Testing the hypothesis pat 2

Interview: In this interview I struggled to 5 people who fit the criteria, but once I did, the findings were quite interesting. These 5 people were people who lived in Gainesville and went to UF who constantly used a motor vehicle as a means for transportation, however they overall stated that they do not often experience heavy traffic on campus. One individual said it was because most of her classes were early in the morning, when traffic flow is naturally lighter. Another said it was because she was “one of those people who just always hit every green light.” In addition, someone said that they refused the travel anytime between 4-7pm on UF’s campus unless it was absolutely necessary because of how bad the traffic is. So technically they don’t experience the traffic, but it is because they are aware of the fact that it is so bad that they just avoid the road all together. The general consensus was that rush hour is always insane, however these people felt like they just got lucky and when they needed to get places they usually got green lights and traffic flow was not as heavy as usual.

Inside the boundary:

·      People who sit in heavy traffic in Gainesville are in

·      The need is for a better traffic light system and technology to help the flow of traffic and try to reduce commute time to and from ones’ destination.

·      The need exists because for as long as there are cars and motor vehicles, there will forever be many people trying to go somewhere at once, resulting in traffic. A faulty traffic light system doesn’t help the problem either.

Outside the boundary:

·      People who do not experience heavy traffic in Gainesville

·      The need is not to find a way to stop traffic in Gainesville, it is to figure out how to improve the flow when there is traffic.

Alternative explanation may be that some people just don’t run into traffic

Testing the Hypothesis

Opportunity Identified: People who use motor vehicle transportation in Gainesville constantly face heavy traffic, especially on UF’s campus, in part due to lack of implementation of smart traffic light technology.

Hypothesis: I believe that all five people that I interview will say that there is an opportunity in making Gainesville’s traffic improve. I will only be interviewing people with motor vehicles, as those who walk are not as affected by the traffic.

Interview Summarizations/Findings: Every person I interviewed agreed that smart traffic light technology, once I explained to them what it was, would be very beneficial to the residents of Gainesville and would likely help improve traffic flow. All of those interviewed could not express enough on how annoying the traffic Is around campus at all times, especially during rush hour. One person even stated that they sometimes have to leave an extra hour to get where they need to go. One person stated the smart traffic lights were a great idea, however money might be an issue. Although at a University this big, I believe funding them would be no problem if the city of Gainesville wanted to. Overall, everyone thought it was a good idea and stated they would love to see smart light technology in Gainesville in the coming time

Solving the Problem

Here in Gainesville, a major problem (especially on campus) is that the flow of traffic is absolutely terrible. Traffic lights are red for way too long sometimes, while other lights are green for way too long at times. Now, all traffic cannot be eliminated, however there must be a system to help traffic flow smoother. The good news is that there is a product/service that can help the flow of traffic, however Gainesville just hasn’t implemented it yet. This product is “smart lights” or simply, traffic lights that are monitored by sensors and computers that change color depending on the traffic flow. The lights in Gainesville run on timers, which is useless if a light stays green and there is no one coming, while a backed up light may stay red. Smart lights eliminate this problem. These lights would not completely eliminate the traffic problem; however, I am quite positive they would help improve the flow of traffic. If I were someone selling the technology for smart lights, I would go to the town hall and show them clear evidence that these lights help improve traffic flow, as they have been implemented everywhere across the country. I would get opinions of many drivers who sit in the traffic on university avenue and museum every day and see what they think. I would then proceed to present these findings to the town and hope they are convinced to install the smart lights