#roads
Bottlenecks, delays and Rebel Wilson: What went down when Rozelle Interchange opened this week
By Penny Timms
The much-discussed Rozelle Interface has proved to have teething problems after opening on Sunday. But experts say it isn't user error.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-01/rozelle-interchange-explainer-first-week-congestion/103172454
#Roads #TrafficOffences #UrbanDevelopmentandPlanning #TransportIndustry #CommunityandSociety #PennyTimms
Traffic light tweaks flagged after another day of gridlock around Sydney's massive new interchange
By Lydia Feng
Transport authorities in New South Wales say fine-tuning of traffic lights will go a long way towards easing gridlock associated with Australia's most complicated underground interchange.
#Roads #StateandTerritoryGovernment #UrbanDevelopmentandPlanning #LydiaFeng
Virtual open house Nov 30, 2-3pm for @wsdot Highway System Plan https://wsdot.wa.gov/about/news/2023/virtual-public-meeting-draft-2024-highway-system-plan-nov-30.
Presentation + Q&A. Draft plan, feedback form https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/statewide-plans/highway-system-plan.
#transportation #infrastructure #RoadSafety #multimodal #highways #roads #bridges #sidewalks #BikeLanes #trails #planning
Grazier says 'trust me not Google', as travellers led astray by maps
By Pat Heagney
After years of having lost strangers arrive unannounced on his property, Graham Anderson made his own road sign to direct travellers.
#TravelandTourismLifestyleandLeisure #RuralTourism #Roads #InformationTechnologyIndustry #SocialMedia #PatHeagney
Fremantle Port will be dismantled and moved to free-up 'prime' land, but there's still no cost or timeframe
By Rebecca Trigger
The WA government says it is one step closer to moving commercial shipping from Fremantle port to Kwinana, freeing up 260 hectares of prime water-front land for redevelopment.
#StateandTerritoryParliament #MarineTransportIndustry #UrbanDevelopmentandPlanning #Industry #RegionalDevelopmentandPlanning #StateandTerritoryGovernment #CommunityandSociety #Roads #RebeccaTrigger
Minister accepts Sydney motorists frustrated by new interchange as Rebel Wilson vents about delays
By Gavin Coote
The actor was among the unhappy drivers who said Australia's most complicated underground interchange had added extra time onto their commute this week.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-29/nsw-rozelle-interchange-rebel-wilson-trucks/103167510
#Roads #StateandTerritoryGovernment #SocialMedia #CommunityandSociety #UrbanDevelopmentandPlanning #GavinCoote
Let’s Not Coat Our #Roads in #Toxic #Wastewater. Apparently this needs to be said.
This can't be a thing anyone's actually considering, right? Right? Drilling for #oil and #gas produces a lot of wastewater. There’s tons of the stuff just sitting around, too toxic to release back into the environment; so... Just dump it onto roads in #winter to stop #snow from sticking. Except that #drilling wastewater poisons cattle, and you go, why are we even talking about this?
https://heatmap.news/sparks/lets-not-cover-our-roads-in-toxic-wastewater
“We want #trails that are connected in ways that are similar to #roads or #streets and that connect individual #trails to places people want to go,”
“big vision is that the country is linked together by #networks in #urban and #suburban places, and spines — long-distance #trails that then connect these #networks”
“mission is to reimagine #publicspaces, to provide safe places for people to #walk and #bike and be active outdoors” https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/11/27/rail-trail-conservancy/ #RailsToTrails #cycling #infrastructure
"I couldn't understand anyone taking the risk of #cycling down windy country #roads with #SUV 4x4s, or through London, a place where everyone seemed to hate #cyclists.
My attitude changed during lockdown. No lightbulb moment – suddenly the road #noise was gone.
Looking at the article now, I know it was written by a thoughtless younger version of myself, putting #clicks before #people."
— reformed anti-cyclist Yvette "cyclists are a menace and should be banned" Caster.
Here a three maps from my roadkill counts. Every yellow dot is an animal killed by a car in the past 11 years.
The closest view shows the influence of speed, with the road at the top left being 60 km/hr and the lower right being 80 km/hr (reduced from 100 km/hr in earlier years).
2/3
'Confusing' sign to be changed a day after Australia's biggest underground change opens
By Jesse Hyland
The Rozelle Interchange opened on Sunday morning and there was traffic congestion on roads in the city's inner west on its first weekday peak-hour commute on Monday.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/nsw-rozelle-interchange-signage-change-open/103153714
Happy Sunday, again, from the #Northland!
#Light #snow #showers continue to move through the region. Expect #reduced #visibility and #slick #roads when they pass through your area.
#Temperatures remain seasonally #cool, but they are feeling colder with a #breeze blowing.
Australia's largest underground motorway maze opens in Sydney. How confusing is it to navigate?
