War on cars

[opik_bidin]

The slippery slope

1. Drivers tell cyclists to pay and get out from their space, as they pay so much
2. Cyclists look up how much they pay
3. Cyclists look up how much society pays

4. Cyclists look up how the money is distributed
5. Cyclists look up how the space is distributed
6. Turns out it's the drivers getting the lion share of money and space

7. Turns out the drivers aren't paying their fair share.

If utility bills must be paid, (an we know gas, water and electricity are essential) why not use the same logic for road space? why must it be free? why the one damaging and using its space for so much get it for free?

For the space, lets look at each vehicle dimension
For the damage, let's look at the vehicle weight and speed.
Then get the pay rate accordingly.

If a space in a building has it's own rate, which we know is true as there is demand for building spaces and a garage is expensive, why are road spaces free? if water, electricity and gas is billed, then why not road space too?

unrelated puic
https://twitter.com/edwardlamb/status/1 ... 2801667072

[opik_bidin]

Cycling to school, a 6 year old perspective

https://twitter.com/edwardlamb/status/1 ... 2801667072

[Thoglette]

Look Mum, we've got our own podcast: TheWarOnCars

(sorry, no reviews, too sick to do anything but cross post and/or snark)

[opik_bidin]

Quite surprising many talks and subsidies are aimed at electric cars. why not for ebikes? especially recumbent Cargo ebikes with Solar panels like this Velove Armadillo.

Already use less energy for being an ebike, it also use less electricity by using a solar panel. Looks like we can finally have a cycle that can replace cars.



Patrick Perret, from Switzerland, decided to combine making a statement and do a grand adventure together with his children Yoann and Emilie. He says:

I think it is necessary to realize that moving with a clean vehicle is essential if we want to provide a healthy life for our children. Currently 80% of cars move with only one person in them. Why move 1 ton of scrap to transport 80 kg? 90% of the energy consumed is used to move the car and maximum 10% for the person inside.
For everyday journeys, for example to get to work, it is quite possible to use a 4-wheeled, 80 kg vehicle in which one is safe, operating with clean energy. In addition, it brings considerable benefits regarding cost and parking.

We couldn't agree more! He continues:

Of course, the icing on the cake of the demonstration of the clean vehicle is the Adventure.
The Silk Road is an amazing journey for my children and myself with great emotions and memories.
In addition to the daily school education that I will strive to give them, my children will enjoy this journey for an education and an open mind that will give them a different vision of life.

[brumby33]

Yes if Bill Shorten wants a move towards green energy, he really needs to start with e-bikes and e-cargo bikes, restriction should be upgraded so that the e-bikes can move a bit faster, perhaps up to 40kph as apposed to 25kph so they do become a real alternative to metro journeys, even more small delivery vehicles can utilise e-bikes rather than small SUV's and small vans. (yeah I'm aware they are state restrictions..but they can be amended)
Being a Bus driver in the Sydney CBD you get to experience many things, you get to notice many things and one I shall call the new menace on the roads are Uber Drivers, if swarms of cabs weren't enough to deal with, we have these unregistered (meaning they don't need an Authority card like a cabbie) people movers, And they are getting very cheeky mainly because they are still cabbies doing other work in their own cars or are former cabbies...they are every damn where and parking in bus stops and No Stopping zones...I think the cops should really crack down on these people.....
It's Hard to know what they'll do with buses once the light rail begins because as it is now, it's very unsatisfactory in peak time with all buses fighting for space in Elizabeth street.

But having electric vehicles or bikes running around could also place a drain on our already stressed power grid...it doesn't have to cope yet for electric car charging but you can imagine the electric power that may be needed when people get home after a hard days work...park their electric cars or bikes in the Garage....then they need to cook some dinner...all of a sudden...massive power hikes.
Now sure...people can wait till later to charge their vehicle...but will they.

Theres a report from Germany I read yesterday that electric vehicle create more CO2's due to the need of coal fired power that Europe still relies on for it's baseline power.

But getting back to Sydney or Melbourne and other capitols around Australia, if the Government wants to be serious....start with what they have first with e-bikes and ordinary bikes and work from there, hopefully by the time the electric car networks are affordable, many people will have learnt the virtue for cycling or e-biking and City people will be healthier for it. It's gotta be good for the medicare levies.

brumby33

[hunch]

Theres a report from Germany I read yesterday that electric vehicle create more CO2's due to the need of coal fired power that Europe still relies on for it's baseline power.

