Wednesday, April 18, 2012
long term health impact of particulates
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120417221835.htm
However, these short-term studies left unclear how many extra admissions occurred in the long run, and only included people who live near air pollution monitors, typically located in cities. No studies of long-term exposure to fine air particles (over the course of a year or two years) and rates of hospitalizations had been done.
Our study found that long-term rates of admissions for pneumonia, heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes are higher in locations with higher long-term average particle concentrations.
These particles, such as soot from vehicles, and other particles from power plants, wood burning, and certain industrial processes, are a significanthealth riskwhen they lodgein the lungs, causing inflammation there and in the rest of the body, and contributing to lung and heart disease.
For every 10-µg/m3 increase in long-term PM2.5 exposure, the researchers found a 4.22% increase in respiratory admissions, a 3.12% increase in cardiovascular disease admissions, a 3.49% increase in stroke admissions, and a 6.33% increase in diabetes admissions.
"Particulate air pollution is one of the largest avoidable causes of death and illness in the United States, and unlike diet and exercise, does not require behavioral change. Off-the-shelf technology can be retrofitted onto sources of pollution at modest cost, with a large health benefit.
==========
[PDF]
A Glance at Outdoor Air Quality and Human Health in Waterloo Region
chd.region.waterloo.on.ca/en/.../resources/Outdoor_Air_Report.pdf
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
2 Jun 2005 – and particulate levels with a variety of negative health impacts ... Fine particulates (PM2 . 5) refers to a ... Waterloo Region's Outdoor Air Quality: ...
D - what a gem! Where images are from.
D - cars don't just kill by hitting pedestrians. They kill simply by being used.
Your right to throw your fist stops at my nose.
Your unfettered right to drive a car ends at a similar point- before my LUNGS.
Unless you wish to direct all those exhaust fumes into your passenger compartment.
Of course, that'd be suicide.
This is a slow and more broad and random version of the same. Criminal negligence causing death.
I stand corrected. The Car is King was mantra of mine.
Now it's a murderous dictator.
Proof's in the puddin'.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
light rail. uptown waterloo. still no bike lane
D- notice anything? Yup. Stick sux a*s for cyclists.
There is not, nor will there ever be, any place for bicycles uptown.
"Just walk it!"
Really? For how many blocks? Plus walking beside my bike occupies TWICE the width as riding it. Damned if do, or if don't.
And occupying a whole lane will no longer be an option with only one car lane each way. Though if you did so to avoid the 'door prize' now, you'd still get harrassed by cars, even though they have another lane to use. Try it sometime.
Thank GOD (sarcasm!) there will still be on-street parking for cars instead of space dedicated to bike lanes! Grr.
Monday, March 26, 2012
toronto subway fail. 2 success stories
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/green-driving/news-and-notes/a-tale-of-two-cities-that-did-mass-transit-right/article2376420/
I like to use the example of Madrid, a city of comparable size to Toronto. Madrid has 293 kilometres of subway lines serving 272 stations. Toronto has 70 kilometres serving 69 stations. By that standard, Toronto should have four times the amount of underground rapid transit as it has now. It doesn’t even have a rapid rail line to the airport. No wonder Toronto roads are jammed...
With typical Swiss efficiency, Lausanne began thinking about a new subway in 2001. It held a referendum on the question in 2002, started building in 2003 and opened the doors in 2008. If you’ve seen Lausanne, you know that the place is built up the side of a mountain and the grade the subway has to climb is substantial. That’s why it went with rubber-tired trains (like Montreal’s), which can climb slopes that are a 12 per cent grade in some places.
The new subway is particularly impressive in that it is fully automated and runs entirely with driverless trains. Let’s see Toronto politicians get that one past the union.
Lausanne’s little trains of three cars each runs silently and smoothly through 14 stations and about eight kilometres of tunnels. The stations are equipped with platform screen doors and a train arrives every three minutes.
Although it’s a small city, the subway will carry 25 million riders a year. It is so convenient and pleasant that everybody uses it.
It has eliminated countless diesel buses that otherwise would be grinding their way up the hills. And because it runs underground, there are no congestion problems and it doesn’t interfere with surface traffic. Maximum speed is 60 km/h and an end-to-end trip takes 18 minutes.
Lausanne is the world’s smallest city with a subway system and the job – from concept to finished product – took only seven years. Madrid has built roughly five kilometres of new subway every year for more than 20 years. Toronto squabbles.
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D - note they talk about how CHEAP it is. If fast, competitive with driving, folks will use it.
I like to use the example of Madrid, a city of comparable size to Toronto. Madrid has 293 kilometres of subway lines serving 272 stations. Toronto has 70 kilometres serving 69 stations. By that standard, Toronto should have four times the amount of underground rapid transit as it has now. It doesn’t even have a rapid rail line to the airport. No wonder Toronto roads are jammed...
With typical Swiss efficiency, Lausanne began thinking about a new subway in 2001. It held a referendum on the question in 2002, started building in 2003 and opened the doors in 2008. If you’ve seen Lausanne, you know that the place is built up the side of a mountain and the grade the subway has to climb is substantial. That’s why it went with rubber-tired trains (like Montreal’s), which can climb slopes that are a 12 per cent grade in some places.