By Amy Greenbank
The Rozelle Interchange comprising of 16.6 kilometres of road tunnel welcomes its first lot of motorists, as drivers are warned to brace for weeks of traffic disruption and delays.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-26/navigating-nsw-rozelle-interchange-explainer/103149614
#Roads #TransportIndustry #GovernmentandPolitics #StateandTerritoryGovernment #Infrastructure #AmyGreenbank
If you're wondering, this level crossing was removed in 2004, well before the current LXRP got started. I wonder if the design didn't anticipate the type of rain events we now get 19 years later. #Melbourne #roads
Hobart might be a small city but it still has traffic jams. Will this be the fix?
By Meg Whitfield
Houses are starting to be demolished in a project aimed at widening a major road into Hobart and to fix years of traffic congestion, but not all are convinced the plan will be enough.
Sydney's new complex underground road interchange set for Sunday opening
By Sarah Gerathy and Greta Stonehouse
After years of development, Sydneysiders will have access to 24 kilometres of underground tunnels when the Rozelle interchange opens this weekend.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-24/nsw-rozelle-interchange-opening-sunday-morning/103148674
#Roads #StateandTerritoryGovernment #RoadTransportIndustry #SarahGerathy #GretaStonehouse
Australian freshwater turtle conservation
"Australian freshwater turtles support healthy wetlands and rivers. Yet one in three turtle species is threatened with extinction."
"Threats include habitat loss, being eaten by foxes or feral pigs, disease, fire, and moving species into new areas where they breed with existing turtle species. To manage these threats, we need to move beyond engagement to an integrated approach, where conservation advice is co-determined by First Nations people who are closely involved in implementing recovery plans and action plans."
>
https://theconversation.com/moonlight-basking-and-queer-courting-new-research-reveals-the-secret-lives-of-australian-freshwater-turtles-215531
>
Our research reveals some fresh insights into turtle behaviour, survey methods and conservation strategies. Report:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13403
"The Bellinger River snapping turtle was listed as Critically Endangered under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 after a virus, now known as the Bellinger River virus, caused mass mortality of the turtles in early 2015.16 Nov 2022"
https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/news/keeping-up-with-the-bellinger-river-snapping-turtle
#FreshwaterTurtles #conservation #rivers #water #pollution #roads #cars #foxes #dogs #BellingerRiverSnappingTurtle #extinction
I also have a thing for traffic signs
#panneauxroutiers #panneaux #oie #arbres #trees #trafficsigns #roads #nature #automne #autumn #france #alsace #basrhin #strasbourg #campagne #countryside #photo #photography #photographie #fujifilm
Stop killing koalas - Lower speed limits
Spike in koala deaths prompts call for better road design, lower speed limits in NSW
"We do have an issue that roads are being designed without wildlife mitigation as part of the initial design. We do think that any new infrastructure must have mitigation measures built in from the get-go and that makes people safe too, the people who are stopping and braking and swerving, and the wildlife rescuers who are putting their lives on the line to try and save these animals."
"30 koala deaths have been recorded on a short section of a road outside of Sydney over 12 months...In northern NSW, Friends of the Koala say 120 koala "strikes" were recorded on local roads over the same period with the majority dying."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-23/nsw-environment-groups-want-road-changes-to-stem-koala-deaths/103140848
#Koalas #roads #cars #NSW #GlenifferRoad #SaveTuckersNob #wildlife #crashes #speeding #MobilityDesign #extinction makers
'Horrendous' year of koala deaths in NSW prompts calls for lower speed limits, better road design
By Nick McLaren
A coalition of koala conservation groups calls on NSW Roads Minister John Graham to take action after a record number of koala road deaths.
#WildlifeTrafficAccidentsandIncidents #Marsupials #Roads #Animals #Conservation #EndangeredandProtectedSpecies #NickMcLaren
ALT PENEDÉS 202308311701114RT1
#AltPenedès #rural #landscape #plowedfields #vineyards #roads #mountains #bluesky #clouds #nature #sky #mountain #countryside #grass #green #meadow #view #field #forest #cloud #tree #trees #agriculture
Landscape, view of Alt Penedès with its farmhouses, crops, paths and roads.Location: Alt Penedès, Catalonia, Southern Europe. Fine Art Prints
http://tomirovira.art/2023/11/22/alt-penedes-202308311701114rt1/
How a native title interpretation could cost outback councils millions more in roadworks
By Grace Nakamura
Outback Queensland mayors say a "governmental, legal conundrum" could lead to a huge increase in the cost of roadworks as they scramble to form land use agreements for hundreds of gravel pits.
#Roads #NativeTitle #LocalGovernment #IndigenousPolicy #Aboriginal #RegionalCommunities #GraceNakamura
Don't change the road, change the traffic
Make driving and road transport too expensive
But, in fact, do change the road as well, by making it cyclist and pedestrian friendly
#transit #roads #cars #publicTransit
Or health care. Or schools. Or...
