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Traffic congestion - simultaneous positive and negative illusions?
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10-09-2014 10:02am#1Our recent Indian summer has got me thinking (again) about the daily commute, mode of travel and allegedly unbearable traffic congestion.
As I do the school run by bike, I get the chance to see into people's cars, while they sit in slow-moving or stationary traffic.
Car after car has only the driver on board, while others are carrying one or more children to school.
The occupants are shielding their eyes against the bright sunshine, but they're not experiencing the glorious weather because they're inside their metal boxes, many with all the windows up.
I was browsing the CSO's SAPMAP facility recently, and discovered that in 2011 well over 80% of my neighbours aged 5 years and up travel by car to work, school or college. Yet the children go to the same schools, and their parents to the same parts of the city generally.
Overall, 47% of Galway City residents live 4 km or less from their place of work or education. Every year (this one being no exception) there are reports in the local media of traffic "chaos" and "mayhem" as the schools go back.
The traffic is allegedly so bad in Galway that a certain proposed €300 million road is urgently needed, and is being trumpeted as "the most important single piece of infrastructure that will take our city forward".
So back to those short-hop commuters sitting in their cars and squinting in the glare of the warm morning sun.
Why do they keep doing it? Can they have, at the same time, both positive and negative illusions about their commuting experience as they sit in slow-moving or stationary traffic?
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Nobody is forced to stay in Galway if they don't like the car culture here. There are hundreds of public transport/cycling oriented towns and cities across Europe so it's not like people are stuck for choice if that's how they want to live.
Galway people like to live in houses (low density, not suited to public transport) and the car is the preferred form of transport. I don't see why cycling and public transport should be forced down anyone's neck. There is nothing wrong with being a motorist. The car is king in Galway - yes that is different to a lot of European towns/cities but different is good.
Galway doubled in size in 20 years. Personally, I think the car culture was part of the attraction for people moving to Galway and contributed heavily towards the drastic population increase. Population increases have put serious strain on the road network though. It would be great if we could make some MAJOR improvements to the road network (I'm talking bypass and a whole lot more), but unfortunately there is a minority in Galway who make a huge amount of noise against road upgrades and improvements.
It's a pity because Galway is now stuck in no mans land in terms of developing and expanding further. People clearly aren't going to switch away from driving (on a large scale) and objections will massively delay road developments from going ahead.
Like I said, a lot of illusions.
What's being forced down people's throats in Galway -- quite literally -- is air pollution cause by motorised transport, for example.
Then there's the very serious issue of CO2 emissions from the transport sector, an externalised cost which again affects everyone and not just the emitters. To which we should also add road traffic injuries, noise pollution, community severance and other negative public health outcomes.
When I cycle, walk or take the bus I am contributing little or nothing to any of the above. In fact I am making a positive difference.
I live in a house, yet unlike the vast majority of my neighbours, who are in very similar circumstances, I choose to avoid adding to traffic-related problems as much as I can (though I admit I could do a lot more).
"Population increases have put serious strain on the road network" yet "nobody is forced to stay in Galway" if they don't like the alleged strain.
That's the question: if the "strain" is so bad why do they keep getting up every day (many of them not long before 8am, it would appear) and doing the same as so many others, ie driving a few km down the road?
I still don't understand the mentality that insists the strain is so awful yet is something voluntarily entered into every day.
Maybe they enjoy both sitting in traffic of their own making and complaining about it.
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Ah yes, another thread with a bunch of political cyclists doing an Animal Farm-esque rendition of "two wheels good, four wheels baaaaaaad" blaming horrible evil motorists for everything short of Ebola.They drive because they're selfish
We haven't had one of those in a while
If it genuinely was a win-win solution they would be doing it, don't you think?Iwannahurl wrote: »It would never dawn on them to switch to the bus, which would be the win-win solution.
Ok, you don't think the Galway bypass is needed. But then ...Iwannahurl wrote: »The traffic is allegedly so bad in Galway that a certain proposed €300 million road is urgently needed, and is being trumpeted as "the most important single piece of infrastructure that will take our city forward".
You claim to live in Galway but from that post I have to wonder if you've ever even seen the place on a map. Specifically in the context of Galway City, it has the disadvantage of being a nodal point for all the important roads in the area. All roads lead to it and there is no way around it.It's long past time to start implementing congestion charges, aka road pricing.
Going from Barna to Athenry? Gotta go through Galway City Centre. Ditto for a move like Spiddal-Dublin. The only alternative is a 100km diversion along crap roads around lough Corrib.
