Traffic on the Bridge of Nations would flow a lot more smoothly if motorists employed the zipper merge technique.
On that front, motorists who drive to the end of the merge lane before signalling into the through lane aren’t jerks for jumping the queue.
They’re using the zipper merge as intended.
In a zipper merge, vehicles remain in both lanes for as long as possible before they merge, one by one, into the through lane. Each merging vehicle signals into the through lane when they reach the end of their lane.
Traffic is intended to move at a consistent speed in a zipper merge, making it safer for drivers and avoiding heavy congestion by up to 40 per cent, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which lists additional benefits as including:
- Reduces differences in speeds between the two lanes
- Creates a sense of fairness and equity that all lanes are moving at the same rate
Their advice for a zipper merge is: “As you see the ‘lane closed ahead’ sign and traffic backing up, stay in your current lane up to the point of merge. Then take turns with other drivers to safely and smoothly ease into the remaining lane.”
If not for a zipper merge, traffic is often found backed up much further in the through lane, with a hodgepodge of traffic stopped in the merge lane signalling to get in.
"When a line of traffic isn't forced to come to a virtual halt in the chaos of early merging, it allows traffic to maintain momentum that gets it past the obstruction quicker,” according to city messaging from 2017.
The City of Greater Sudbury has conducted zipper-merge public messaging in the past, and a spokesperson said they plan on doing another round soon due to construction work on the Bridge of Nations expected to continue until approximately Oct. 31.
The following is a video of a zipper merge demonstration created by the Alberta Motor Association:
