Author name: Steven Edwards

Improved bus services, and better routes for cycling and walking must be at the top of “transport hierarchy”, England’s Economic Heartland (EEH) has stated in its new business plan.

Out of 14 nations surveyed, UK citizens measured lowest for their oneness with the natural world

David Zipper – 26 May 2022
A 2020 Silverado HD pickup truck at the GM assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, in 2020. Owners of vehicles like this that weigh more than 6,000 pounds will face additional fees in Washington, D.C. 
Imagine that you, a city resident, are contemplating swapping out your mid-sized sedan for a full-sized pickup truck. And not just any pickup truck; your eye has fallen upon a heavy-duty one, like the Chevy Silverado HD or the Ford F-250. These are machines intended for towing and hauling, but they’re increasingly popular as passenger vehicles in the US, despite their massive proportions. At 6,695 pounds, the F-250 is 23 inches taller and more than twice as heavy as a Honda Accord.
Such oversized vehicles exacerbate problems across all kinds of communities, but none more so than dense urban neighborhoods full of pedestrians and cyclists. Driving a large pickup or SUV increases the likelihood you’ll kill or injure someone; its thirsty power plant (the F-250 gets 15 mpg) spews more air pollution and greenhouse emissions.

Remember: decibels are not a linear scale. Instead, we experience an increase of 10 decibels as a doubling of loudness. For example, 80 decibels is four times louder than 60 decibels.
Data Sources: DEFRA (Department for Environment, Transport and Rural Affairs). Data is entirely modelled and not directly from any monitoring stations. The London data only shows main roads as the UK only carries out the minimum mapping required under the EU Environmental Noise Directive. More information ––– https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-noise-mapping-2019
Data are under the third five year cycle of EU Environmental Noise Directive reporting. Data is ‘Lden’ (24 hour – day, evening and night) average noise levels for road traffic noise only (hence low levels can be seen on the maps close to railway stations and airports).

TfL will begin issuing fines to vehicles that drive within, or cross, the white lines of cycle lanes that are marked by a solid white line and cycle tracks on TfL’s Road Network (TLRN) from next week. Cycle lanes play a vital role in keeping people cycling separated from most motor traffic, reducing the risk of collisions, which can cause death and serious injury. Reducing non-compliance will help improve safety and the confidence of cyclists as part of TfL’s Cycling Action Plan and Vision Zero goal of eliminating death and serious injury on the road network.

David Zipper – 16 June 2022
Urban Institute researcher Yonah Freemark looks at traffic fatalities in France and the US in search of explanations for why the two countries’ road safety trends diverged. 
Traffic deaths in the US surged at an annual rate of 10.5% last year, the fastest pace on record, to an estimated 42,915 fatalities. Pedestrians are at particular risk; 2021 saw an estimated 7,265 deaths among those on foot, the highest total in 40 years.
Although leaders like DoT Sec Pete Buttigieg have repeatedly warned of a “national crisis” in roadway safety, they seldom emphasize its uniquely American nature. Roadways in Canada, the European Union, Japan and Australia have generally grown safer in recent years — both before the pandemic and during it.

In France, the city of Orleans has been piloting DRT since 2018. Over the last four years there has been a strategic shift in the transport system, adding under-served zones to the transport network using DRT and moving less frequent fixed route services to DRT, guaranteeing people connections to the rapid transit network

Robin McKie

Mark Sutton Tuesday, 21 June 2022