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.

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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.

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.

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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

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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.

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!

obvious solution to hitting walker at crosswalk

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/581501--signalized-intersections-dangerous-places-for-pedestrians-statistics-show

WATERLOO REGION — Intersections with traffic signals appear to be dangerous places for pedestrians, according to regional traffic statistics.

Last year, 119 pedestrians were struck by vehicles on regional streets and roads and about 70 per cent of those were struck at signalized intersections.

And 75 per cent of the pedestrians hit by vehicles in signalized intersections had the right-of-way when crossing with the “walk” signal at an intersection.

The numbers are contained in the region’s annual collision report.

Bob Henderson, the region’s manager of transportation engineering, said traffic signals are installed to move vehicles through an intersection and not for pedestrian safety.

Henderson said pedestrians should take no comfort in crossing with traffic signals, as the number of pedestrians struck by vehicles usually quadruples after lights are installed.

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Quote from Zoolander: Mugatu: "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" ...

D - OK, here is the blindingly, stupidly obvious solution.
The 'crosswalk signal' is not for the pedestrian. The walkers KNOW when they are supposed to walk.
It's for the drivers. But it is not physically near the 'driver signal', where the drivers are all looking... why not?
Put the %^*&&*%&!!! crosswalk signal in the same location- preferably even in the same fixture, as the driver signal light.

Honestly, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

light rail. caroline &erb. crunch!!!

http://www.therecord.com/opinion/columns/article/647412--waterloo-crossroad-a-potential-mess

D - yeah, what he said.

The intersection of Caroline and Erb streets is an odd traffic challenge. You’ve got one-way streets meeting two-way streets meeting a meandering railway track meeting trails.

Today the intersection is at the heart of a resurgent corner, flanked by the Centre for International Governance Innovation, the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the expanded Knox Presbyterian Church. And guess what’s coming?

Rail transit (a train through the intersection every 7.5 minutes in rush hour by 2017) plus extra traffic from the Barrel Yards condominium development taking shape nearby at Father David Bauer Drive. Up to 1,200 residences are planned.

...

On average the intersection sees nine collisions a year. No one is injured in three-quarters of them and all injuries between 2005 and 2010 were minimal or minor. The intersection is not among the region’s 100 most dangerous, possibly because people tend to pay attention in making their way through it.

The unusual traffic mix is evident in reviewing 51 collisions between 2005 and 2010. The tally includes five collisions involving bicycles, three involving pedestrians and one between a train and a car in which no one was hurt.

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D - provide fast (even more costly) bus service in this PRIME high-density area (along with the new condo down the road at Westmount!) and voila. No more cars.

I don't know what it is - likely the trail to the U - but cyclists act like idiots at this corner, blowing thru don't walk stale green lights.
I've nearly creamed a coupla myself.

graphic florida pedestrian-safety video

http://autos.aol.com/article/is-a-pedestrian-safety-video-too-graphic/?ncid=dynaldusaolp00000023


http://autos.aol.com/article/is-a-pedestrian-safety-video-too-graphic/?ncid=dynaldusaolp00000023

D - that's not my complaint. Most of the video involves walkers acting like squirrels scurrying randomly across streets fast, without looking, and from unexpected places.
I'd be happy if cars just checked at pedestrian crosswalks.

divert cars to surface road from freeway for < co2

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214144758.htm

Funneling cars along surface streets instead of freeways helped to limit fuel consumption, for instance. Intelligently targeting travelers was another strategy that worked: Rerouting just one fifth of drivers -- those who would benefit most from a new path -- reduced regional emissions by about 20 percent.

Sadek, a transportation systems expert, says one reason green routing is appealing is because it's a strategy that consumers and transportation agencies could start using today.

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D - and in the summer, this would mean less smog days.

Aside- there is a proposal for a HOV - high occupancy vehicle- lane - a carpool- on the 401.

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/634394--highway-401-carpool-lanes-proposed

D - despite working fine, they are deeply resented and disliked by most drivers.

Ignorance should not control policy though.