SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — The City of Sioux Falls wants drivers to embrace the zipper merge.
Wednesday’s city briefing hosted the city engineer Andy Berg and Mayor Paul TenHaken, who discussed the ongoing construction throughout the city that is leading to reported delays and traffic concerns.
In an effort to limit traffic delays, the city wants drivers to embrace zipper merging.
“When we have a lane closure or reduction, mitigating that flow is through a late merge, or known as a zipper merge,” Berg said.
Merging too early in a construction zone results in significant delays to the flow of traffic. Using a zipper merge can reduce the congestion by up to 40%, Berg said.
The mayor then challenged drivers to “feel the urge to zipper merge,” on a t-shirt he wore to the briefing.
“The number one complaint we get is about traffic flow,” TenHaken said.
“Zipper merging is fine, it’s acceptable,” he said. “We’re basically trying to educate our residents that this is not a rude behavior, it’s a correct behavior.”
KELOLAND News will have more coverage from Wednesday’s road construction media briefing on air and online.
