An occasional update on items from Motordom:
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BACK TO THE ’60s
… total oil consumption in the United States fell by about 1.5 percent last year—meaning that the country as a whole used about as much oil in 2012 as it did in 1994.
But meanwhile, the nation’s population grew by 19 percent. And falling consumption coupled with a rising population has led to a striking decline in per capita consumption.
… the sharp decline in per capita oil consumption started in roughly 2004, when the economy seemed to be humming along quite nicely. That’s when oil prices started rising sharply—leading industries and consumers to start looking in earnest for ways to cut back on consumption. Some of the oil cutbacks came from fuel switching, particularly from oil to natural gas. But much of the cutback came from plain old conservation: driving a bit less, boosting energy efficiency in homes and businesses, and so forth.
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ASPEN AT 14
Aspen city council members are considering a 14 mile per hour speed limit in a residential area in attempt to get the attention of drivers and get them to slow down.Residents say few drivers are obeying the current 25 miles per hour speed limit and are ignoring other efforts to protect residents.
According to the Aspen Times, Mayor Mick Ireland suggested an 18 mph limit because the number is out of the ordinary for a speed limit and will attract a driver’s attention. After further discussion, council members decided to drop the proposed limit down to 14 mph.
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SAVE THE POINTLESS TO MAKE A POINT
Knute Berger at Seattle’s Crosscut bemoans the loss of the ‘ghost ramps’:
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The ramps were unfinished business for road builders. They would have connected 520 to the planned R.H. Thomson Expressway, which would have been part of a massive ring-road system circling the city — some said, strangling it. Worse, the system would have devastated many neighborhoods, including Montlake and the Arboretum, the Central District, Pioneer Square and others. Opponents of R.H. Thomson described it as a “concrete dragon.”.… like good ruins, they aged well over time. … I think it’s a mistake to remove all vestiges of the ramps, even to gain trails. Something of the ramps should be preserved to carry this rich history and message. Sad to think that half a century after they were built, the hubris of those times is not only being forgotten, but being repeated as 520 expands to carry more cars and as our state transportation policy remains too auto-centric.
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