The National Freeway Bureau is considering tighter traffic control policies to reduce congestion on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) during weekends and holidays.
The bureau’s announcement yesterday came in the wake of complaints from motorists who drove on the freeway during the four-day Tomb Sweeping holiday, including some who challenged Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu’s (陳建宇) comment ahead of the weekend that it would only take about 90 minutes to drive from Taipei to Luodong (羅東) in Yilan County.
Some drivers reported it took more than two hours to reach Luodong on Friday last week.
Chen later said he was referring to time actually spent on the freeway, not on local roads before and after exiting the freeway.
Bureau statistics show the longest travel time on the southbound lanes between the Nangang and Luodong interchanges during peak hours is about 56 minutes. The longest travel time on the northbound lanes is 66 minutes.
The bureau might propose dividing freeway drivers by license plate numbers, Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said. For example, those with a plate number ending in an odd number would only drive on the freeway at certain hours of the day or certain days of the week, he said.
However, Wu said such a measure would greatly limit Yilan residents’ access to the freeway and it would have to discuss the matter with the Yilan County Government.
Visitors should use public transport to go to Yilan, and the county government should provide shuttle bus services to take visitors to tourist attractions once they are in Yilan, he said.
The bureau said in a statement that contrary to speculation that its ramp meters on Freeway No. 5 add to congestion, rather than reducing it, the ramp meters help regulate the flow of traffic and ensure the maximum number of vehicles can pass through the Hsuehshan Tunnel.
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