The new subway is particularly impressive in that it is fully automated and runs entirely with driverless trains. Let’s see Toronto politicians get that one past the union.
Lausanne’s little trains of three cars each runs silently and smoothly through 14 stations and about eight kilometres of tunnels. The stations are equipped with platform screen doors and a train arrives every three minutes.
Although it’s a small city, the subway will carry 25 million riders a year. It is so convenient and pleasant that everybody uses it.
It has eliminated countless diesel buses that otherwise would be grinding their way up the hills. And because it runs underground, there are no congestion problems and it doesn’t interfere with surface traffic. Maximum speed is 60 km/h and an end-to-end trip takes 18 minutes.
Lausanne is the world’s smallest city with a subway system and the job – from concept to finished product – took only seven years. Madrid has built roughly five kilometres of new subway every year for more than 20 years. Toronto squabbles.
------------
D - note they talk about how CHEAP it is. If fast, competitive with driving, folks will use it.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
old drivers to get tested
http://www.therecord.com/living/article/678212--turning-80-driving-test-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be
When you reach 80, and every two years after that, you are required to take a free vision and knowledge test and attend a group education session in order to renew your license. You may also be required to take a road test if they feel you might be a safety risk.
There are stiffer rules now as well for young drivers, with graduated licensing requirements over a two-year period.
Men seem to have a harder time giving up their driver’s licence. They outnumbered the women at the group session I attended and most of them appeared more confident and relaxed. The examiner told us that her oldest applicant is a 102-year-old man who has attended the sessions 12 times. He is usually the first one finished with the written test, scores 100 per cent and leaves in a hurry to get on with his busy life.
When you reach 80, and every two years after that, you are required to take a free vision and knowledge test and attend a group education session in order to renew your license. You may also be required to take a road test if they feel you might be a safety risk.
There are stiffer rules now as well for young drivers, with graduated licensing requirements over a two-year period.
Men seem to have a harder time giving up their driver’s licence. They outnumbered the women at the group session I attended and most of them appeared more confident and relaxed. The examiner told us that her oldest applicant is a 102-year-old man who has attended the sessions 12 times. He is usually the first one finished with the written test, scores 100 per cent and leaves in a hurry to get on with his busy life.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
canada rates well in UBC eco2 index
http://www.globalnews.ca/ecosystems+and+economy+rankings/6442584985/story.html
The rankings
The top 5 countries:
1. Bolivia
2. Angola
3. Namibia
4. Paraguay
5. Argentina
The worst countries:
1. Singapore
2. Kuwait
3. Israel
4. Korea
5. United Arab Emirates
The G8 countries:
1. Canada (15th)
2. Russia (31st)
3. France (77)
4. United States (103)
5. Germany (119)
6. United Kingdom (129)
7. Italy (135)
8. Japan (144)
Read it on Global News: Global News | Vancouver scientists unveil global index measuring economy and ecology
D - Canada is top of G8, 3rd in G20.
Rashid Sumaila, a University of British Columbia environmental and resource economics professor unveiled his team’s rankings system Monday at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting held this year in Vancouver. UBC partnered with the Global Footprint Network, an international think tank, to compile the list.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Vancouver scientists unveil global index measuring economy and ecology
Monday, February 20, 2012
warming by burning each type of fossil fuel
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/coal-not-oil-sands-the-true-climate-change-bad-guy-analysis-shows/article2343528/
... oil sands were mined and consumed, the carbon dioxide released would raise global temperatures by about .36 degrees C.
... natural gas would warm the planet by more than three degrees.
... In contrast, the paper concludes that burning all the globe’s vast coal deposits would create a 15-degree increase.
Burning all the oil in the world would only raise temperatures by less than one degree, the paper concludes...
Dr. Weaver’s analysis only accounts for emissions from burning the fuel. It doesn’t count greenhouse gases released by producing the resource because that would double-count those emissions.
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D - there are other considerations. For example, does fracking for gas in shale cause earthquakes (see UK)? Will it contaminate ground water? These $ #s are cold, hard calculations, devoid of opinion. But the answer may not please either the green lobby or the big-energy companies. Society, however, needs to consider all holistic factors that result from the use of any particular energy source.
D - since both USA and China (followed by Russia) have vast coal reserves, we should resign ourselves to heavy exploitation of remaining coal reserves. However, let us do that as intelligently as possible.
D - the 3 ways to handle coal would be:
1) clean coal - co2 sequester at the coal (or before)
2) scrub co2 out of atmosphere
3) use various sunlight albedo schemes to offset co2 in the air.
I think a cursory look will show only 1) is viable in a cost- effective fashion, so will now simply examine "clean coal".
First of all, at present time "clean coal" is merely a catch phrase by the coal industry. It may not always be, but it is today. A handful of baby steps are being taken to test the concept.
-------------
(wiki)
Typically, clean coal is used by coal companies in reference to carbon capture and storage, which pumps and stores CO2 emissions underground, and to plants using an Integrated gasification combined cycle which gasifies coal to reduce CO2 emissions.
Options include point-of-combustion co2 capture and syngas gasification. I'd like to look at a promising approach - leave most contaminants in the coal seam underground.