In light of current election campaign, sounds a bit minerals council or lnp inspired copy! Sure there's brown and black coal generation in the mix, presently the Eu is just under 20% from that source declining about 5% in 10 years. Renewables account for about a third, gas and nuke the bulk of the remainder.

There's vast differences in "Europe" over what CO2 is generated by an electric vehicle, last figures I've seen for high emission Germany, including cost of manufacture, was ~ 230g/km, Norway on the other hand was somewhere around 70~80g/km, presumably from hydro. The Aussie vehicle fleet averages around 240g/km just in fuel burn, before manufacturing the vehicle, transporting both it and fuel, refining O/S, etc, are taken into account....then there's the intangibles of health effects.

[opik_bidin]

What car Commutes do, from the FB comment
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatwou ... 574945428/

James Rowlands
The side effects of this are that the driver is both time and money poor. They have less time for exercise. Less time for healthier and cheaper food options.
Which all compound into making them more dependent on their boss, and less independent within the economy.

Also, the perception of range, makes workers apply for jobs in distant areas, creating competition among workers, which puts a downward pressure on wages, and incentivises the ruling class to focus on car infrastructure, rather than public transport.

Adding more time to the most disadvantaged worker's commutes, which essentially constitutes unpaid labour, since it's the bosses benefiting, not the worker.

Here is your Australian Car Cost Calculator
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

[opik_bidin]

Ok, let's move to another topic : speed

Many say, faster is better, not only you get there faster, but also good for the environment as you use less fuel, but is it true?

first. look at this graph from https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety ... -distances:


remember :
In an emergency, the average driver takes about 1.5 seconds to react. Stopping distances increase exponentially the faster you go.

Question is, on a 10 km straight road with good condition How much "average car it can accomodate, if the speed is:
1. 40 km/h
2. 50 km/h
3. 60 km/h
4. 70 km/h
5. 80 km/h
6. 90 km/h
7. 100 km/h
8. 110 km/h
???

This is something not thought about, a road with 40 km/h speed accomodate more cars than the 110 km/h

[fat and old]

What car Commutes do, from the FB comment
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatwou ... 574945428/

James Rowlands
The side effects of this are that the driver is both time and money poor. They have less time for exercise. Less time for healthier and cheaper food options.
Which all compound into making them more dependent on their boss, and less independent within the economy.

Also, the perception of range, makes workers apply for jobs in distant areas, creating competition among workers, which puts a downward pressure on wages, and incentivises the ruling class to focus on car infrastructure, rather than public transport.

Adding more time to the most disadvantaged worker's commutes, which essentially constitutes unpaid labour, since it's the bosses benefiting, not the worker.

Ahhhh! So it’s all a giant Illuminati conspiracy. So desu.....I look forward to the entry on Surplus Labour.

[opik_bidin]

Always a good reminder
https://twitter.com/tonybmorton/status/ ... 5149756416

On @abcmelbourne, @GrahamCurrie1 talks about wrongheadedmess of building 24 lane spaghetti junctions, while Jon Faine suggests it’s impossible to do without freeways. #Vancouver has largely done so: unlike Melb their planning put cars last, and actually reduced travel times.

Is it really impossible to double public transport capacity in Melb? It’s the wrong question. Our City Loop doubled capacity in the 1970s, yet we didn’t use any of that extra capacity until 2009. In fact, you only need 2 extra trains per hour to match one full freeway lane.

Melbourne’s present-day traffic problems are the result of trying to ‘fix’ smaller traffic problems in the past. #nelink & co will just give us bigger traffic problems to ‘fix’ in the future. Stop trying to ‘fix’ this and fix it.

[opik_bidin]

Ok, let's move to another topic : speed

Using the most dangerous one (wet roads), as it simulates no looking while on the phone and distracted
10 km can have

1. 40 km/h -> 333 cars
2. 50 km/h -> 244 cars
3. 60 km/h -> 185 cars
4. 70 km/h -> 145 cars
5. 80 km/h -> 118 cars
6. 90 km/h -> 97 cars
7. 100 km/h -> 81 cars
8. 110 km/h -> 70 cars

based on safe braking distance

So at higher speeds, the road capacity is reduced.

[fat and old]

Always a good reminder
https://twitter.com/tonybmorton/status/ ... 5149756416

On @abcmelbourne, @GrahamCurrie1 talks about wrongheadedmess of building 24 lane spaghetti junctions, while Jon Faine suggests it’s impossible to do without freeways. #Vancouver has largely done so: unlike Melb their planning put cars last, and actually reduced travel times.

