Here is a aerial recreation of the "Traffic Study" (before/after) if you have not seen it.......

[Logical]

Last edited Sat Jan 11, 2014, 03:08 PM - Edit history (1)

These are edited photos by the Washington Post to show what happened on the traffic jam day!

Good information here also:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/10/chris-christies-traffic-study-excuse-didnt-even-make-sense/

[GeorgeGist]

1. Photo illustration, WTF?

[Logical]

4. Not sure what you are mad at. My post or that they had photos? n-t

[ProSense]

10. They didn't have "photos" These are WaPo graphics

being used to debunk Christie's claim. There was no "study."

[Logical]

20. Still explains what happened. Is that bad? n-t

[Jim Lane]

22. I don't think the photos debunk the "study" story.

As the illustration makes clear, changing the arrangement would mean that:
(1) traffic coming through Fort Lee would take longer to get across the bridge; and
(2) traffic coming from other access routes would have more lanes and therefore would presumably flow more freely.

It would be legitimate to study such a thing. If anecdotal evidence was that vehicles coming through Fort Lee were just zipping onto the bridge while other traffic was badly backed up, it would be reasonable to investigate whether the reconfiguration would improve traffic flow overall.

What really debunks the "study" story is the overwhelming evidence that the story was pure cover-up, and the absence of any credible evidence to the contrary.

BTW, contrary to Christie's implication, the traffic on the three lanes in question is not just Fort Lee traffic. People from many other communities in the area find it much more convenient to get onto those lanes than to get onto the main approaches.

[okaawhatever]

7. I see it now. You have to look on the pics on the right colored in orangish. Look at the process

of merging onto the blue portion. In the upper photo all three orange lanes have dedicated lanes where they flow freely onto the bridge. In the bottom pic it shows those same three lanes having to merge onto one lane once they reach the bridge. The difference is noted once the onramp meets the traffic going over the bridge. That's the chokepoint.

[JHB]

16. It's a photoshopped version of the "normal flow" photo...

...to illustrate the3 constriction. The editing moved some of the cars around to make it look as if the cars in the other two lanes were coming from the main highway, and not from the Ft. Lee access. That, plus the color coding, makes the situation clear for people who are not already familiar with the layout.

That they specifically label it an illustration is a good thing. They're not trying to pass it off as an actual photo of the jam.

[arthritisR_US]

18. That is exactly what I have been trying to point out in this thread. What it really highlights

is that the "traffic study" was bogus, i.e., never done.

[Logical]

21. I edited my post. nt

[BeyondGeography]

2. Key finding: Lane reductions cause traffic delays

[Logical]

6. LOL + 1000!

[warrior1]

3. during this man-made fiasco

christie said this:

He also expressed skepticism about the importance of the lanes to the town, "I didn’t know Fort Lee got three dedicated lanes until all this stuff happened, and I think we should review that entire policy because I don’t know why Fort Lee needs three dedicated lanes to tell you the truth." [19]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lee_lane_closure_scandal

[Logical]

5. LOL, that is a really stupid thing to say. n-t

[dorkzilla]

8. It was one of the dumbest things I've heard anyone say...

...and with such contempt, too? About a town that you represent?

[freshwest]

11. Punishment for a difference of opinion at the ballot box. Disenfranchising after the fact. n/t

[zazen]

9. the photo really conveys the stunning pettiness of it

I mean, it's precisely because it looks so insignificant visually (even though obviously it had huge import for people's health and well-being) that you have to ask, WTF was a Governor's staff doing micromanaging three lanes of traffic? It boggles the mind.

[freshwest]

12. +1

[TheOther95Percent]

13. Christie Really Did Move the Cones

Maybe not physically, but you are correct. His office was directly involved in micromanaging three lanes of traffic.

[arthritisR_US]

15. They have used the same photo for the "normal" and the "reduced lanes" so of course

it looks so insignificant.

[arthritisR_US]

14. It's the same photo. nt

[JHB]

17. It's an edited version of the same photo used to illustrate the constriction...

...at the Ft. Lee access. It's possible no suitable photo of the actual jam was available.

The main point of the illustration is to show that by simply moving the cones Christie's people put in a bottleneck that only allowed a third of the normal flow, leaving the rest jamming up Ft. Lee's streets.

[Logical]

19. OK, thanks. I did not notice it was edited. Still helpful though. n-t