------------------
(wiki)
Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process, which converts coal into product gas. UCG is an in-situ gasification process carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants, and bringing the product gas to surface through production wells drilled from the surface. The product gas could to be used as a chemical feedstock or as fuel for power generation. The technique can be applied to resources that are otherwise unprofitable or technically complicated to extract by traditional mining methods, and it also offers an alternative to conventional coal mining methods for some resources.
Economics
Underground coal gasification allows access to coal resources that are not economically recoverable by other technologies, e.g., that are too deep, low grade, or seams too thin.[2] By some estimates, UCG will increase economically recoverable reserves by 600 billion tonnes.[10] Livermore estimates that UCG could increase recoverable coal reserves in the USA by 300%.[11] Livermore and Linc Energy claim that UCG capital and operating costs are lower than in traditional mining
Underground product gas is an alternative to natural gas and potentially offers cost savings by eliminating mining, transport, and solid waste. The expected cost savings could increase given higher coal prices driven by emissions trading, taxes, and other emissions reduction policies, e.g. the Australian Government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
(D - better than nothing - reinject co2 or n2 to extract more oil.)
Oil displacement by carbon dioxide injection relies on the phase behaviour of the mixtures of that gas and the crude, which are strongly dependent on reservoir temperature, pressure and crude oil composition. These mechanisms range from oil swelling and viscosity reduction for injection of immiscible fluids (at low pressures) to completely miscible displacement in high-pressure applications. In these applications, more than half and up to two-thirds of the injected CO2 returns with the produced oil and is usually re-injected into the reservoir to minimize operating costs. The remainder is trapped in the oil reservoir by various means.
--------------------
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/plotting-a-road-map-for-a-low-carbon-future/article2341616/
The gathering was organized by the Waterloo Global Science Initiative, a partnership between the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a research centre started by Research in Motion co-founder Michael Lazardis.
Their report lays out five key areas where technologies need to be advanced and deployed commercially to achieve a low-carbon, electrified future: battery storage, enhanced geothermal, advanced nuclear, off-grid power and smart urbanization.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/air-pollution-hazardous-to-chinas-economic-health/article2279684/
Pollution costs China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, hundreds of millions – perhaps billions – of yuan annually. It also threatens the ability of the world’s second-largest economy to evolve into a fully developed, first world country from its current industrializing state.
“There’s no way they can grow to high income levels with the levels of pollution they have,” said Carter Brandon, environmental co-ordinator for the World Bank in Beijing.
The World Bank estimates that, in 2009, the effects of air pollution were equivalent to about 3.3 per cent of China’s gross domestic product. The impact on health alone, including premature deaths, amounted to about 700 billion yuan ($110.2-billion U.S.) in 2009.
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D - food for thought. Economic growth that masks pollution costs is false growth. It does not contribute anything, yet still contributes to inflation, as well as immediately impacting on productivity by way of health complications. Wage increases in China are rapidly pricing them out of the less-developed nation work market. Pollution that is not addressed contributes to this - it makes them uncompetitive. Any economic growth policy that does not vigorously address pollution is as damaging as a national policy that does not keep inflation in check directly. A wise nation would implement strong anti-pollution safeguards simply as a long-term economic policy.
Friday, February 17, 2012
no incentive for fuel economy
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/are-consumers-to-blame-for-stagnation-in-fuel-economy/article2340647/
“I find little fault with the auto manufacturers, because there has been no incentive to put technologies into overall fuel economy,” says Knittel. “Firms are going to give consumers what they want, and if gas prices are low, consumers are going to want big, fast cars.” And between 1980 and 2004, gas prices dropped by 30 per cent when adjusted for inflation.
Aha, so it’s cheap gas that’s to blame. Yes. And gas is cheap, notes Knittel, because politicians are too cowardly – not his exact word, but mine – to take the one, foolproof and overwhelmingly simple route to nailing down outstanding fleet-wide fuel economy and the lower tailpipe emissions that come with it: raise fuel taxes. Want to suppress demand for gas guzzlers? Make them prohibitively expensive to drive.
“It’s the policymakers’ responsibility to create a structure that leads to these (fuel-saving) technologies being put toward fuel economy” rather than building the bigger, faster, more powerful vehicles consumers will buy if fuel is cheap, he says.
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D - funny. The gov't is forcing fuel efficiency standards that consumers don't care about. They don't care since the actual cost of gasoline (and driving cars) is not built into the price at the pump. The cost of oil rig-to- atmosphere is not built in.
We would not need big-gov't regulation of vehicle standard if we had smaller-gov't 'incorporated negative externalities' in the gasoline price in the first place. Ditto the health cost of accident due to cars in the car price.
But in the absence of this Mills-ian tweaking of supply and demand via this reality-based 'sin tax' in the gas/car pricing, we need the much more onerous and heavy-handed car MPG standards.
Over the course of a car's lifetime, the new fuel efficiency standards typically pay for themselves TWICE over. But this seems negligible and distant to a new car buyer.
See my earlier blogs on the real cost of cars.
“I find little fault with the auto manufacturers, because there has been no incentive to put technologies into overall fuel economy,” says Knittel. “Firms are going to give consumers what they want, and if gas prices are low, consumers are going to want big, fast cars.” And between 1980 and 2004, gas prices dropped by 30 per cent when adjusted for inflation.