#transit #roads #cars #publicTransit
Or health care. Or schools. Or...
'Since 2017 close to one person per week has been killed or seriously injured while cycling due to potholes and road defects on Britain’s roads'
https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release/britains-pothole-crisis-costs-lives-says-cycling-uk
#UK #funding #austerity #pothole #potholes #roads #transport #BikeTooter
Perhaps symbolic of the mess that is UK #transport policy is in, #RishiSunak looks likely to pledge money saved by axing #HS2 will be used to fill potholes in #roads.
Most of us would welcome less potholes (don't get me wrong), but the transfer of funds from a pubic transport project to maintenance of #infrastructure that supports car journeys is not really quite the right direction if one is serious about #climatechange actions... but then the #Tories aren't!
Heat-related deaths across the world could increase almost fivefold by the middle of the century.
"Where are the trees? Where is the green cover? Everything is becoming cemented."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-15/nsw-heat-deaths-who-report-western-sydney/103105210
#FossilFuels #SilentKiller #Sydney #roads #DePaving #shade #cement #HeatExposure #HeatIslands #ClimateActionNow #ExtremeHeatwaves
"The problem with high-vis generally is that it’s a distraction to what’s happening on our #roads — the vast majority of #pedestrians and #cyclists killed on our roads in good visibility conditions and a good chunk of those killed in dark or poorer visibility conditions had lights or high-vis."
Well, maybe what they needed was a #beacon? 😬
Poor laws contributing to an estimated 11,000 Australian transport pollution deaths each year
"Inadequate laws, along with government inaction, are contributing to an estimated 11,000 Australian premature deaths from transport pollution every year, according to a new report released by the Environmental Defenders Office."
https://www.edo.org.au/2023/11/01/poor-laws-contributing-to-an-estimated-11000-australian-transport-pollution-deaths-each-year/
"The report Toxic Transport: How Our Pollution Laws Are Failing to Protect Our Health found that Australian governments are failing to properly set targets and monitor air pollution that meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines. As a result, there is an absence of measures to effectively protect people from air pollution from transport."
https://www.edo.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/EDO_TransportPollutionReport_FINAL_2.pdf
#pollution #transport #cars #trucks #air #roads #WHO #laws #regulation
Roads and Turbines
A stretch of highway heading over the hills in eastern Washington. This highway goes near a large area of wind turbines in the area. (10/29/23 - Ritzville, WA)
#highways #roads #sunset #sunsetviews #easternwashington #washington #windturbinesunset #windturbines #turbines
Diamond Jim's Liquor Store Sign in Anchorage, Alaska
A quirky roadside sign was the subject of a years-long legal standoff over highway right-of-way clearances. #history #alaska #roads #roadsideattractions #highways #signs #section-Atlas
Diamond Jim's Liquor Store Sign
@scc4transit #SFBA #Roads #Tolls
Sorry but this will NOT reduce traffic. People who need to drive will always drive and most people (like me) won't drive unless they "need to do so" anyway.
Also, imposing a road toll on "everyone" will simply be a regressive tax which is felt more by the poor & working class than the "rich." The "rich" will always have enough $ to pay whatever tolls that are imposed. Not so the poor.
Doing this also will not necessarily force people to take public transportation because public transportation takes too long and is too inconvenient for many people, especially those who do not have a lot of time to spare or live far off routes that requires transferring &/or walking or who need their car/truck to transport work tools/equipment.
And then there are those people who will never take public transport regardless of what it costs to drive. Besides, taking public transport isn't all that "cheap" now anyway. 🤷♂️
📰NEW📰
The November 2023 edition of our "Go Montgomery" newsletter has been released.
It contains information about #transportation, including #roads, #transit, hiker-biker #trails and #pedestriansafety in Montgomery County, Maryland.
To view ▶️ https://gomontgomery.blogspot.com/
#transitTooter #maryland #commuting #MDCommuters #bikemoco #MoCobike #montgomerycountymd
Sunset Energy
A straight stretch of highway with wonderful sunset colors throughout the sky.
#sunset #sky #roads #highway #lonelyroads
by @parismarx
“already been a narrative that #Cruise is the bad actor while #Waymo is doing virtually everything right. But that needs to be resisted because it’s simply not true”
"Addressing the problems on our #roads won’t come from flawed #technologies pushed by powerful #corporations, but getting to the root causes: things like poor road #design, an overreliance on #cars, and the size and weight of the vehicles” https://www.disconnect.blog/p/self-driving-cars-still-arent-the #AVs #autonomousvehicles #safestreets #safety
Stop the Child Murder
Zero road deaths ? 'Intelligent speed assist' for stupid speeders on killer roads
"We could help motorists avoid speeding — and therefore reduce emissions and fuel use, improve traffic flow, reduce crashes, lower insurance costs, make streets feel safer to walk and cycle – and totally avoid speeding fines."