Is it really impossible to double public transport capacity in Melb? It’s the wrong question. Our City Loop doubled capacity in the 1970s, yet we didn’t use any of that extra capacity until 2009. In fact, you only need 2 extra trains per hour to match one full freeway lane.

Melbourne’s present-day traffic problems are the result of trying to ‘fix’ smaller traffic problems in the past. #nelink & co will just give us bigger traffic problems to ‘fix’ in the future. Stop trying to ‘fix’ this and fix it.

You don’t live in Melbourne aye? I can’t think of anyone outside of various twitterati who thinks NE Link is a bad thing. Even the homeowners affected have given support . Not the business affected in Bulleen, but everyone else.

Not to mention the usual A+ cycling paths that will be built alongside.

[warthog1]

Ok, let's move to another topic : speed

Using the most dangerous one (wet roads), as it simulates no looking while on the phone and distracted
10 km can have

1. 40 km/h -> 333 cars
2. 50 km/h -> 244 cars
3. 60 km/h -> 185 cars
4. 70 km/h -> 145 cars
5. 80 km/h -> 118 cars
6. 90 km/h -> 97 cars
7. 100 km/h -> 81 cars
8. 110 km/h -> 70 cars

based on safe braking distance

So at higher speeds, the road capacity is reduced.

So at 100km/h you are saying ~120m between each car in the same lane,?
I think not even in heavy rain.
100m in the dry?

Have you seen that sort of a gap left on any freeway anywhere?

[opik_bidin]

Ok, let's move to another topic : speed

Using the most dangerous one (wet roads), as it simulates no looking while on the phone and distracted
10 km can have

1. 40 km/h -> 333 cars
2. 50 km/h -> 244 cars
3. 60 km/h -> 185 cars
4. 70 km/h -> 145 cars
5. 80 km/h -> 118 cars
6. 90 km/h -> 97 cars
7. 100 km/h -> 81 cars
8. 110 km/h -> 70 cars

based on safe braking distance

So at higher speeds, the road capacity is reduced.

So at 100km/h you are saying ~120m between each car in the same lane,?
I think not even in heavy rain.
100m in the dry?

Have you seen that sort of a gap left on any freeway anywhere?

Which is why it's becoming dangerous if there is a mishap. High speed with unsafe gap is a recipe for disaster. I'm following Live Traffic NSW feed and their are news of crashes almost everyday.

Add not your average vehicle to the mix like trucks and SUVs, adding more risk.

Many People assume the safe gap is similar between high and low speeds, but even a 10 km/h difference in the speed is big.

This Capacity related to speed also raises a question on adding more roads and lanes to speed up, as probably the capacity will remain the similar, we just get further and further away from each other and consuming environment in the process

[human909]

Ok, let's move to another topic : speed

Using the most dangerous one (wet roads), as it simulates no looking while on the phone and distracted
10 km can have

1. 40 km/h -> 333 cars
2. 50 km/h -> 244 cars
3. 60 km/h -> 185 cars
4. 70 km/h -> 145 cars
5. 80 km/h -> 118 cars
6. 90 km/h -> 97 cars
7. 100 km/h -> 81 cars
8. 110 km/h -> 70 cars

based on safe braking distance

So at higher speeds, the road capacity is reduced.

You don't need to leave a full braking distance between cars travelling in a flow! Traffic flux (vehicles/hour) is largely not depended on speed in the simplified model and in free flow. Your own calculation should show that if you assumed reaction distance rather than braking distance between vehicles.

I could go on but there is plenty of other rigorous studies into traffic flow. A quick google will find them.

[fat and old]

Add not your average vehicle to the mix like trucks and SUVs, adding more risk.

In what way does an SUV present greater risk in a braking situation? Or a truck for that matter?

[opik_bidin]

You don't need to leave a full braking distance between cars travelling in a flow! Traffic flux (vehicles/hour) is largely not depended on speed in the simplified model and in free flow. Your own calculation should show that if you assumed reaction distance rather than braking distance between vehicles.

I could go on but there is plenty of other rigorous studies into traffic flow. A quick google will find them.

The key is flow. Thing is, we have bottlenecks and "disruptions":

1. Traffic lights
2. Crosswalks
3. Intersections
4. Mix of vehicles with their own speed, weight, space, and braking.
5. People crossing the road

Which brings to the ultimate index used by traffic and transport engineers: LOS " Level of service". Which justifies every widening and disruption eraseure to ensure the speed and flow is constant.