Aha, so it’s cheap gas that’s to blame. Yes. And gas is cheap, notes Knittel, because politicians are too cowardly – not his exact word, but mine – to take the one, foolproof and overwhelmingly simple route to nailing down outstanding fleet-wide fuel economy and the lower tailpipe emissions that come with it: raise fuel taxes. Want to suppress demand for gas guzzlers? Make them prohibitively expensive to drive.
“It’s the policymakers’ responsibility to create a structure that leads to these (fuel-saving) technologies being put toward fuel economy” rather than building the bigger, faster, more powerful vehicles consumers will buy if fuel is cheap, he says.
------
D - funny. The gov't is forcing fuel efficiency standards that consumers don't care about. They don't care since the actual cost of gasoline (and driving cars) is not built into the price at the pump. The cost of oil rig-to- atmosphere is not built in.
We would not need big-gov't regulation of vehicle standard if we had smaller-gov't 'incorporated negative externalities' in the gasoline price in the first place. Ditto the health cost of accident due to cars in the car price.
But in the absence of this Mills-ian tweaking of supply and demand via this reality-based 'sin tax' in the gas/car pricing, we need the much more onerous and heavy-handed car MPG standards.
Over the course of a car's lifetime, the new fuel efficiency standards typically pay for themselves TWICE over. But this seems negligible and distant to a new car buyer.
See my earlier blogs on the real cost of cars.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
one week in city leads to heart attack
http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/dio-lyrics/one-night-in-the-city-lyrics.html
Or a week.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214171040.htm
The researchers acknowledge that the magnitude of association found in this study is relatively small compared with those of classic heart attack risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, or diabetes. "Nevertheless, the population attributable fractions of each pollutant is not negligible because the majority of the population, including young and disabled patients, is exposed to air pollution, particularly in urban settings, and thus an improvement in air quality could have a significant effect on public health."
D- visit city for a week, increase risk of heart attack. Nice.
Hazrije Mustafic, M.D., M.P.H., of the University Paris Descartes, INSERM Unit 970, Paris, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and the risk of heart attack, and to quantify these associations. The major air pollutants included in the analysis were ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm (micrometers; PM10) or less and those 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) or less.
The researchers conducted a search of the medical literature and identified 34 studies that met criteria for inclusion in the analysis, which indicated associations of statistical significance between all analyzed air pollutants and heart attack risk, with the exception of ozone. The subgroup analysis, based on study quality, yielded results comparable with those from the overall analysis.
Or a week.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214171040.htm
The researchers acknowledge that the magnitude of association found in this study is relatively small compared with those of classic heart attack risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, or diabetes. "Nevertheless, the population attributable fractions of each pollutant is not negligible because the majority of the population, including young and disabled patients, is exposed to air pollution, particularly in urban settings, and thus an improvement in air quality could have a significant effect on public health."
D- visit city for a week, increase risk of heart attack. Nice.
Hazrije Mustafic, M.D., M.P.H., of the University Paris Descartes, INSERM Unit 970, Paris, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and the risk of heart attack, and to quantify these associations. The major air pollutants included in the analysis were ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm (micrometers; PM10) or less and those 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) or less.
The researchers conducted a search of the medical literature and identified 34 studies that met criteria for inclusion in the analysis, which indicated associations of statistical significance between all analyzed air pollutants and heart attack risk, with the exception of ozone. The subgroup analysis, based on study quality, yielded results comparable with those from the overall analysis.
Friday, February 10, 2012
walkable NYC means 6-7lbs less FAT
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/giving-city-streets-built-in-safety-features/
It is served nearly everywhere by extensive, inexpensive and largely dependable public transportation. City children have long been able to walk, skate or scoot to school, though these days fewer attend schools in the neighborhood.
Because so many New Yorkers use their feet to get them from place to place, they weigh on average six or seven pounds less than those who live in suburban America, said Dr. Richard J. Jackson, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, and moderator of a public television series called “Designing Healthy Communities.”
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D - but that takes PLANNING.
http://designinghealthycommunities.org/
http://www.walkable.org/
http://www.upmagazine.com/canadas-most-walkable-cities
Canada's Most Walkable Cities 2010
Vancouver
Victoria
Montreal
Toronto
Halifax
Quebec City
Ottawa
Calgary
St. John's
Winnipeg
D - if your city is not on this list, maybe you should ask, "Why not?"
----------------
http://www.livingabroadincanada.com/2011/04/28/best-places-to-live-canadas-top-10-cities-2011/
Here’s the complete MoneySense Top 10:
Ottawa-Gatineau, ON
Victoria, BC
Burlington, ON
Kingston, ON
St. Albert, AB
Fredericton, NB
Brandon, MB
Edmonton, AB
Repentigny, QC
Winnipeg, MB
In general, smaller cities and suburban communities scored higher than Canada’s larger cities, with Toronto ranked #88 and Montreal at #123. For many people, though, particularly newcomers to Canada, the vibrant cultural life and overall career prospects in the major cities outweighs some of the drawbacks.