"Reducing speeding is crucial if we are to reduce the rising road toll. More than 1,200 people were killed on Australian roads in the past year. Road deaths remain the number one killer of children in Australia and speed is the most common factor in a crash."
"Current measures to reduce speeding haven’t gone far enough. Despite two in three Australian drivers admitting to speeding every week, only one in ten got a speeding fine last year. If you are worried about the government losing out on revenue, don’t. Road traffic crashes cost the Australian economy A$27 billion a year. Speed camera fines generate just $1.5 billion a year."
https://theconversation.com/how-to-never-get-a-speeding-fine-again-and-maybe-save-a-childs-life-216347
"Stop the Child Murder", Stop de Kindermoord
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_de_Kindermoord
#GlenifferRoad #roads #speed #cars #children #wildlife #FossilFuel #climate #KillerRoads#cars #motorists #MobilityDesign
Alaska-Canada Highway Mile 0 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia
The arch marks the beginning of the road for northbound travelers.#signs #automotivehistory #roads #highways #section-Atlas
Alaska-Canada Highway Mile 0
The Cary Institute shared best practices for road salt reduction that keeps motorists and ecosystems healthy. #winter #roads #environment #waterquality #salt
• Brine pre-treatment
• Variable application based on road conditions
• Proper salt storage
• Cleaning up spills
• Live-edge plow blades
• Set no/low salt areas
@black_intellect "We envision a future where the sky is peppered with #JetsonONEs, much like #roads are filled with #cars today."
#Miami, #DC, #LA, #NYC, #Dallas, #Atlanta... every big #city and #metropolitan area respond, "no thanks!", we're waiting for something better than the congestion of personal #vehicles we've suffered for far too long.
I wanted this when I was a child; now I've put away childish desires and want fewer vehicles and more frequent, fast, reliable, and cheap #MassTransit.
4 years on of development of #selfDriving #autonomousCars on, this article in #TheGuardian remains a must read.
"every year since 2010, #cars with pedestrian #avoidanceSystems have represented a higher proportion than ever of cars moving around on American #roads. And almost every year since 2010, the #pedestrian death count has gone up."
These techs are "a distraction… less about transforming the status quo than maintaining it"
The greater peril... which these two venomous #snakes discovered... This striking juvenile common krait tried to prey upon the beautiful coral snake coiled around it in attack or defence. But fate had other plans. #roadkill
#Roads and motor vehicles kill an inordinate number of these fascinating #animals #herpetofauna #conservation
#inaturalist
EV charging infrastructure in regional NSW towns
"Getting more EVs on NSW roads is ‘essential’ for meeting the state’s net zero by 2050 target..The program is part of a $209m investment in NSW charging infrastructure, including $10m to retrofit apartments with EV chargers and $149m for ultra-fast charging infrastructure."
Yes, but where is the investment
in divided cycle paths?
in footpaths?
in EV buses?
a train network?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/03/ev-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-nsw-new-south-wales-new-added-tourism-hotspots
#EVs #infrastructure #MidNorthcCoast #NSW #cars #Bellingen #roads #ClimateEmergency #MobilityDesign
Wow. Unbelievable that this awesome concept happened 25 years ago yesterday. #portishead #nyc #roads #roseland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bAsZI9xm8 #favoritesong
'A FORMER leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has urged the council to invest in cameras to catch speeding drivers.'
He's talking about volunteers dealing with #speeding #motorists but it's nice to see the Conservatives finally realising that creating a libertarian environment for enforcement of motoring legislation hasn't led to the utopia they thought it would.
Freight services - rail use dwindles to minuscule levels amid over-reliance on heavy and polluting trucks
"For every 1% of freight shifted from truck to rail nationally, an average of $71.9m would be saved annually in terms of environmental damage, road conditions and pollution-related health outcomes."
"They are also calling for an increase in the heavy vehicle road charges that trucks must pay to cover the damage they cause."
"As we look to a net zero future, we must make significant, meaningful changes to the way we operate to meet emissions reduction targets and create a sustainable freight network.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/02/dwindling-use-of-rail-freight-puts-australias-emissions-targets-at-risk-industry-warns
#FossilFuels #trucks #pollution #roads #infrastructure #RailFreightNetwork #ClimateEmergency
Our state of denial of the role of cars
The normalisation of crashes must stop Pt 1
"Our children are victims of road violence. We need to talk about the deadly norms of car use
The deaths and injuries caused by car drivers are an everyday occurrence. This road violence has become normalised. We take it for granted as the price we have to pay to use our cars.
Globally, car crashes are the world’s leading cause of death for people aged five to 25. In Australia, road deaths included 293 people in this age group in 2022, a rise from 281 in 2019 and 276 in 2018.