In a more general sense, I am assuming your congestion charges are based on those of London, in the United Kingdom. So you want to copy the UK. But do you also want to copy the UKs stance on Vehicle Registration Tax (they don't have any) or their stance on Road Tax (a colloquialism for Irish Motor Tax, vs UK Vehicle Excise Duty) where yet again the UK system is much, much less punitive costing only between 1/5 and 1/2 in every category? (My car costs €800 to tax in Ireland, if I moved to the UK that would go down to about €200).
Or do you just want to copy the punitive parts?
Galway was always mad fun like in Salthill last time I was there, but Iwannahurls "congestion charge" and some of the other stuff he wants like speed cameras behind every signpost and garbage can would kinda put me off going there.Wow, yea.. "Come to Galway for a weekend break..." no thanks!
I'll pitch a tent near the entrance to the long term car park at Dublin Airport instead, probably exactly the same as Galway, the way you make it out! :rolleyes:
And I certainly wouldn't go sightseeing in Spiddal either if it meant I had to drive through a Galway city that IWH had redesigned, unless of course the city was bypassed which would benefit everyone.
Yes, some places put cars first for no reason. Cars just get up and decide to go places, just by themselves. Funny, I thought PEOPLE used cars to go places ... hmm guess I was wrong. In that case I'd better lock up my old Avensis, in case it suddenly falls in love with that nice Merc down the street and they decide to run off together - after all according to you the roads are built for cars, as though such things did not also serve people.Or maybe just holiday in one of these lovely uncongested European cities where people come first not ... cars.... :rolleyes:0 -
If based on your points that the "Car is King" and "car culture" is a big part of Galway city, then why would anyone want to visit the place, dodge cars, and breath in Diesel fumes?
Other than to stay overnight as a stopover to Visit the West coast?
The dilettante Libertarians have arrived on the scene, so perhaps now is a good time to start on those urgent jobs such as tidying the paper clips or dusting the monitor.
I think your adverse reaction to Galway is actually a negative illusion.
Yes we're frequently choked with fume-spewing traffic, but cycling is an ideal way to avoid that. Curiously enough, cyclists are actually exposed to less air pollution than car occupants. Not many people know that...
As for the Holy Grail Panacea Great White Hope Galway City Outer Bypass, its alleged purpose is to ensure that you avoid Galway City.0 -
Iwannahurl wrote: »The dilettante Libertarians have arrived on the scene, so perhaps now is a good time to start on those urgent jobs such as tidying the paper clips or dusting the monitor.
I think your adverse reaction to Galway is actually a negative illusion.
Yes we're frequently choked with fume-spewing traffic, but cycling is an ideal way to avoid that. Curiously enough, cyclists are actually exposed to less air pollution than car occupants. Not many people know that...
As for the Holy Grail Panacea Great White Hope Galway City Outer Bypass, its alleged purpose is to ensure that you avoid Galway City.
"dilettante Libertarians" eh? You talking about me?
As for the Galway by-pass, yes, you can see how well the M50 performs the same function... :rolleyes:0 -
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Markcheese wrote: »Do they have the money for the bypass ? Will it just make the problem worse ?
A bigger better bypass means more people commuting further at the same times,all blocking same junctions ect ect.. (there's a thread on motors at the moment bemoaning the state of the m50 at the moment )
Actually now would be the right time for Galway city/county to get behind a cycle friendly policy as well as a few decent bus corridors... Before it ends up more complicated by new roads...
The population of the country is growing and the economy is picking up. This means that more people will need to commute. New roads don't cause more people to commute, new roads facilitate people in commuting efficiently.
We have the option of doing nothing to improve our overall transport network but that would obviously stifle economic growth in the long term.
We could:- Invest exclusively in public transport and cycling facilities.
- Invest exclusively in roads.
- Invest in both roads and public transport / cycling facilities.
, I think it just might work. In fact, it may even be the best option. 0 -
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Actually, he meant me with that jibe - and it most certainly was a jibe, certainly the dilettante part and given his mindset he probably meant the term libertarian as a insult too."dilettante Libertarians" eh? You talking about me?
I thought that this sort of thing was against boards rules but it seems not to be so
(BTW a little grammar lesson for IWH, "libertarian" is spelled with a lower case "l", unless you use the term to refer to a member of any so-named Libertarian Party).
I agree ...Iwannahurl wrote: »The dilettante Libertarians have arrived on the scene, so perhaps now is a good time to start on those urgent jobs such as tidying the paper clips or dusting the monitor.
