Parkageddon: How not to create traffic jams, pollution and urban sprawl | The Economist via NextDraft
http://nxt.fm/2p3PZ9Z

2 hours ago, Ryeman said:

 Parkageddon: How not to create traffic jams, pollution and urban sprawl | The Economist via NextDraft
http://nxt.fm/2p3PZ9Z

 

The answer can be to use different vehicles than standard 5m/6m car ie use a Smart car type vehicle or a motorcycle, problem largely solved as you can get 2 Smarts or 4 motorcycles to each normal parking space. Queues at junctions are shorter too allowing quicker access to slip roads, turns etc.  My Chevy Spark is only 3.5m and has move room than a Ford Focus in the cabin (smallish boot as a trade off but not required for many journeys, safe too.

Edited 15 April, 20179 yr by lol-lol

Expanding motorways resulting in more vehicles needing more roads space filled by........

Autonomous 'pods' as a string-of-pearls might give temporary relief I guess.

The U.S. is actually looking at NZ's tax code which regards free parking as a taxable benefit which, I guess, helps fund public transport improvements.

1 hour ago, Ryeman said:

Expanding motorways resulting in more vehicles needing more roads space filled by........

Autonomous 'pods' as a string-of-pearls might give temporary relief I guess.

The U.S. is actually looking at NZ's tax code which regards free parking as a taxable benefit which, I guess, helps fund public transport improvements.

 

In the UK we are only able to afford the "Smart Motorways" adaption of present motorways as the UK is too indebted (national debt approaching 90% of GDP) so the number of Motorway miles is changing very little in the UK despite the population increasing due to the failure to control migration from outside the EU.  On the other hand there are far less young people actually getting their licence and being able to afford a car and car insurance so it is becoming a privilege of the better off.

 

Adaptive cruise control can help though in the UK we tend to go for variable speed limits when the traffic gets bad ie get everyone moving along at 50 mph which maximizes traffic throughput at peak times. Using Google maps is also useful to let you know when to move to the A road network rather than be on the Motorway network.

 

Some local authorities, such as Nottingham, have adopted taxation of parking spaces, very unpopular.  More working from home more days would help, which is what I do, for those of us who work with electronic (data) rather than those who work with atoms (materials).         

When the train is more expensive and less convenient, and bus services are constantly cut from areas that need it that's why people drive.

 

It is not possible for me to get to work on time using public transport. The closest I can get is 09:02 and that involves two buses and a train and takes 2hr 26min.

In the car it takes an hour. It will cost about £34 which is about 85p per mile. The car is about 70ppm.

2 hours ago, Aspman said:

When the train is more expensive and less convenient, and bus services are constantly cut from areas that need it that's why people drive.

 

It is not possible for me to get to work on time using public transport. The closest I can get is 09:02 and that involves two buses and a train and takes 2hr 26min.

In the car it takes an hour. It will cost about £34 which is about 85p per mile. The car is about 70ppm.

Conservative governments tend to pay lip service to public transport out here.

They just love opening a new motorway.......more likely tollway.

I cant help but think the biggest issue with out public transport is that it's all privatised. If it was all government/council run (a competent government/council), the busy routes would help support the quieter routes and the majority of the profits would be reinvested.

 

As it stands, private companies run the majority of the transport companies, starving them of investment while paying shareholders and nice wedge, the paying public are seen as a cash cow.

In Australia the telcos cherry pick the big cities leaving vast empty spaces to make their own arrangements and I guess it's a bit like that when it comes to pt routes that are perhaps marginal thus forcing the disadvantaged to fend for themselves also.

Thats privatisation for you.