Lesson 33 以堵治堵－一缓解交通有妙招
Treating congestion with congestion: A smart way to relieve traffic burden
Yǐ dǔ zhì dǔ-huǎnjiě jiāotōng yǒu miàozhāo
以堵治堵－缓解交通有妙招
Treating congestion with congestion: A smart way to relieve traffic burden
Chéngshì qìchē de shùliàng xùnsù zēngzhǎng, zuìchū hái bèi shì wéi shì shèhuì fāzhǎn, jīngjì fánróng de tǐxiàn.
城市汽车的数量迅速增长，最初还被视为是社会发展、经济繁荣的体现。
The rapid increase in the number of urban cars was initially regarded as a manifestation of social development and economic prosperity.
Dàn hěn kuài rénmen jiù fāxiànle wèntí.
但很快人们就发现了问题。
But soon people discovered the problem.
Suízhe chē liúliàng de zēngjiā,
随着车流量的增加，
With the increase in traffic volume,
dàolù biàn dé géwài yǒngjǐ,
道路变得格外拥挤，
roads have become extremely crowded,
dǔchē zài dà chéngshì zhōng yǐjīng chéngle jiāchángbiànfàn.
堵车在大城市中已经成了家常便饭。
and traffic jams have become commonplace in big cities.
Jiějué jiāotōng yǒng dǔ de wèntí jiù yào jiǎnshǎo dānwèi miànjī dàolù nèi de qìchē shùliàng,
解决交通拥堵的问题就要减少单位面积道路内的汽车数量，
To solve the problem of traffic congestion, it is necessary to reduce the number of cars per unit area of roads,
xīnjiàn huò jiā kuān dàolù bèi gōngrèn wéi zuì jīběn de fāngfǎ.
新建或加宽道路被公认为最基本的方法。
and new or widening roads are recognized as the most basic method.
Dàn shìshí zhèngmíng zhè zhǐshì wǒmen měihǎo de zhǔguān yuànwàng,
但事实证明这只是我们美好的主观愿望，
But the facts have proved that this is just our beautiful subjective wish.
dàolù kuòjiàn de sùdù yuǎn yuǎn gēn bù shàng chē liúliàng zēngjiā de sùdù,
道路扩建的速度远远跟不上车流量增加的速度，
The speed of road expansion is far behind the increase in traffic volume.
miànjī de zēngjiā bìng wèi shǐ dàolù kōng chū kōngjiān lái,
面积的增加并未使道路空出空间来，
The increase in area does not make the road free,
shènzhì hái huì wúxíng zhī zhōng gǔlì gèng duō de sījī kāichē shànglù,
甚至还会无形之中鼓励更多的司机开车上路，
and even invisibly encourage more drivers to drive on the road,
shǐdé shì zhōngxīn de dàolù gèngjiā yǒngjǐ.
使得市中心的道路更加拥挤。
making the roads in the city center more crowded.
Nàme, rúhé gēnzhì jiāotōng yǒng dǔ ne?
那么，如何根治交通拥堵呢？
So, how to eradicate traffic congestion?
Zhèlǐ wǒmen bùfáng tīng tīng pèi·zhān sēn de gùshì.
这里我们不妨听听佩·詹森的故事。
Here we might as well listen to the story of Pei Johnson.
Zhān sēn yī dào ōuzhōu huánjìng bǎohù shǔ jiāotōng bù gōngzuò,
詹森一到欧洲环境保护署交通部工作，
As soon as Johnson went to work in the European Environmental Protection Agency's Transport Department,
jiù jiē dàole yánjiū rúhé jiějué chéngshì yōngdǔ wèntí de rènwù.
就接到了研究如何解决城市拥堵问题的任务。
he received a task to study how to solve the problem of urban congestion.
Yúshì, tā kāishǐ zhǎnkāi diàochá,
于是，他开始展开调查，
So he began to investigate,
yánjiū shōují shànglái de shùjù,
研究收集上来的数据，
study the collected data,
guīnà wèntí tèdiǎn,
归纳问题特点，
summarize the characteristics of the problem,
bìng xūxīn zīxúnle yǒuguān zhuānjiā.
