| |
|
One of the most critical issues that needs to be considered is the very design of cities. Since the late 1800's the vast majority of city design has been implemented with travel and traffic as key issues. With arterial models being the most promeninent, the affect of traffic elimination would be very dangerous to the survival of the city as a social and economic entity.
I say this with some sadness as, being a cyclist and an environmentalist, I would dearly love to see a minimal traffic level on the roads of London, or anywhere for that matter. My own example from yesterday involves having a puncture. I took the train home which is fairly much a point to point exercise, both ends of the journey beng close to stations. The whole journey from work to home took an hour when it would otherwise take me 25 minutes by bike and I have to pay for the pleasure.
One model that has ben suggested in the recent past is a dual arterial system. It's a concept rather than an actual proposition that has been put forward for consideration AFAIK but one that provides an interesting approach to traffic management. One set of surface routes would be dedicated for regular personal and business traffic and the other set would be for public transportation and business access. It allows for increased flow in both sets as you don't encounter the issue of conflicting driving methods.
It is interesting to note that yet again the proposal is either of a logisitical or punitive measure. What would make greater sense is to look at the social/cultural elements behind transportation and look at what changes need to be made there. While vague attempts have been made to change the way that we think about transport, there have been no sustained campaigns other than those carried out by pressure groups. Admittedly people like Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson do set an example, but examples in a city of 9 million are far too low visibility to be effective.
Sorry, a little bit ranty there but this is a matter that is very close to my heart, which now beats stronger and slower because I cycle. In short banning the car would be nice, but only to those of us who don't use them. Others with an identifiable need or an ingrained car mentality would be horrified and these are the people that we need to address if the traffic situation is to be improved to a more acceptable level.
My favourite fact du jour is that America would have no need for external oil sources if the CAFE were dropped by 3mpg, a measure that could be acheived with ease. |
|
|
