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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: June 8, 2007
Recognizing that traffic congestion is one of the most serious problems facing the Atlanta region, the Governor's Congestion Mitigation Task Force recently recommended that congestion-reducing projects be given priority for transportation funds. But what is the best long-term strategy for congestion relief? Congestion pricing, also called value pricing or peak-period pricing, is gaining acceptance as a tool for reducing congestion and improving flow conditions on freeways, but will it have the intended effect?
A Georgia Tech team, led by Dr. Catherine Ross, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), and Dr. Randall Guensler, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Transportation Group, is undertaking a research effort funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to help answer these questions. The project will provide a comprehensive examination of public perceptions and preferences regarding pricing options in metropolitan Atlanta.
Results of the project will help guide GDOT and the State Road and Tollway Authority of Georgia (SRTA) in the siting, evaluation, and implementation of future pricing strategies. The study will include a review of newly introduced toll collection technologies and case study analyses of similar projects in other states and abroad. The work will be supplemented by interviews with transportation experts who have first-hand experience with developing and implementing congestion-pricing programs. The team will also determine local preferences through a series of focus groups.
The project will result in strategies to implement congestion pricing in metropolitan Atlanta and an emissions modeling assessment framework to aide in predicting and monitoring the impacts of congestion pricing.