并虚心咨询了有关专家。
and humbly consulted relevant experts.
Jiǔ yuè zhōngxún de yītiān zǎochén,
九月中旬的一天早晨，
One morning in mid-September,
zhān sēn zhàocháng tíqián chūmén gǎn zài zǎo gāofēng zhīqián qù jiāotōng bù.
詹森照常提前出门赶在早高峰之前去交通部。
Johnson went out early as usual to go to the Ministry of Transportation before the morning rush hour.
Tā kàn dào yīgè jiànshēn de rén mànpǎo tōngguò yīgè yǒu guòjiētiānqiáo de lùkǒu shí,
他看到一个健身的人慢跑通过一个有过街天桥的路口时，
When he saw a fitness guy jogging through an intersection with an overpass,
wèi tú shěngshì méi shàng tiānqiáo, ér shì héng chuān mǎlù.
为图省事没上天桥，而是横穿马路。
he didn't get on the overpass to save trouble, but crossed the road.
Jiéguǒ, tā bèi yī liàng chē zhuàng dǎo zài dì,
结果，他被一辆车撞倒在地，
As a result, he was hit by a car and fell to the ground.
suīrán zuìhòu tā zhǐshì shòule diǎn qīng shāng,
虽然最后他只是受了点轻伤，
Although he was only slightly injured in the end,
érqiě yǒu bǎoxiǎn kěyǐ péicháng, dàn sījī háishì bèi xià dé bù qīng.
而且有保险可以赔偿，但司机还是被吓得不轻。
and he was covered by insurance, the driver was still frightened.
Bùguò zhè jiàn shì dǎoshì gěile zhān sēn qǐfā:
不过这件事倒是给了詹森启发：
But this incident gave Johnson an inspiration:
Kāichē chūxíng shì wèile shěng shí shěnglì, dàn rúguǒ qíngkuàng xiāngfǎn ne?
开车出行是为了省时省力，但如果情况相反呢？
driving is to save time and effort, but what if the opposite is true?
Tā juédìng yào gǎibiàn shìmín chūxíng de guānniàn,
他决定要改变市民出行的观念，
He decided to change the people's concept of travel,
fǎn qí dào ér xíng zhī-ràng chéngshì xiān dǔ qǐlái,
反其道而行之－让城市先堵起来，
and do the opposite-let the city block up first,
gěi sījī zhìzào máfan, yǐ dǔ zhì dǔ.
给司机制造麻烦，以堵治堵。
create trouble for the drivers, and stop the traffic jam.
Jīngguò duō cì nǔlì,
经过多次努力，
After many efforts,
zhèngfǔ pīzhǔnle tā tíchū de gǎigé cuòshī,
政府批准了他提出的改革措施，
the government approved the reform measures he proposed,
bǐrú, zēngshè hónglǜdēng, ràng chēliàng bùdé bù zǒu zǒu tíng tíng;
比如，增设红绿灯，让车辆不得不走走停停；
such as adding traffic lights to make vehicles have to stop and go;
Zài zhǔyào shízìlù kǒu qǔxiāo dìxià tōngdào, ràng xíngrén cóng dìxià chóng fǎn dìmiàn;
在主要十字路口取消地下通道，让行人从地下重返地面；
canceling underground passages at major intersections to allow pedestrians to return to the ground from the underground;
zài gòuwù guǎngchǎng, shāngwù dàshà de fù bù jiàn tíngchē chǎng děng.
在购物广场、商务大厦的附不建停车场等。
in shopping plazas, commercial buildings, attached parking lots, etc.
Tóngshí, dàlì fāzhǎn gōnggòng jiāotōng.
同时，大力发展公共交通。
At the same time, vigorously develop public transportation.