Problem is, they don't think.

1. They erase the crosswalks, forcing pedestrians to travel longer, which then forces the pedestrians into cars.
2. They fence the footpath to discourage crossing the road, again forcing pedestrians to travel longer, which then forces the pedestrians into cars.
3. They widen almost every road even when money isn't enough, but then those wide roads meet at an intersection, which erases all the time savings, as intersections of roads with multiple lanes


4. They then propose these sphagetti junctions, diamonds, and roundabouts, taking valuable environment


And worryingly, these are the future Australia is going, all in the name of speed, while the time isn't going any shorter and making it a nightmare for other transport modes

[fat and old]

Just out of interest, do you ever check or look at what you post? That’s a huge amount of gobbledygook on my screen. What is it?

Edit: cool, can see it now

[opik_bidin]

Another aspect is, if flow and LOS is maintained, the place will become unbearable. It's just like a desert.

Probably OK if road with high speeds are going through uninhabited land (that is still debatable, as we have many animal death on roads), but when it goes through busy areas, like schools-unis, residential and commercial areas, that becomes a problem.

People crossing the road naturally, children playing in the streets, social meetings at the street, those will be lost, and the social ties keepig people together will disappear, resulting in more social and mental problems as a result of living in a bubble of isolation



an times are changing too.

Previously, a car will stop and ask politely for people on the streets to give way, nowadays they just honk angrily and in some cases threaten to crush,

[Thoglette]

And worryingly, these are the future Australia is going, all in the name of speed, while the time isn't going any shorter and making it a nightmare for other transport modes

For those who think we can "fix the roads" by building more, this is the future (or actually, present)

By the way, the road above (Katy Freeway) Is still just as congested after they spend US2.8B on it.

[opik_bidin]

highlighting how much is parking and road subsidized

https://www.fastcompany.com/90342223/th ... rking-spot

The newest hot coworking space costs just $2.25 an hour, because it is a parking spot

On Monday, April 29, San Francisco workers from various industries–tech, investing, design, activism–gathered near Civic Center to work for the day. This is not unusual: Of any city in the U.S., San Francisco has the highest proportion of coworking spaces relative to its population, and it’s pretty common for freelancers and remote employees to find themselves working in close proximity to each other, but not exactly together.

But the gathering on Monday was different. For one thing, it happened outside: Workers congregated around tables set up for the day in an empty parking space. And while all the participants were working on their own projects, together, they were collectively and concertedly proving two points: one about the high cost of coworking spaces in an already unaffordable city, and another about how the space currently dedicated to on-street parking in cramped cities like San Francisco could be put to better and more human-centric use.

[opik_bidin]

This pic sums up the danger of speed, and we'll dig deeper, because as speed increase, the road and surroundings change too

[mikesbytes]

Unfortunately this happens almost every day. Only reported when its a bit different to the other tragedies

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-ac ... c13f4973cd

[Thoglette]

Unfortunately this happens almost every day. Only reported when its a bit different to the other tragedies

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-ac ... c13f4973cd

Witnesses claimed the driver didn’t seem to have realised he had hit anyone, 9 News reported.

As someone who knows the area (in passing), it's a typical north shore through road where not only is 50kph way too fast but is treated as a minimum by most motorists. The section north of the M1 is even more of a freeway

[queequeg]

Unfortunately this happens almost every day. Only reported when its a bit different to the other tragedies

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-ac ... c13f4973cd

Witnesses claimed the driver didn’t seem to have realised he had hit anyone, 9 News reported.

As someone who knows the area (in passing), it's a typical north shore through road where not only is 50kph way too fast but is treated as a minimum by most motorists. The section north of the M1 is even more of a freeway

The intersection is also one of those ones that gives pedestrians and motorists a green light at the same time. There is no arrow for turning. It reminds of an almost identical fatality at Beecroft a number of years ago where a bus returning from a school trip made a left hand turn and ran over a mother, who was going to the school to meet her daughter, who was actually on the bus that ran her over. There was no turn arrow at that intersection either, and the turning driver also claimed not to have seen the pedestrian crossing the road.

Thinking about it too, on my daily commute, I have to cross 6 lanes of pennant hills road at a four way intersection, and motorists rarely give way to me. We both get the green light at the same time, and I barely get half way across before I have cars making left hand turns across the crossing I am using. I end up having to weave between cars to get around them as they end up blocking the crossing.