

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/04/2018 (2823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you are one of the thousands who commute each day, you are often hit with a barricade this time of year.

Yes, construction happens but where is the communication to help the flow of traffic?

I am not talking about a 311 app or suggesting more random radio reports. Communication should come at the point of contact, in the form of trained zipper lane flaggers.

Flaggers might not be a permanent necessity but to alter the current, inefficient culture, they are a requirement to unclog the congestion.

A couple of city councillors pushed for zipper lane education a while back and I was able to speak with East Kildonan’s councillor Jason Schreyer on the topic.

“I agree, flaggers will be important to direct traffic safely. It’s a question of learning and guiding.” Schreyer said, “Once the conversation starts, the culture can positively change.”

I’ve seen zipper merging at work, having spent a few summers in Japan and having lived in Vancouver. It took a few honks to get me going and a few months to get over the fear of “not being let in” but when I got back to the ‘Peg I immediately got on my soap box to spread the word.

Let me give you a quick lesson while I’m standing on this thing.

If you are in the lane that is closed, keep moving until you reach the barrier. Put on your signal and expect to be the next car to merge. If you are in the lane that is open, continue forward until the barrier and take turns proceeding with the cars from the lane that is closed. Both lanes will keep moving and many negative effects are avoided.

“Zipper merging is important to traffic efficiencies and helps free up intersections, including lighted intersections that otherwise become filled by one lane being backed up.” Schreyer said, “I’ve seen this in other jurisdictions like in Ottawa, where there is a culture of zipper merging.”

In certain countries like Germany, not letting a car merge is illegal. I don’t think we need to ticket offenders, but educate them.

The best way to initiate this system is by having one flagger direct traffic from stopping too soon in the closed lane, encouraging them to keep moving forward. A second flagger would instruct drivers to take turns at the point of closure.

There are instances where the presence of flaggers will save thousands of dollars in fuel and thousands of hours in productivity as commuters don’t waste fuel or time from work.
 

Evan Comstock is a community correspondent for East Kildonan.