Long Commutes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

The chosen issue for this project is the long commutes in my hometown, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Living here has exposed me to the issue of long commutes practically all my life, and it is a genuine everyday problem for everyone in town. At some point in history, the road infrastructure in Tuscaloosa was efficient for every resident, and there were no such problems as traffic congestion. However, there has been rapid growth and an increase in population with little to no changes in the infrastructure, meaning that more people are using roads that were meant for only a percentage of them: Long Commutes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The government plans to solve the issue, which will take place in the year 2050, almost fifteen years from now. The problem has been around long enough that it is now considered normal, and people usually tolerate it, seeing it as just another life challenge they have to deal with, like bad weather. Nonetheless, it is not normal and should not be tolerated; rather, it should be solved because it is a manmade problem, and with the right strategy, it can be solved before more permanent solutions like better roads are built.

The problem of long commutes due to traffic congestion affects several stakeholders, including students, teachers, parents, employees in the downtown area, and individuals with a lower socioeconomic status. Students who go to school every day face these long commutes, which can be exhausting. Also, for those who use public transport, there is an additional issue of being at risk of insecurity.

The routine of being stuck in traffic every day means that students have to get up earlier than usual to avoid traffic. Those residing in the suburbs far away from downtown also have to travel far to access the schools. Such factors will affect how the day starts for these students, whereby they get to school exhausted or late, which, in turn, affects their performance at school.

The same applies to parents and employees who use these roads every morning. Studies have shown that long commutes tend to harm a person’s mental and emotional well-being, with other studies showing that people who take long commutes are less happy or satisfied with their lives (Clark et al. 2802). Students, especially teenagers, are already at a critical time in their lives because many long-term habits are formed at this time. Thus, when teenagers are subjected to a life where they are less happy or a life that leads to mental challenges like anxiety, depression, stress, or burnout, among others, they are likely to form unhealthy coping habits, which become long-term habits.

Moreover, employees working in the downtown area also face traffic congestion, and, like students, this affects them. Due to traffic, employees get to work already exhausted, which, consequently, affects their productivity at work. In addition, they also feel less happy about their lives, which impacts their personal relationships or habits.

For example, people who take long commutes have no good leisure habits and engage in harmful behavioral activities that negatively impact their health. These behaviors include lack of physical activity, drinking alcohol often, being overweight, and unhealthy diet, among others (Raza et al. 2). Notably, the employees may also be parents who drop off their children at school and then head to work.

The solution to this problem was on a small scale, mostly focusing on schools because many cars are on the road, especially during peak hours in the morning when parents drop off their children at school. The solution would be to reduce the number of cars headed to schools and downtown. As a student doing this project, my resources were limited to only school-centered solutions. Many students are dropped off by their parents at school in their personal cars, increasing the number of cars coming and going out every morning and evening.

Since most of the students reside in the suburbs and share neighborhoods, the idea was to introduce carpooling, whereby parents could organize themselves and take shifts in taking their children and those of other parents to school. I believe this is a solution that all stakeholders, including students, teachers, and parents, will fully support. This would mean that a parent could carry around four to five students in their car, reducing the number of cars from five to one. The number is vastly reduced when this extends to other neighborhoods and schools.

The solution is about making life easier for everyone, and even though it is only school-centered, the reduction in the number of cars on the street during peak hours will positively impact the larger population because there will be less traffic; hence, no congestion and the commutes will be shorter, especially in regards to time. This will mean that students will get to school and employees to work on time.

As a result, their performance in their daily activities will improve, and the results will also improve. Subsequently, this will translate to improvements in other areas of life, including mental, emotional, and physical health, as they are currently affected negatively by the commuting issue. The life satisfaction gauge of the residents in this town is also expected to go up.

In conclusion, long commutes in Tuscaloosa have long been an issue that residents have had to deal with every day. Long commutes have been linked with negative impacts on people’s lives, including mental health issues, poor health behavioral issues, and overall satisfaction with life. In addition, they affect the productivity and performance of individuals who face long hours of commuting every morning and night. In this regard, the solution was to reduce the number of cars heading toward schools to drop off students.

These cars make up a significant percentage of cars in traffic; therefore, reducing this number will be beneficial for everyone. Carpooling is the ideal solution for this problem, whereby a program will be made that parents can use to take shifts in carpooling students from the same neighborhoods. Taking into account that every school will take part in this initiative, the number of cars on the road every day will decrease significantly, which will, in turn, reduce the long commutes and their negative effects on the community.

Works Cited

Clark, Ben, et al. “How Commuting Affects Subjective Wellbeing.” Transportation, vol. 47, no. 6, Mar. 2019, pp. 2777–2805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-019-09983-9.

Raza, Auriba, et al. “Commuting Distance and Behavior-related Health: A Longitudinal Study.” Preventive Medicine, vol. 150, June 2021, p. 106665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106665.

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Assignment Details

< ENG–102–0–11501ENGLISH COMPOSITION II (Fall 2024)

Here are some questions to consider:

• What is the specific local problem or opportunity you have chosen?
• Why did you choose this problem or opportunity?
• If it‘s a problem, how is it currently affecting the local community you have chosen?
• If it‘s an opportunity, how might it help the local community you have chosen?
• Who is affected by this problem, or who would benefit from the opportunity?
• What are the potential causes or factors contributing to the problem or the opportunity?
• Are there any existing efforts or initiatives in place to address this problem or to take on this opportunity?