Among the better-scoring large cities, beyond the Top 10, were London (ON) at #14, Calgary at #16, Halifax (NS) at #21, Quebec City at #25, and Vancouver at #29.
http://www.livingabroadincanada.com/2011/04/28/best-places-to-live-canadas-top-10-cities-2011/
It is served nearly everywhere by extensive, inexpensive and largely dependable public transportation. City children have long been able to walk, skate or scoot to school, though these days fewer attend schools in the neighborhood.
Because so many New Yorkers use their feet to get them from place to place, they weigh on average six or seven pounds less than those who live in suburban America, said Dr. Richard J. Jackson, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, and moderator of a public television series called “Designing Healthy Communities.”
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D - but that takes PLANNING.
http://designinghealthycommunities.org/
http://www.walkable.org/
http://www.upmagazine.com/canadas-most-walkable-cities
Canada's Most Walkable Cities 2010
Vancouver
Victoria
Montreal
Toronto
Halifax
Quebec City
Ottawa
Calgary
St. John's
Winnipeg
D - if your city is not on this list, maybe you should ask, "Why not?"
----------------
http://www.livingabroadincanada.com/2011/04/28/best-places-to-live-canadas-top-10-cities-2011/
Here’s the complete MoneySense Top 10:
Ottawa-Gatineau, ON
Victoria, BC
Burlington, ON
Kingston, ON
St. Albert, AB
Fredericton, NB
Brandon, MB
Edmonton, AB
Repentigny, QC
Winnipeg, MB
In general, smaller cities and suburban communities scored higher than Canada’s larger cities, with Toronto ranked #88 and Montreal at #123. For many people, though, particularly newcomers to Canada, the vibrant cultural life and overall career prospects in the major cities outweighs some of the drawbacks.
Among the better-scoring large cities, beyond the Top 10, were London (ON) at #14, Calgary at #16, Halifax (NS) at #21, Quebec City at #25, and Vancouver at #29.
http://www.livingabroadincanada.com/2011/04/28/best-places-to-live-canadas-top-10-cities-2011/
Thursday, February 9, 2012
bike walk bus .... train? pricing
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/667530--regional-council-ok-s-private-partner-for-rail-transit
What it’s costing you
Regional property taxes are rising by up to 12.3 per cent by 2018 to install street-level trains and expand buses.
By 2018 it’s estimated an average house will have paid $821. By then annual taxes are estimated at $189 higher on a house valued today at $254,000.
So far an average house has paid $63 to launch trains and add buses.
Source: Budget documents, Waterloo regional government
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D - put in context, not so much to pay.
Now imagine how CHEAP a decent network of bike lanes/ trails would be by comparison.
If we discussed disconnected stretches of train tracks without continuous connection along the entire stretch from point A to B, you'd look at me as if I were mad.
But do so with bike transit and it's par for course.
So WHO is crazy?
What it’s costing you
Regional property taxes are rising by up to 12.3 per cent by 2018 to install street-level trains and expand buses.
By 2018 it’s estimated an average house will have paid $821. By then annual taxes are estimated at $189 higher on a house valued today at $254,000.
So far an average house has paid $63 to launch trains and add buses.
Source: Budget documents, Waterloo regional government
-----------
D - put in context, not so much to pay.
Now imagine how CHEAP a decent network of bike lanes/ trails would be by comparison.
If we discussed disconnected stretches of train tracks without continuous connection along the entire stretch from point A to B, you'd look at me as if I were mad.
But do so with bike transit and it's par for course.
So WHO is crazy?
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Vancouver real-cost parking pricing = change
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/parking-being-squeezed-out-in-vancouver/article2319946/
“We’re all seeing different aspects of that trend,” Mr. McGarva says.
“In the old days,” says Vancouver’s planning director, Brent Toderian, “they would have had to not only build the parking required for the new construction” – about 300 stalls – “but you would have had to replace the parking of the old garage.” In this case, the parkade that will be torn down has about 500 spaces.
Vancouver’s 1997 transportation plan capped downtown parking and banned new roads. Since then, the number of car trips and parking spots has gradually declined, even while the number of jobs and overall trips in the central city have increased.
Back then, the parking standard was one stall for every 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. Today the figure is far less – and negotiable for every building. That’s in spite of the fact that today’s buildings hold twice as many people in these open-plan, cost-cutting times.
Last year marked a big change in parking behaviour as commuters responded to a new 35-per-cent tax on parking stalls in commercial lots, higher on-street parking costs, and the new Richmond-to-Vancouver rapid-transit line built for the Olympics that has proven to be a huge hit with the downtown crowd.
Parking revenue collected at city-owned garages dropped by 9 per cent, while funds from on-street parking, traditionally an ever-increasing moneymaker, did not rise as much as the city’s finance department had been counting on.
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D - the result of no more free (or nearly free) rides for car parking in dense city areas? People stop driving but keep coming.
It is kind of the reverse of the road 'build and they will come - and come - and keep coming' quandary.
Stop subsidizing cheap parking, in effect.
Stop treating cars like royalty.
http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/house-of-cars.html
And if not NO parking, then at least very dense and vertical parking.
In Waterloo, on-street uptown parking is a nightmare.
First of all, there are NO painted guides to indicate when a parked vehicle is too far out from the curb, and is literally in the one driving lane.
There seems to be some inverse relationship between the huge SUVs and minivans that folks drive and their ability to use visual-spatial awareness to park said boat.
