Can you imagine a local Council reducing speeds to “30km per hour throughout 80 percent of the city (residential streets and side roads) and 50kmh on priority roads”? Graz, Austria, did – and Australian Paul Tranter argues that it makes sense.
Tranter identifies a time paradox in the fact that attempts to increase the speed of commuting actually lead to a greater amount of time being spent on transport. He does this by accounting for the time in a holistic way, rather than just looking at the time it takes to get from home to the workplace.
So, for example, it might take you 20 minutes longer to travel by bus than it does by car, but the extra costs incurred in fuel, tolls, parking and running the car mean you have to spend significantlylonger at work to pay for the journey.
It is all about how you your look at time: the long view, or the short.
For years I’ve been keen on the idea that the default maximum speed in the city should be 30km unless otherwise posted (and of course, it would be posted higher on thoroughfares), but I’d always thought it a hopeless fantasy. It’s encouraging to see that Graz did it.
I’ve often dreamt of “slow lanes” where any vehicle would be welcomed, but the maximum speed would be, say, 20 KPH.
I always assumed the limit on the side streets in Vancouver was 30 km/h, and fumed at drivers that whizzed through. And then to my dismay I realized that it’s perfectly legal to drive 50 on a narrow residential street, with parked cars on both sides narrowing it to further a single lane of traffic. Not to mention that you have to share it with cyclists, and the odd kid running around. That’s just nuts!