"Lots of people tell me they don't support light rail, they support buses. But when it comes to buses, they don't support them [either]," said Hennepin County Board Member Jeff Lunde, referring to those who oppose public transit in general.
As an avid city stairway hiker, here's something I've sometimes had in the back of my mind: Reckless drivers careening down a stairway right of way, just like this crazy video shows from San Francisco's Sanchez Street stairs in the Castro.
"Lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that calls for the cars of people who exceed the speed limit by more than 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph) in developed areas or 70 kph (43 mph) outside town limits temporarily confiscated. Repeat offenders could have their vehicles permanently confiscated and auctioned off"
TUV* vs SUV, summer edition. Had all my farmer's market produce in my basket and as many groceries in my panniers as the single occupancy monster alongside.
@Ferrichrome@matthewtoad43@breadandcircuses It's interesting how biking and ebikes are considered elitist when we consider the cost and assumptions of car ownership. Building our communities on those assumptions excludes so many people including children, people on low income or with a disability that prevents them from driving - that's elitist!
THIS right here is the out of the box thinking we need right now.
Inside the box thinking is concerned only with the safety of car occupants. Of course that's important. But current US safety rules have nothing to say about the safety of road users outside the car. That's #CarBrain speaking, and it needs to change.
A group of protesters is disabling robotaxis by placing cones on their hoods, and I am laughing my ass off.
Autonomous cars are a blight, and it is the private-profit-maximizing opposite of what we need in dense, urban areas (i.e. more pedestrian spaces, fewer cars, more transit).
The energy here is pure chaotic good and I’m loving it.
“Grumpy Locals Are Sabotaging Cruise and Waymo Robotaxis With Traffic Cones”
Anyway, now that we're all raging over RTÉ and its free cars, can I ask a little questioneen? Do any of the car companies quietly hand free cars to any of the civil servants or city planners who decide if we'll have the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network and other cycling infrastructure? Maybe I just have a nasty evil mind
@siobhanmcelduff@clickhere@raycunningham@dec23k In 1984, when 40 cyclists were killed on the road in Ireland, The Irish Times published this #carbrain article blaming the cyclists and telling them how not to be killed by drivers
Two letters about the astonishing Garda declaration that watching screens and using FaceTime while driving isn't illegal. It amused me that one suggests a bunch of typically female actions that will now be used as even worse distractions #Carbrain#PhoneInCar
"The International Maritime Organization, the UN division that governs global #shipping, will meet in London today for a fortnight of talks on #decarbonising and the potential for a new levy of up to $100 (£78) a tonne of carbon produced by ships.
Research published on Monday found that #CO2 from shipping could be cut by between a third and a half this decade by using already available techniques and embarking on innovative technology such as hydrogen."
That's a big part of it, but also "leaders" tend to have #GrowthBrain. GrowthBrain is like #CarBrain: you think it's normal to overlook a whole bunch of "externalities" in the name of growth. Worse: you pursue the policies that promote growth, without thinking.
"Legislative advocacy to address environmental and urban design factors that impact pedestrian safety. Pediatricians can work with local, state, or federal lawmakers to do the following..." (1/)
@DrTCombs Interesting list, and all necessary / important things, but apart from automatic braking, I didn’t spot any reference to changing vehicle design so collision with pedestrians are less harmful. E.g. lower hoods, automatic speed regulation to keep within speed limits. Much easier and quicker to effect than many of those infrastructure changes, already happening in Europe. #CarBrain
"...it feels like the government has granted motorists total carte blanche to pull all sorts of questionable maneuvers in the streets while the self-preservation instincts of cyclists are barely tolerated. You could say I’ve become radicalized!"
@TheWarOnCars It’s hopeless when police in cars are the ones doing traffic enforcement - they’re too sympathetic with other drivers. Put traffic enforcement officers on bikes and it will change. #CarBrain
Wish I'd given it a boot but I was crossing a road, at a roundabout looked behind me and saw a car, not signalling. Going straight on.
I stepped out starting to cross, but then I stopped and checked because I live in Southampton and they drive faster and more dangerous than London. And sure enough, whoosh right in front of me. Still no bloody signal.
It can be argued that electric vehicles are an improvement when replacing ICE vehicles.
But that misses a much bigger point — which is that the very best car is not an electric car. The very best car is no car at all!
Building electric cars requires massive use of fossil fuels, including petrochemicals for the manufacture of plastics. In addition, mining of lithium for batteries as well as trawling for other minerals in the deep ocean is environmentally disastrous, killing biodiversity while polluting our water, soil, and air.
The kind of “Green Growth” championed by capitalists and politicians, which features more electric cars, a bit of solar, and a few wind farms — along with continued use of fossil fuels — is not a good answer. It does not solve any of our problems, and in fact only makes them worse.
Say NO to more cars, of any kind. Push instead for active transportation and for improved public transit.
Continued economic growth is unsustainable. Period. The only logical choice for us and for the biosphere is de-growth.