The public bus drivers don't even attempt to stay in the side lane - they KNOW better. They straddle the middle line, treating the road as single-lane.
The roads ARE single lane.
Denial is not just a river in South America. <:
Furthermore, during any busy time of day, one lane is regularly tied up with the slow dance of parallel parking, either pulling in or out.
So the uptown really IS single lane each way anyway.
If we left a few quick drop-off and pick-up venues that did not require parallel parking to access, traffic would move continuously.
Toronto introduced those- but at the expense of pedestrians, NOT drivers. Fail...
Aside - try pulling out to the left from parking behind the Liquor Store uptown sometime onto Caroline. All that on-street parking means you are totally blind until actually straddling the nearest lane. If some yahoo is driving a bit too fast and not paying attention - BANG.
Un-*******-believable...
“We’re all seeing different aspects of that trend,” Mr. McGarva says.
“In the old days,” says Vancouver’s planning director, Brent Toderian, “they would have had to not only build the parking required for the new construction” – about 300 stalls – “but you would have had to replace the parking of the old garage.” In this case, the parkade that will be torn down has about 500 spaces.
Vancouver’s 1997 transportation plan capped downtown parking and banned new roads. Since then, the number of car trips and parking spots has gradually declined, even while the number of jobs and overall trips in the central city have increased.
Back then, the parking standard was one stall for every 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. Today the figure is far less – and negotiable for every building. That’s in spite of the fact that today’s buildings hold twice as many people in these open-plan, cost-cutting times.
Last year marked a big change in parking behaviour as commuters responded to a new 35-per-cent tax on parking stalls in commercial lots, higher on-street parking costs, and the new Richmond-to-Vancouver rapid-transit line built for the Olympics that has proven to be a huge hit with the downtown crowd.
Parking revenue collected at city-owned garages dropped by 9 per cent, while funds from on-street parking, traditionally an ever-increasing moneymaker, did not rise as much as the city’s finance department had been counting on.
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D - the result of no more free (or nearly free) rides for car parking in dense city areas? People stop driving but keep coming.
It is kind of the reverse of the road 'build and they will come - and come - and keep coming' quandary.
Stop subsidizing cheap parking, in effect.
Stop treating cars like royalty.
http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/house-of-cars.html
And if not NO parking, then at least very dense and vertical parking.
In Waterloo, on-street uptown parking is a nightmare.
First of all, there are NO painted guides to indicate when a parked vehicle is too far out from the curb, and is literally in the one driving lane.
There seems to be some inverse relationship between the huge SUVs and minivans that folks drive and their ability to use visual-spatial awareness to park said boat.
The public bus drivers don't even attempt to stay in the side lane - they KNOW better. They straddle the middle line, treating the road as single-lane.
The roads ARE single lane.
Denial is not just a river in South America. <:
Furthermore, during any busy time of day, one lane is regularly tied up with the slow dance of parallel parking, either pulling in or out.
So the uptown really IS single lane each way anyway.
If we left a few quick drop-off and pick-up venues that did not require parallel parking to access, traffic would move continuously.
Toronto introduced those- but at the expense of pedestrians, NOT drivers. Fail...
Aside - try pulling out to the left from parking behind the Liquor Store uptown sometime onto Caroline. All that on-street parking means you are totally blind until actually straddling the nearest lane. If some yahoo is driving a bit too fast and not paying attention - BANG.
Un-*******-believable...
that bloody roundabout - still
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/663229--ditch-third-lane-roundabout-consultant-says
KITCHENER — A traffic consultant says a crash-prone roundabout at Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road should get rid of its unnecessary third lane.
But leave the crosswalks where they are. And stop telling baffled drivers to signal left turns. Keep it simple and stress right signals upon exit.
The region’s biggest, busiest and most controversial roundabout opened last August to dozens of fender-benders and a high school student hit by a bus in a crosswalk. Collisions have declined since November.
“We think the roundabout’s well-designed,” said traffic engineer Brian Malone of the global engineering firm CIMA+.
To improve safety, politicians and planners have revised signage, lowered nearby speed limits and added school crossing guards. Malone’s firm, hired by regional government to review the circle, has made 14 further recommendations. Politicians will consider them Jan. 31. Many relate to paint on asphalt and signage.
--------------
D - simple? How about a sign that just says YIELD. The rest is implicit.
D - me, I now must deal with a roundabout on the way to work. On Fountain going into Cambridge. With 2 lanes, nobody sticks to 1 lane and slows down appropriately. They slingshot and hop lanes to maintain speed.
Go team.
KITCHENER — A traffic consultant says a crash-prone roundabout at Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road should get rid of its unnecessary third lane.
But leave the crosswalks where they are. And stop telling baffled drivers to signal left turns. Keep it simple and stress right signals upon exit.
The region’s biggest, busiest and most controversial roundabout opened last August to dozens of fender-benders and a high school student hit by a bus in a crosswalk. Collisions have declined since November.
“We think the roundabout’s well-designed,” said traffic engineer Brian Malone of the global engineering firm CIMA+.
To improve safety, politicians and planners have revised signage, lowered nearby speed limits and added school crossing guards. Malone’s firm, hired by regional government to review the circle, has made 14 further recommendations. Politicians will consider them Jan. 31. Many relate to paint on asphalt and signage.