Bànnián guòqùle,
半年过去了，
Half a year has passed.
suīrán shìmínmen yǒuxiē bàoyuàn, dàn xiàoguǒ fēicháng míngxiǎn,
虽然市民们有些抱怨，但效果非常明显，
Although the citizens have complained, the effect is very obvious.
zìyuàn fàngqì kāi sījiā chē chūmén de rén yuè lái yuè duō.
自愿放弃开私家车出门的人越来越多。
More and more people voluntarily give up driving their private cars to go out.
Zhè yě nánguài,
这也难怪，
It is no wonder that
yǔqí dǔ zài lùshàng làngfèi shíjiān hé qìyóu, wūrǎn huánjìng,
与其堵在路上浪费时间和汽油，污染环境，
instead of wasting time and gasoline on the road and polluting the environment,
dào bùrú gǎi chéng gōngjiāo chūxíng.
倒不如改乘公交出行。
it is better to travel by bus.
Zhèyàng yī lái, dàolù yōngdǔ dà wéi huǎnjiě.
这样一来，道路拥堵大为缓解。
As a result, road congestion is greatly eased.
Chéngshì běn shì wéirén ér jiàn, rújīn què bèi qìchē zhànyǒu,
城市本是为人而建，如今却被汽车占有，
The city was originally built for people, but now it is occupied by cars.
zhān sēn de mùbiāo hěn míngquè,
詹森的目标很明确，
Johnson’s goal is clear,
jiùshì qídài nénggòu jiěfàng chéngshì,
就是期待能够解放城市，
that is, he hopes to liberate the city
shǐ zhī gèng shìhé rénlèi shēnghuó.
使之更适合人类生活。
and make it more suitable for human life.
Gǎibiān zì “dúzhě”2012 nián dì 8 qī
改编自《读者》2012年第8期
Adapted from "Reader" Issue 8, 2012
Full Translation
Treating congestion with congestion: A smart way to relieve traffic burden
The rapid increase in the number of urban cars was initially regarded as a manifestation of social development and economic prosperity. But soon people discovered the problem. With the increase in traffic volume, roads have become extremely crowded, and traffic jams have become commonplace in big cities.
To solve the problem of traffic congestion, it is necessary to reduce the number of cars per unit area of roads, and new or widening roads are recognized as the most basic method. But the facts have proved that this is just our beautiful subjective wish. The speed of road expansion is far behind the increase in traffic volume. The increase in area does not make the road free, and even invisibly encourage more drivers to drive on the road, making the roads in the city center more crowded.
So, how to eradicate traffic congestion? Here we might as well listen to the story of Pei Johnson. As soon as Johnson went to work in the European Environmental Protection Agency's Transport Department, he received a task to study how to solve the problem of urban congestion. So he began to investigate, study the collected data, summarize the characteristics of the problem, and humbly consulted relevant experts.
One morning in mid-September, Johnson went out early as usual to go to the Ministry of Transportation before the morning rush hour. When he saw a fitness guy jogging through an intersection with an overpass, he didn't get on the overpass to save trouble, but crossed the road. As a result, he was hit by a car and fell to the ground.
Although he was only slightly injured in the end, and he was covered by insurance, the driver was still frightened. But this incident gave Johnson an inspiration: driving is to save time and effort, but what if the opposite is true? He decided to change the people's concept of travel, and do the opposite-let the city block up first, create trouble for the drivers, and stop the traffic jam.
After many efforts, the government approved the reform measures he proposed, such as adding traffic lights to make vehicles have to stop and go; canceling underground passages at major intersections to allow pedestrians to return to the ground from the underground; in shopping plazas, commercial buildings, attached parking lots, etc. At the same time, vigorously develop public transportation. Half a year has passed.
Although the citizens have complained, the effect is very obvious. More and more people voluntarily give up driving their private cars to go out. It is no wonder that instead of wasting time and gasoline on the road and polluting the environment, it is better to travel by bus. As a result, road congestion is greatly eased. The city was originally built for people, but now it is occupied by cars. Johnson’s goal is clear, that is, he hopes to liberate the city and make it more suitable for human life.
Adapted from "Reader" Issue 8, 2012
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