These deaths are stark reminders of the structural problem with a deeply entrenched, car-dominated culture. The huge numbers of deaths and injuries on our roads are a result of choosing to build our society around cars. This degree of harm does not seem to draw the same level of outrage as any other form of violence would."
Pt 2
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/111338460492629302
>>
Excerpts from
Our children are victims of road violence. We need to talk about the deadly norms of car use, The Conversation >
https://theconversation.com/our-children-are-victims-of-road-violence-we-need-to-talk-about-the-deadly-norms-of-car-use-214476
#pedestrians #FossilFuel #Mobility #speed #roads #violence #cars #motorists #crashes #Trauma #MSM #Values #SpatialInJustice #VisionZero #infrastructure #DesignJustice #denial
Rainier Roads
My first visit to this wonderful National Park. Going up the mountain it was still dark, so I didn't get to enjoy the beauty from the road until coming back down the mountain. There were several nice spots on the road where some fall foliage was showing its colors but the road was rather busy so it made it difficult to step out into the middle to capture this shot. Needless I found a spot and waited patiently on the side for a glimpse of no vehicles and darted out to the middle, quickly aim, focus and take the shot. (10/21/23)
#roads #highway #mountainhighways #washingtonhighways #foggy #forestroads #forest #wilderness #washingtonexplored #transportationroads
Excellent work on this article.
I & my colleagues have assessed well over 100 small watersheds on Alberta's eastern slopes of the Rockies over the last 25y or so. >two-thirds of their mainstem streams are at high risk from the combined effects of increased peak flows & increased surface erosion. These low-standard, largely unmaintained, unremediated roads are the main reason for the high risk in the great majority of cases.
#Roads #Foerestry #Recreation #OHVs #BC #Alberta
Roads to nowhere: How Berlin protest can stop the A100 extension - Exberliner
“If you sow roads, you will reap traffic.”
#Berlin #A100Stoppen #Germany #roads https://www.exberliner.com/politics/roads-to-nowhere-how-berlin-protest-can-stop-the-a100-extension/
After 10 hours of light freezing drizzle in Billings, it's a sheet of ice on roads, sidewalks, and my windshield! It wasn't bad when I left for work at 3AM, but now it's VERY icy at 8AM! Snow is coming, too! Please be careful, Montana and Wyoming!
#Montana #Billings #Q2 #KTVQ #MTN #Wyoming #car #cars #windshield #ice #snow #icy #sidewalks #roads #drivesafe #Wednesday #weather #wx #mtwx #wywx #MastodonWeather #MastodonWX #weatherMastodon #wxmastodon
The Nature Positive Plan, data and consultation
Reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act must enshrine a fair say for the community
https://www.wilderness.org.au/news-events/epbc-act-must-enshrine-a-fair-say-for-community
"Meaningful public participation – involves restoring trust in the system. This requires transparency, proper consultation, and the public’s right to challenge decisions in the courts".
"Meaningful consultation requires time, expertise, and properly funded expert bodies that can build a culture of continuous improvement. Again, Australia’s record to date has been piecemeal and poor."
"To get agreement, we need a better way than the standard project-based approval processes and private negotiations between developers and landowners. The underlying principle must be that all citizens, not just directly affected groups, bear the burden of advancing the common good."
"These elements are: good environmental information, regional environmental planning and meaningful public participation."
>>
https://theconversation.com/how-to-beat-rollout-rage-the-environment-versus-climate-battle-dividing-regional-australia-213863
"Australia lags badly in gathering and assembling essential environmental information. Without it, we are flying blind."
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Budget/reviews/2023-24/Environment
#consultation #energy #transition #electricity #laws #roads #protests #climate #NaturePositive #data #renewables #governance #transparency #rights #EPBCAct #conservation #biodiversity #PublicParticipation #extinction
What happens if we think of #roads not only as a static #archaeological object but as a dynamic and complex #phenomenon?
#archaeology #ReadingList #OpenAccess @archaeodons
Archaeologies of Roads – The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota
https://thedigitalpress.org/roads/
Something will have gone… if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed…; if we drive the few remaining members of the wild species into zoos or to extinction; if we #pollute the last clear air and dirty the last clean #streams and push our paved #roads through the last of the silence, so that never again… be free… from the #noise, the #exhausts, the stinks of human and #automotive #waste
- Stegner, 1960
https://wilderness.net/learn-about-wilderness/wallace-stegner.php
#Cars
#pollution
Cedar Pointe Drive in Barrie closed at Edgehill Drive for 2 months for construction | CTV News https://bit.ly/3S0jXIA #Barrie #Roads #AnnSt #BarrieRoads #Hwy400 #onpoli @barrie @onpoli
🧵"Costa Verde Transport Department" by @lisyarus:
https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@lisyarus/111205887080541618
- :steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2403100/Costa_Verde_Transport_Department/
Another sign of Britain's failure to invest... the Automobile Association reports that breakdowns linked to potholes (badly wanted #roads) are up by a third in the last two years....
