An occasional update on items from Motordom – the world of auto dominance
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EVIDENCE OF THE SELF-EVIDENT
Millions of Americans … pay dearly for their dependence on automobiles, losing hours a day that would be better spent exercising, socializing with family and friends, preparing home-cooked meals or simply getting enough sleep. The resulting costs to both physical and mental health are hardly trivial.
Suburban sprawl “has taken a huge toll on our health” …
More here on Commuting’s Hidden Costs.
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THE FUTURE IN A BLACK BOX
As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car.
The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America’s major roads.
The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill.
This is likely the only way to introduce road pricing: tolls on already-existing infrastructure are unfair and unlikely. But as autonomous cars are introduced through fleet management – car-sharing, in particular – the road price can be included without being seen as a tax.
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NACTO URBAN STREET DESIGN GUIDE
Urban Street Design Guide Receives Raves
The National Association of City Transportation Officials’ Urban Street Design Guide, released in September, is a blueprint for designing 21st century streets. Its influence is growing as cities lead a movement to build sustainable streets that will improve urban life. At the launch, NACTO President Janette Sadik-Khan said the guide is “a permission slip for people to innovate” and a “new DNA for city streets.”
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Re the NACTO guide, I recently came across another recent guide out of Ireland, which is fantastic as well. It includes a really good introduction section which discusses the historical engineering approach which got us to where we are now, and also points a way forward:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Planning/FileDownLoad,32668,en.pdf