Sioux Falls, SD (Dakota News Now) — Amidst the widespread construction throughout Sioux Falls, numerous drivers are experiencing increased traffic delays as they wait in line.
The city of Sioux Falls is advocating for an alternative approach called zipper merging. Instead of having all vehicles queue up in a single lane, drivers should utilize both lanes until the point where merging becomes necessary.
As the population of the Sioux Falls metropolitan area has surged past 220,000 inhabitants, many residents can now be found commuting on the roads.
Considering over $180 million dedicated to road construction currently underway, this adds to the traffic jams.
This is why Mayor Paul TenHaken and the city administration of Sioux Falls are advocating for the use of zipper merging.
“When driving in a large city, you encounter this frequently as it’s common behavior, but strangely enough, here it’s seen as impolite. However, it’s not really impolite; rather, it’s quite efficient,” stated Mayor TenHaken.
It’s quite frequent to observe drivers shifting into the left lane well ahead of time when the right lane is blocked due to construction.
This may result in traffic jams and extended wait times for motorists. Using zipper merging can be an effective remedy.
“There are research findings indicating that implementing this could decrease queue lengths and traffic congestion by up to 40 percent,” stated city engineer Andy Berg.
Zipper merging enables motorists to utilize both lanes on the roadway until they reach the point where they must combine into a single lane, aiding in smoother traffic movement.
“The more effective approach is to delay merging until you reach the merge point itself, where it operates much like a zipper. One car merges, followed by another, with each lane taking alternating turns,” Berg explained.
TenHaken alerted Sioux Falls motorists that it’s perfectly fine for others to cut in line ahead of them, and advised everyone to simply “Give in to the tendency to zipmerge.”
“Be welcoming to another motorist who wants to join the lane; this action is known as a zipper merge, and that individual intends to perform one. Hence, they feel compelled to execute a zipper merge,” stated Mayor TenHaken.
In an effort to encourage zipper merging, the Mayor posted on Facebook stating that the person who creates the most clever zipper merge pun will receive a shirt similar to the one he sported during Wednesday’s press conference.
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