You'll recall Galbraith's characterisation of the US as enjoying private wealth but public squalor... an observation not unconnected to the state of the US' roads...
Whatever, your view on roads (preferring investment in #publictransport, perhaps) wrecking people's cars is not really a sensible way forward!
Paekākāriki Hill Road, Kāpiti Coast District
#NewZealand #Photography #LandscapePhotography #Sunset #Roads
No #water, #roads or emergency services
"The Trinity River washed away their old life during #HurricaneHarvey. Repeated #flooding and #erosion since then never gave it back.
Water hasn’t flowed to the homes in this neighborhood in more than three years — the water company says it can’t get vehicles in to maintain its well — and first responders won’t attempt to navigate the neighborhood’s narrow bridge and eroded dirt roads."
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/texas-climate-managed-retreat-buyouts-liberty-county-flood/
About a million animals are killed on roads every day in the U.S., and globally that number is much higher.
Author Ben Goldfarb’s latest book, “Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of our Planet,” details the problem of roads. He joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss the havoc they have wreaked upon the natural world and the wildlife-friendly solutions that are now emerging.
#News #Podcast #Conservation #Roads #Infrastructure #Ecology
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/can-road-ecology-save-millions-of-animals/
Wales' 20mph speed limit is working and journey times are just 45 seconds longer, analysis shows
The results have been called 'astonishing and far greater than would have been predicted'
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wales-20mph-speed-limit-working-27779212
Today in transport:
Me: "I'll get the bus to the train station"
Helpful person 1: "Oh, but we can give you a lift".
Me: "There's a direct bus, no need for an extra car on the road"
Helpful person 1: "But it's an electric car"
Me: "..."
"Thank you, but no thank you".
Helpful person 2, 10 min later: "We'll give you a lift..."
Edinburgh Street Scene in Heatwave
Originally a black and white photo of a street scene in Edinburgh City in Scotland, laterally digitally manipulated into heatwave colours.
Looks fab on posters, prints and even home decor! Click link for more details-
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/edinburgh-street-scene-in-heatwave-catriona-roberts.html
Visit my website &
blog at
www.catrionarobertsphotographyanddesigns.com
#photography #digitalart #city #edinburgh #streetart #street #roads #cars #apartments #cityscape
European governments have “systematically” shrunk their railways and starved them of funding while pouring money into expanding their road network, a report has found.
The length of motorways in Europe grew 60% between 1995 and 2020 while railways shrank 6.5%, according to research from German thinktanks Wuppertal Institute and T3 Transportation. For every €1 governments spent building railways, they spent €1.6 building roads.
European governments have “systematically” shrunk their #railways and starved them of funding while pouring money into expanding #roads network. For every €1 governments spent building railways, they spent €1.6 building roads.
Small investments into bike lanes and railways were heavily scrutinised, while investments in roads were taken for granted.
#PublicTransport #ClimateChange #GovernmentSpending #JustStopOil
No-one round here is going to be surprised that the condition of #roads is deteriorating - its just one more aspect of the toxic Americanisation of the UK's #economy.
JK Galbraith once (famously) characterised the US as exhibiting 'private affluence & public squalor' and this is increasingly what we see in the UK - the continued delaying of #maintenance has wider impacts than just the #RAAC crisis
#Transport for #London press release:
#TfL to launch 65km (40 miles) of new lower speed limit schemes to cut road danger across the capital and save lives
https://tfl-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/tfl-to-launch-65km-of-new-lowerspeedlimit-schemes-to-cut-road-danger-across-the-capital-and-save-lives
#RoadSafety #Urbanism #UK #England #cars #traffic #travel #roads
Air pollution kills 3,200 Australians a year.
"Air pollution is the world’s single greatest environmental cause of preventable disease and premature death. In Australia, it’s linked to more than 3,200 deaths a year at an estimated cost of A$6.2 billion."
"Decarbonising transport will improve air quality as well as reducing emissions."
End
Killer mobility (Bushmaster like combustion tanks: SUVs)
Treating the Earth's air/atmosphere as a tip
Slash and burn 'plantation' forestry
'Burning everything down before it might burn' culture
https://theconversation.com/3-200-deaths-a-year-1-of-many-reasons-air-pollution-in-australia-demands-urgent-national-action-212973
#FossilFuel #transportation #cars #trucks #traffic #HeavyMachinery #roads #bushfires #smoke #NativeForests #NSWlogging #BellingLogging #burning #HazardReductionBurns #smoke #pollution #air ##climate #OneHealth
Environmentalists condemn Australia’s ‘woeful record’ after 48 plants and animals added to threatened species list
“This many species being added to the list in one go is a sign of widespread ecological collapse,” Tim Beshara of the Wilderness Society.
