Transportation

More Evidence That Streetcars and Light Rail Improve North American Cities

- Adam Clare

In Toronto there is a crack smoking mayor who believes that streetcars and light rail are an urban blight. The evidence that rail-based transit is an economic boom to cities in North America continues to grow and more cities on the continent are benefiting from political decision (not made while smoking crack). It’s nice to see rail transit making a resurgence in cities that have invested billions into inefficient auto infrastructure.

Within prime walking distance from streetcar stops, commercial permits in neighborhood areas got roughly 20% more frequent for every 100’ closer to stops. Crucially, distance to streetcar stops was a stronger predictor of commercial permit frequency than distance to pre-existing commercial areas. Residential permits were more common overall, but declined in frequency near stops, in almost a mirror image of the trend found for commercial permits.

Read more.

Beets for Road Ice Removal

- Adam Clare

The traditional approach to deicing roads is to cover the roads (and thus the ground around the road) in salt – which is absolutely awful for the environment. Because so many people drive cars the demand for road salt is high and has come to negatively impact local economies and environments.

There is a solution to make salting less damaging and it’s already being used in some communities.

Beets are usually just used to create sugar or, like at Schrute Farms, beet soup. In Ontario roadworks departments have been using a byproduct from beet sugar processing to clear ice off of roads. They mix the beet byproduct with salt to create a new brine that works better and harms less.

Niagara Region has used the mixture for about three years, resulting in a 30 per cent reduction in road salt which damages tender fruit trees and vines, said Dave MacLeod, the region’s manager of transportation operations and technology.
The Ontario transportation ministry is working with Oakville and Grey County to test the effectiveness of other beet juice-based products that are added to brine, said a ministry spokesman.
“The ministry’s objective is to provide safe highways for all travellers by using the best available technology. At the same time, we recognize our responsibility to protect the environment, so we use technology to help us determine the best way to clear our highways in the most environmentally friendly, cost-effective way,” he said.

Read more at The Star.

Nifty Looking Glow in the Dark Paths

- Adam Clare

Saving energy is always a good thing, and sometimes that means turning out the streetlights. As a result, pathways go unlit and this can be problematic for cyclists and pedestrians. Enter a new surface treatment that glows in the dark for free night time illumination known as Starpath.

Seeing that local city councils were increasingly shutting off park lights at night to save money, Pro-Teq developed Starpath to maintain public safety without the financial and environmental costs of overhead lighting. It’s a common problem; in the U.S. for instance, cities generally count streetlights as their first or second biggest energy drains.

But the glow-in-the-dark spray also comes with additional benefits: Its non-reflective surface doesn’t seem to contribute to light pollution, which not only inhibits views of the nighttime sky, but can have dire consequences for local wildlife due to the constant illumination.

Overhead street lighting does provide one important benefit to urban parks, however, and that’s the deterrence of crime. It’s not yet known if Starpath would provide enough light to do the same.

Read more here.

Thanks to Fraser

Urban Highways Should Be Torn Down; Replaced By Useful Space

- Adam Clare

Car-dominated infrastructure is clearly bad for local communities, transit, the environment (local and global), and the economy. So why do so many places refuse to tear down crumbling urban highways? The addiction to the car is a powerful one in many parts of the world and we need to curb it.

Over at Firefly Living, this issue is examined and argues that yes the highways should be torn and lists some places where this has worked rather effectively.

3. Milwaukee Tears Down the Past East Freeway

The cost of repairing Milwaukee’s aged Past East Freeway would have been upwards of $100 million. The cost of removing a mile of it was a quarter of that. The freeway used to carry 54,000 cars a day, now the boulevard that’s replaced it carries 18,600 cars a day. The area has added 3,400 residents in 5 years, thanks to the removal of the freeway. The city-owned land around the torn-down freeway has benefited from $700 million of investment to date.

Read more here.

Thanks to Jon!

The Amazing Drayson Electric Racing Car

- Adam Clare

The electric car racing league Formula E launches next year, which means that the racers need to build their cars now. The Drayson LMP 1 has 800 bhp and 4000 (!!) lb feet of torque all without a drop of petrol. This is a really impressive car and I can’t wait to see what other marvels of engineering will be unveiled for Formula E.

The best part of all of this, is that all the research will eventually end up in consumer vehicles.

So in part this is motorsport going back its roots as a development exercise. Everything learnt here will somehow impact on the way we interact with electric cars in the future and with his business head in place, Drayson sees this being a natural continuation of UK dominance in motorsport. We have the skills to be the pre-eminent makers of electric racing cars in the future, just as we are the dominant force in petrol power at the moment.
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The thrust is hard to comprehend at first, – actually, scratch that, summoning the courage to push the long-travel throttle pedal to the floor is more difficult. For the first loop I don’t manage it, and still the car seemingly is picked up and flung into the next corner. Next time around I try full throttle – or whatever the new phrase for maximum everything will be on electric racers – and the effect numbs the brain. Because it is so instant. It just happens.

Read and see more at PistonHeads.

Thanks to Fraser!

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