Traffic Flow

Introduction

I have a 1st grader and 5th grader that attend elementary school in separate buildings. The east building, where my 5th grader attends, has a start time of 8:15 & is dropped off at 8:05. The west building, where my 1st grader attends, has a start time of 8:25 and is dropped off at 8:15. With traffic, it takes about 10 minutes to get from one building to the other. Even though both are dropped of 10 minutes before start time, there are always a CONSIDERABLE amount of cars backed up west building. While the school bus seems to be an equal mode of transportation for both locations, I believe the number of bike riders influence this situation. My hypothesis is that more students ride their bicycle to 5th grade than to 1st grade.

Methods

Since this is an observational lab, the method for conducting and collecting data vary from our traditional experimental lab. This lab is based upon my observations & experiences in dropping my kids off at different schools. When I stopped in both traffic circles due to cars in front of me, I paused and counted the number of cars in front of me. I then used my rearview mirror to count the number of cars behind me. I observed my entire surroundings when looking for approaching bikers. I recorded the time and temperature from the devices in my car & observed the weather. I then observed the number of bicycles already parked in the bicycle rack.