“Australia has a woeful track record when it comes to protecting our unique animals and plants. We are a world leader in sending mammals to extinction – and it is mostly because we keep allowing their homes to be bulldozed, logged and overrun,” Nature campaigner Jess Abrahams
“We need stronger laws to protect these species and significantly more funding to do it with."
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/07/environmentalists-condemn-australias-woeful-record-after-48-plants-and-animals-added-to-threatened-species-list
#Australia #EnvironmentalManagement #sprawl #roads #cats #dogs #deforestation #logging #NSWLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #biodiversity #EndangeredSpecies #wildlife #koalas #conservation #care #extinction makers
Dear Minister for the Environment
National Threatened Species Day on 7 September raises awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Over the last 200 years, more than 100 Australian animal and plant species have been made extinct.
How you can help Australia's threatened species:
Stop making Australian animals and plants extinct
Stop logging native forests
Stop logging The Great Koala Park
Stop degrading ecosystems
Stop having lax laws to protect biodiversity
Stop under-financing our web of life
Stop fossil fuels immediately
No more extinctions!
“Stopping logging and habitat destruction for roads, real estate and agriculture would have a huge, positive impact."
https://www.acf.org.au/threatened-species-day-urgent-need-to-strengthen-environment-law
#koalas #ThreatenedSpecies #environment #governance #EnvironmentalManagement #logging #StopLogging #NativeForests #NSWLogging #roads #biodiversity #habitat #destruction #extinction makers
Fading forests
The Amazon, the Congo or Australia – it's the same story
"Many ecologists say that the selective logging permitted by the Forest Code is often not sustainable. That’s because the trees that are removed are generally slow-growing species with dense wood, whereas the species that grow back have less-dense wood, so they absorb less carbon in the same space. And few companies follow the requirements for selective logging, such as limiting road construction or the number of trees cut...About 90% of selective logging in the Amazon is estimated as illegal, and therefore doesn’t follow any of these procedures."
https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-023-02599-1/index.html
#forests #logging #roads #degradation #deforestation #CarbonEmissions #climate
Bellingen - Roads to nowhere, Pt.1/2
Scenic Bellingen has been in a road widening frenzy to accommodate industrial logging and clear felling operations to 'get the stuff out of here'. For nearly a year heavy fossil fuel machinery has been making the roads (Roses Road, Gleniffer Road, North Bank Road) fit for an extractivist industry, ignoring residents and biodiverse habitats along the cemented arteries.
In town gigantic haulage trucks (2 B-double trucks) shoot through the bottleneck of the main cafe and shopping district ruining the ambience.
The government, road building and timber extraction nexus robs residents of their homes, eradicates biodiversity habitats and pumps up emissions for all.
Wildlife, residents and tourists are now confronted with a dangerous network of roads where they risk their lives and endure permanent pollution.
To prioritise damaging industries and provide pathways only for them is putting the community at risk.
People want a sustainable environment, they would like to move about in safety without carbon emissions.
Where is the infrastructure for the future?
"Two-thirds of people want more transport funding to go into walking, cycling and public transport....
Bellingen - roads to nowhere pt.2/2
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/110986658766673505
#Walking #cycling #walkability #FootTraffic #Bellingen #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #NorthBankRoad #roads #sprawl #infrastructure #CarDependency #FossilFuel #traffic #congestion #speed #pollution #LoggingIndustry #extractivism #BellingenLogging #climate #biodiversity
Bellingen - Roads to nowhere pt.2
"Two-thirds of people want more transport funding to go into walking, cycling and public transport.
Most of our transport funding goes into building wider and longer roads, embedding car dependency. However, making it easier to drive leads to more driving and ultimately more congestion, an effect known as induced demand.
For people to walk and cycle, we need to provide so-called healthy streets: not too noisy, easy to cross, with clean air and where people feel safe.
Default 30km/h speed limits in built-up areas are an immediate low-cost way to increase road safety.
By prioritising walking and cycling for short trips, Australia can reduce the national combined cost of $67 billion a year of traffic injuries and deaths, traffic congestion, air pollution and physical inactivity. "
https://theconversation.com/fewer-of-us-are-cycling-heres-how-we-can-reverse-the-decline-212260
https://www.betterstreets.org.au/
Better Streets, a community-led coalition, People-friendly streets and Climate-friendly streets.
Bellingen - roads to nowhere, Pt.1
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/110986666356192102
#Walking #cycling #walkability #FootTraffic #Bellingen #RosesRoad #GlenifferRoad #NorthBankRoad #roads #sprawl #CarDependency #FossilFuel #traffic #congestion #speed #pollution #LoggingIndustry #BellingenLogging
Walkable towns or fossil fuel dependent car infrastructure?
