20180707 谢振礼 雅思范文: 车辆堵塞
IELTS Writing Task 2
China 2018-07-07
Topic:
People have different views on how to reduce traffic congestion. Some think that governments should spend money on building more train and subway lines to reduce traffic congestion. Others think that spending money on building more roads and widening existing roads is the better way to reduce traffic congestion. Discuss both these views and give your opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Essay:
Traffic jam is no fun for anyone, but it is deadly for public transport. Two solutions have been proposed in order to overcome the traffic problem. For that purpose, governments should build more train and subway lines rather than building more roads and widening existing roads.
Does building more roads and widening existing ones really mean less traffic congestion for commuters? In most cases, this solution is probably not an effective one; and as a result, the money spent is often not well spent. To begin with, it does little or nothing to reduce traffic because congestion is determined by the weakest links in the road network. If, for example, governments build new roads in the wrong location, congestion may simply move to another part of the network without solving the problem. Moreover, it could potentially make congestion even worse because such new roads may lead more car drivers to the weakest links in the network. Besides, the new roads will create new drivers, leading to the intensity of traffic staying the same. This view explains why building more roads or even widening existing roads roads usually does not solve congestion in the long term, even though this solution could be a tool in a public transport management toolkit.
In any city where traffic jam is an issue, it is more worthwhile investing in building more train and subway lines, although the related constructions will cost more, a lot more, than building more roads and wider roads. While the rails are not needed everywhere, wherever they are needed, they will prove to be an effective solution. Typically, those rail constructions can benefit the city in more ways than just ease of mobility, thus people who live in a major city that offers the option of traveling by elevated or underground rails are in luck since there is no such thing as congestion, not to mention that it is much quicker, safer and more environmentally friendly than other modes of transportation on roads. In this respect, rails even have the edge over public buses that are constantly deterred by traffic signal conditions. Accordingly, in spite of the high costs, building more train and subway lines will be a long-term solution to reduce the city’s congestion, and this investment will pay back dividends for years to come.
In conclusion, for the best value of public dollars, it is better to build more train and subway lines than to invest heavily in building more roads and widening existing roads. As expected, more people would prefer traveling on rails to traveling on roads, if only to avoid congestion. After all, who likes sitting in traffic jam?