--------------
D - simple? How about a sign that just says YIELD. The rest is implicit.
D - me, I now must deal with a roundabout on the way to work. On Fountain going into Cambridge. With 2 lanes, nobody sticks to 1 lane and slows down appropriately. They slingshot and hop lanes to maintain speed.
Go team.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
are bright roadside monitors a hazard?
This has all happened before.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/the-anti-neon-crusade-vancouvers-light-pollution-battle-from-another-era/article2318272/
But in 1958, the Community Arts Council launched a campaign urging a city hall crackdown. The CAC and its supporters argued the neon was a tacky distraction from the beauty of Vancouver’s natural landscape, and was in danger of altering the city’s reputation.
“That’s really at the heart of the anti-neon crusade,” says Ms. Seidl, the exhibition’s curator. “What kind of city do we want to be? How do we want to appear to the world? What are we saying about ourselves if we insist on saying it in this incredibly loud and glittery format? Where’s our dignity?”
The neon companies fought back, but the opposition gathered steam through the 1960s.
------------------------
D - every new visual tech fad causes this uproar.
But is there a legitimate basis for conern about safety?
http://www.planning.org/planning/open/mar/digitalbillboards.htm?print=true
The principal purpose of the 1965 Highway Beautification Act was to preserve scenic beauty by removing and regulating billboards along the nation's roadways. Today, however, the law is widely considered a failure. Not only did it fail to regulate traditional billboards; it promises to have little impact on the newest version, digital billboards.
But billboards are the only roadside objects that are both intentionally distracting and irrelevant to the task at hand. They are typically placed where driving conditions are challenging, and distraction can cause drivers to drift into another lane or fail to notice a car stopping ahead.
D - the article suggests fixes.
• Control the lighting. The light-emitting diodes typically used with digital signs must be turned up to be visible in daylight. But if the levels are not substantially reduced when it gets dark, drivers are inevitably attracted to the DBB's light from far away. Recent research in the Netherlands suggests that it is difficult to look away from a bright light source despite conscious efforts to do so. Moreover, the glare that may result makes it easy to miss critical cues such as pedestrians or the brake lights of vehicles that are ahead. Older drivers are particularly susceptible to the debilitating effects of glare.
D - I've had retina burn from them - they are THAT bright!
Lengthen dwell time. Messages on DBBs in the U.S. are typically changed every six to eight seconds. Such short "dwell times" yield more displays per day — more revenue for the billboard owner. But because it's the message change itself that captures the driver's attention, these quick changes increase the risk of distraction.
Keep it simple. Designing the message display to ensure minimum standards of legibility and readability is another way to limit distraction. Some controls are already in place, including a ban on displaying images that may be confused with official traffic control devices. But even these minimal controls are rarely enforced. Outside the U.S., the display of telephone numbers or website addresses is commonly banned. And some countries further minimize distraction by limiting the number of words and symbols allowed.
• Prohibit message sequencing. Using multiple, sequential messages to present a single ad is a common advertising technique. Each screen depicts only part of the whole message, keeping viewers' eyes glued to the billboard(s) to figure out what comes next. It's the modern equivalent of the iconic "Burma-Shave" signs from nearly a century ago.
D - I have not read any conclusive proof digital billboards are dangerous, but since the tech will keep improving and get used more, we may as well pass laws in anticipation right now.
D - I'm somebody that automatically tracks movement to the point of distraction. I need to shut off those lil' booth TVs in pubs to focus on the person across from me.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/the-anti-neon-crusade-vancouvers-light-pollution-battle-from-another-era/article2318272/
But in 1958, the Community Arts Council launched a campaign urging a city hall crackdown. The CAC and its supporters argued the neon was a tacky distraction from the beauty of Vancouver’s natural landscape, and was in danger of altering the city’s reputation.
“That’s really at the heart of the anti-neon crusade,” says Ms. Seidl, the exhibition’s curator. “What kind of city do we want to be? How do we want to appear to the world? What are we saying about ourselves if we insist on saying it in this incredibly loud and glittery format? Where’s our dignity?”
The neon companies fought back, but the opposition gathered steam through the 1960s.
------------------------
D - every new visual tech fad causes this uproar.
But is there a legitimate basis for conern about safety?
http://www.planning.org/planning/open/mar/digitalbillboards.htm?print=true
The principal purpose of the 1965 Highway Beautification Act was to preserve scenic beauty by removing and regulating billboards along the nation's roadways. Today, however, the law is widely considered a failure. Not only did it fail to regulate traditional billboards; it promises to have little impact on the newest version, digital billboards.
But billboards are the only roadside objects that are both intentionally distracting and irrelevant to the task at hand. They are typically placed where driving conditions are challenging, and distraction can cause drivers to drift into another lane or fail to notice a car stopping ahead.
D - the article suggests fixes.
• Control the lighting. The light-emitting diodes typically used with digital signs must be turned up to be visible in daylight. But if the levels are not substantially reduced when it gets dark, drivers are inevitably attracted to the DBB's light from far away. Recent research in the Netherlands suggests that it is difficult to look away from a bright light source despite conscious efforts to do so. Moreover, the glare that may result makes it easy to miss critical cues such as pedestrians or the brake lights of vehicles that are ahead. Older drivers are particularly susceptible to the debilitating effects of glare.
