Annals of Motordom – 35

An occasional update on items from Motordom – the world of auto dominance.

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CARMA … WHAT?

Not quite sure what to think of Carmaggedon – the closure of I-405, one of Los Angeles’s busiest freeways, for a weekend.  Sure it was overhyped; that’s a standard technique: Scare the hell out of people.  Surprise: doomsday averted!

Mayor Villaraigosa: “I don’t think I have ever seen so few cars on the road on a Saturday afternoon.”

But it does raise questions:

Why are they spending a billion dollars to widen the freeway at all, when a modest shift in traffic would solve much of the congestion problem – and a new HOV lane probably won’t?

Why aren’t there more transportation choices so a region doesn’t have to go through such silliness every time a freeway is shut down?  (America should be expecting a lot more of that kind of thing as the interstate system ages, they refuse to raise gas taxes and they defund government, leaving a huge hole where ‘maintenance’ used to be.)

Why is anyone surprised that cyclists can beat almost everything else – including jet planes! – since it keeps happening every time one of these events occurs?  (#flightvsbike).

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TWO WORLDS

Based on this story – Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy – the New York Times conducted a debate:

Car Clash: Europe vs. the U.S.: Why has urban planning in the U.S. taken a different course? How should Americans view the anti-driving campaigns in Europe?

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TRICKS WITH TRID

From Eric Britton at World Streets:

This is not just a good database and handy resource —  it is an EXCELLENT tool for planners, policy makers,  academics, and quite possibly you. If you are not already using it, at the very least check  out the quick presentation here.

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MOTORCYCLE CHALLENGE

Jack Becker writes from Taipei:

“What is the biggest transportation challenge at this time?”

That was the question posed yesterday to the Commissioner for Transportation for Taipei City.  Motorcycles was the response.

Is it a simple a fact that needs to be accepted that young people are too mesmerized by speed and by the flexibility of winding and twisting through traffic? Is it the rush of emotions of seeing how close one can cut off a car before one is lying on a pavement with blood flowing onto the asphalt?

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