Again, have you ever even seen a road map of Galway City? If the GCOB is not intended to ... bypass Galway City, then please feel free to show me how you would get from Spiddal to Athenry without going through Galway city streets. And without a 60 mile detour around Lough Corrib. Consult a map of the city you supposidly live in, and then get back to us. ta.As for the Holy Grail Panacea Great White Hope Galway City Outer Bypass, its alleged purpose is to ensure that you avoid Galway City.0 -
New roads don't cause more people to commute, new roads facilitate people in commuting efficiently.
There is a body of well-established evidence that increasing road capacity for private cars sooner or later leads to an increase in car trips until congestion inevitably occurs again.
This is all part of the illusion of road-building, which is that all we need is continue expanding road capacity to keep congestion at bay. Governments already know this, but they are locked into an economic and transportation model that is unsustainably dependent on private cars.
It is easy to refute the notion that increasing capacity for cars does not induce more car use.
In any case, what's really important is moving people, not cars. Facilitating private cars is actually the most inefficient strategy of all, yet typically in Ireland the word "people" is used when what is really meant is "cars" or "motorists".
If creating new infrastructure does not increase usage, then why advocate improved public transport, cycle lanes and the like? The glaringly obvious answer is that allocating more space and greater investment to walking, cycling and public transport does increase their modal share.
Using Galway as an example again, some other (self-contradictory) illusions are that the city centre is acutely congested and therefore best avoided until €300 million is spent on a ring road "bypass", that parking costs are "scaring people" (that euphemism "people" again) away from the city centre, and that there is "no room" for allocating more space in the centre to walking, cycling and public transport.
That last point is an important one. The necessary illusion is that space is so limited that only one or two modes can be allocated a decent Level of Service in any one scheme, and that something has to give. That's why Galway City Council is willing to widen a footpath, for example, but the price to be paid is a one-way street that may cut off a key route for cyclists.
Here is an example of Galway City Council's self-delusion in that regard (illusion is too kind a word), which I happened to pass by just today.
Photo 1: This narrow street in Galway apparently has room for two-way traffic as well as Pay & Display parking, but not for a footpath. Enforcement of parking regulations is almost non-existent these days, and when it occurs is often focused on Motor Tax.
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Photo 2: This road runs between two schools, one primary (right of photo) and one secondary. There is space provided on both sides for Pay & Display car parking (almost never enforced, especially during school run times) and additional space is taken up by illegally parked cars. There is only one footpath.
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Photo 3: The secondary school is behind the wall on the right. Space has been provided for Pay & Display parking, and other space is taken up by illegal parking, which is a daily occurrence during school term and never receives attention from law enforcers. There is only one footpath.
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Photo 4: The access road to the primary school has been made one-way by Galway City Council. It is therefore illegal to cycle to the primary school from residential areas on the east side of this locality. Law-abiding children and their parents who wish to cycle are required to either walk their bikes to the school from this point or else take a detour (which would be 750 metres if going the whole way by road). Self-evidently the City Council is satisfied that there is room for car parking, legal and illegal, but not for a contra-flow cycle lane or a higher Level of Service for pedestrians. Incidentally there are no pedestrian crossings of any sort in the vicinity.
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Diesel fumes cause cancer, says WHO
Official label of 'carcinogen' means exhaust emissions should be treated in same league as passive smoking or UV radiation.
Diesel exhaust causes cancer, the World Health Organisation has declared, a ruling it said could make exhaust as important a public health threat as passive smoke.
The risk of getting cancer from diesel fumes is small, but since so many people breathe in the fumes in some way, the WHO's science panel said raising the status of diesel exhaust to carcinogen from "probable carcinogen" was an important shift.
"It's on the same order of magnitude as passive smoking," said Kurt Straif, director of the IARC department that evaluates cancer risks, on Tuesday. "This could be another big push for countries to clean up exhaust from diesel engines."
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42204&Cr=cancer&Cr1#.VBXSVpQ7t8E
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Well shiver me timbers. Car fumes are unhealthy. Whoda thunk it?Iwannahurl wrote: »
Thing is, society allows this because the benefits of allowing people to go from anywhere, to anywhere, at any time, outweigh the harm.
You should also be aware that the changes in car sales were induced by the government - because of the anthropogenic climate change bogeyman the government reduced tax on diesel cars that used less fuel and made less CO2 - SURPRISE people bought diesel cars!
Because the regulation on diesel cars had increased so much in the run up to 2008, many of those turned out to be bad-buys, because with all the anti-pollution devices in newer diesels, they are not suitable for anything other than fast long journeys. Even at that, the maintenance of these devices, Diesel Particulate Filters in particular, frequently imposes a 4 figure sum of repair costs on the owner.0 -
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