D - I've had retina burn from them - they are THAT bright!
Lengthen dwell time. Messages on DBBs in the U.S. are typically changed every six to eight seconds. Such short "dwell times" yield more displays per day — more revenue for the billboard owner. But because it's the message change itself that captures the driver's attention, these quick changes increase the risk of distraction.
Keep it simple. Designing the message display to ensure minimum standards of legibility and readability is another way to limit distraction. Some controls are already in place, including a ban on displaying images that may be confused with official traffic control devices. But even these minimal controls are rarely enforced. Outside the U.S., the display of telephone numbers or website addresses is commonly banned. And some countries further minimize distraction by limiting the number of words and symbols allowed.
• Prohibit message sequencing. Using multiple, sequential messages to present a single ad is a common advertising technique. Each screen depicts only part of the whole message, keeping viewers' eyes glued to the billboard(s) to figure out what comes next. It's the modern equivalent of the iconic "Burma-Shave" signs from nearly a century ago.
D - I have not read any conclusive proof digital billboards are dangerous, but since the tech will keep improving and get used more, we may as well pass laws in anticipation right now.
D - I'm somebody that automatically tracks movement to the point of distraction. I need to shut off those lil' booth TVs in pubs to focus on the person across from me.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
city liveability index vs economic indicators. happy?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/daily-mix/canadas-cities-score-poorly-on-economic-rankings/article2306330/
Canadian cities often do well in international rankings of livability. For example, Vancouver sits fifth, tied with Dusseldorf, Germany, on consulting firm Mercer’s latest rankings, behind Vienna, Zurich, Auckland, and Munich. Ottawa and Toronto make the top 20. Montreal is 22nd.
But fresh air, green space and bike paths appear to have little to do with economic dynamism.
-----------
http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivingpr#city-rankings
Mercer Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011
Rank City Country
1 Vienna Austria
2 Zurich Switzerland
3 Auckland New Zealand
4
Munich
Germany
5
Düsseldorf
Germany
5
Vancouver
Canada
7 Frankfurt Germany
8 Geneva Switzerland
9 Bern Switzerland
9 Copenhagen Denmark
11 Sydney Australia
12 Amsterdam Netherlands
13 Wellington New Zealand
14 Ottawa Canada
15 Toronto Canada
16 Hamburg Germany
17 Berlin Germany
18 Melbourne Australia
19 Luxembourg Luxembourg
20 Stockholm Sweden
21 Perth Australia
22 Brussels Belgium
22 Montreal Canada
---------------
D - third concept. HAPPINESS - a mix of the 2, kinda, courtesy of the Buddhist nation of Bhutan.
Background
The Royal Government of Bhutan in 2005 made the decision to develop GNH indicators in order to move the concept of GNH from the point of academic discourse to a measurable one. The indicators aim to check whether programmes and policies are consistent with the values of GNH. The government intends to create conditions for situations to be better-assessed and for policy-makers to be better-informed in taking appropriate measures for actual implementation of GNH policy & programmes. So, since the beginning of 2005 the Centre for Bhutan Studies (CBS) involved nine researchers in developing the GNH indicators. In carrying out their responsibility to develop the indicators, apart from literature reviews CBS has had a continuous process of consultations at various levels ranging from academics to secretaries and directors of RGOB to Bhutanese citizens.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/bhutan/8355028/Bhutans-Gross-National-Happiness-index.html
It was first proposed in 1972 by Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the country's former King.
King Wangchuk said that instead of relying on Gross Domestic Product as the best indicator of Bhutan's progress, it should instead consider its "Gross National Happiness."
That was to be measured by its peoples' sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, satisfaction with the pace of economic development, a sense of cultural and national belonging.
D -aside- this can allow a nation to offset the 'brain drain'.
The high return rates of Bhutanese graduates studying abroad suggests there is something to "Gross National Happiness": most return home, even though salaries are significantly lower than overseas, Mr Verma pointed out.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html
D - economic indicators without happiness would be a Phyrric victory.
Though I do understand the importance of productivity and economic growth. Just not on an unsustainable level. Though how any growth powered by fossil fuels can lay any claim to being sustainable is beyond me.
Aside- If 10% of China's 'growth' is offset by environmental degradation and pollution results, but workers' wages (and so inflation) is dictated by this growth that incorporates these negative externalities, then isn't a model that ignores such factors uncompetitive with an economic platform that does? After all, unsustainable growth prices one right out of the marketplace, essentially subsidizing the damage sorta.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
death by headphone
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120116200559.htm
Listen up, pedestrians wearing headphones. Can you hear the trains or cars around you? Many probably can't, especially young adult males. Serious injuries to pedestrians listening to headphones have more than tripled in six years, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. In many cases, the cars or trains are sounding horns that the pedestrians cannot hear, leading to fatalities in nearly three-quarters of cases.
D - as nice as the in-ear model is, by keeping the music volume down, it also blocks hearing.
Here is an external non-ear blocking bone induction system.
I thought it'd be nice for biking.
Though I gather the sound quality is questionable.
And they cost a LOT.
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D - saw this around UW campus. Oblivious - and they don't look either!
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