Definition – What does Proof of Concept (POC) mean?
A proof of concept (POC) is a demonstration, the purpose of which is to verify that certain concepts or theories have the potential for real-world application. POC is therefore a prototype that is designed to determine feasibility, but does not represent deliverables.
Proof of concept is also known as proof of principle.
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4066/proof-of-concept-poc
Residents of Johns Creek have been told that to cure their traffic ailments, that they must widen State Route 141 to three lanes in each direction.
Others, such as my neighbors and myself, have challenged that this is the only cure for the traffic we have.
We are more than frustrated with our traffic. We have been for years and years. We are told that we want to simply do nothing. That is another myth by City Officials. We want to do something. We want the right solution, and not just any solution.
Putting the mettle to the test, we have asked to slow down the laying of asphalt and let us see what we can do to improve the bottlenecks we have in Johns Creek. If traffic can get through the bottleneck, we feel there is adequate asphalt to handle the volume of vehicles until that traffic reaches the next bottleneck(which we can also address).
We are led to believe that just improving the intersections cannot address our issues. If what we have proposed for the intersections does not work, then neither will their solution of paving three lanes in each direction. The crucial component is that we get the intersections to function more efficiently. The roadway between the intersections when an intersection does not function properly is just space to queue vehicles.
And then we will be right back where we started, with six lanes instead of four.
I encourage our residents, therefore to ask the City Council to show us the Proof of Concept. Give us the three lanes southbound at 141 and State Bridge Road through the intersection only. Also, at the same time give us the three lanes westbound on State Bridge Road and have it terminate at the main entrance to Johns Creek High School.
My belief is that will show that three lanes through at the intersections will give us a major improvement in traffic movement, and at the same time demonstrate that we do not need to pave the entire corridor in both directions with three lanes. Our backups will be much shorter in both distance and duration.
And we haven’t even gotten started on the actual functions of the traffic lights themselves.
Imagine that.
I can.
I am by no means a traffic engineer, nor am I a construction, architectural or otherwise civil engineer. That said, my question on this “Three Lanes Through at the Intersection” concept is this:
How does three lanes at the intersections themselves only, provide significant benefit to the overall flow of traffic up, down or across a corridor?
Consider, as you’re driving down Peachtree Parkway/Medlock Bridge Road/Paul Duke Parkway/Georgia Highway 141/et al southbound coming up on State Bridge Road. Let’s say just south of the St. Ives Country Club light, the through flow opens up to three lanes. Yes, this will highly benefit traffic at that intersection. But what happens after you’ve cleared the intersection, assuming we conform to your concept of three through intersections only.
The problem now is that (and for the sake of argument and proximity of all traffic lights we will revert to two through just south of Bobby Jones Drive), while we’ve made it through the intersection(s) under three lanes through, we now have to merge back into two lanes. When you drop from three to two, you have bottlenecking as the majority of drivers in the two affected lanes must create space for the mergers. The third lane is not immune, either. You have many drivers moving into that lane in hopes of escaping the large portion of the slowdown. While not as apparent, this does still have the impact of slowing down that open lane.
Ever since I moved out of Forsyth County, I’ve had the luxury, if you will, of not having to utilize Medlock Bridge anymore. With that said, on occasions when I do use it, I’ve seen what appears to be significant improvement of traffic flow, at least going southbound from Peachtree Corners Circle. I have no knowledge of the current issues at State Bridge. I can say, though, that it seems the opening of a second lane onto Peachtree Industrial Boulevard (or more appropriately, the forking of the center lane just south of Holcomb Bridge into either PIB Proper or exiting onto Jimmy Carter) has drastically improved the traffic flow southbound, at least from as far north as Peachtree Corners Circle. Of course, this is before the bulk of the rush.
Aside from that tangent, my point is this. If you can show me with certainty just how much more significant the benefit is with having three through at intersections only as opposed to three throughout the corridor(s), it might be a good idea. However, I can also show how much a simple, even short, lane reduction can impact traffic flow. Take Georgia 400 Southbound. At McFarland you gain one, maybe two lanes, and you are four southbound right up until Holcomb Bridge Road. After that, you lose one to the exit itself, but you regain that lane after the exit. That loss of a lane causes major headaches for drivers heading into town from north of there. Never mind MARTA, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and I-285; these only account for backups to Northridge. Holcomb Bridge backs up everything north of exit 7. Granted, the backup is nominally short, but without a lane reduction at that point, I suspect the flow would be more improved.