Having the 9 am Belllingen traffic jam in mind:
“Poor planning and over-development in the once-sleeping... suburb has made overcrowded streets and parking a nightmare. It's turned what was a really beautiful little suburb into a place of a lot of frustration and disappointment”
"What we've seen overseas is this move towards a walkable city. Taking cars out, having really good public transport, having mixed-use development so you have retail, you have residential and then you have office buildings."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-13/south-east-queensland-regional-plan-forecasts-900-000-new-homes/102701398
#Bellingen #sprawl #failure #FossilFuel #dependency #roads #climate #walkability
On the Highway to Climate Hell
The world's infrastructure was built for a climate that no longer exists.
“We have entire cities and transportation hubs that were all built for climate that no longer exists...unprepared for the climate risks we face today."
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/11/climate-change-critical-infrastructure-heat-flood-energy-transportation-housing/
Recent road 'upgrades' in #Bellingen had logging and tourist supply chains in mind. All roads were extended with a lot of deforestation, heavy machinery using fossil fuels and cement. A climate and biodiversity disaster. None provide for a walking, cycling or e-mobility infrastructure.
#Bellingen #roads #GlenifferRoad #NorthBankRoad #RosesRd #FossilFuel #logging #infrastructure #climate
re: https://twitter.com/19th_c_Houston/status/1688528587626860544?s=20
If we're asking, "Do we have so many oversized trucks because consumers wanted oversized trucks — or because car companies wanted to sell them?"
I think we'd find it's mostly because companies wanted to sell oversized trucks. Advertising, product placement, pricing, promotions all shape consumer preferences.
Also, car companies can only offer cheap trucks by skirting regulations. This is why the oversized truck Mike drives in LA is regulated less than every other car driving to get coffee in the morning.
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/19/us/plan-allows-big-vehicles-to-skirt-rules-on-pollutants.html
Also posted on #Groundtalk — a low-energy, low-data #microblogging #permacomputing client in development with cross-platform posting: https://groundtalk.land/#2023-08-07T13:43:48.363+00:00
#trucks #cars #FuckCars #CarFree #transit #yimby #nimby #streets #roads #traffic #TrafficViolence #CarIndustry #regulation #government #policy #history #politics
Worldwide there is a growing commitments to swimmable rivers and clean natural waterways.
https://theconversation.com/olympic-swimming-in-the-seine-highlights-efforts-to-clean-up-city-rivers-worldwide-210714
The case of the Bellingen's scenic swimming hole
Bellingen just smashed in a "$5.2M “gate way to the Promised Land” so that mass tourism can speed along the new 'highway' (Gleniffer Road) to the Never Never Creek. It is the town's main 'tourist destination' (but has no public toilet).
In January the Promised Land swimming hole near Bellingen recorded faecal contamination of water. "Council advised swimmers to stay out of the Never Never River.” Humans and dogs were blamed for the faecal matter. "It has been very popular over the holiday period and there are certainly indications that people have been using the riparian area there along the banks for toileting purposes”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-18/promised-land-swimming-hole-bellingen-faecal-contamination/101844606
“Tell the city you want your river back”
https://popupcity.net/insights/the-renaissance-of-urban-swimming/
#swimming #SwimmingHole #Bellingen #rivers #OverTourism #SocialMedia #roads #traffic #climate #holidays #stormwater #wastewater #runoff #dogs #pets #EnterococcusBacteria #FecalContamination #ArthurKeoghReserve #NeverNeverRiver #ThePromisedLand #TheDrive #TuckersNobStateForest #wildlife #biodiversity #platypus
Our food supply chain has an over-dependence on roads and fossil fuel
"Topography coupled with low population densities mean many regions are served by only one or, at most, two main roads suitable for freight trucks. We are nearly totally reliant on roads but our road networks are particularly vulnerable to climatic events and other natural disasters."
"As recent research highlights, there could be multiple benefits to reducing reliance on roads...Tackling our potential vulnerability to climate change needs to be undertaken in the context of a wider strategy for the entire food system."
https://theconversation.com/climate-extremes-make-nzs-supply-chains-highly-vulnerable-its-time-to-rethink-how-we-grow-and-ship-food-209023
#food #SupplyChains #EmptyShelves #trucks #roads #floods #disasters #transportation #emissions #decarbonisation #FossilFuel #dependency #transition #ClimateChange
NEW ROADS OPEN ROUTES FOR AUTOISTS, Oakland Tribune, November 20, 1921
The early 20th century meant the #development of #Oakland for #cars and for #HomeBuilding. The #bicycle was mostly forgotten, except as a toy or a piece of sports equipment, and #neighborhoods were laid out and #developed privately, by for-profit corporations rather than a civic body meant to benefit the citizens of Oakland. #PublicTransit was deprecated, except as a vehicle for #RealEstate sales. #AutoRow, on Broadway, and the car plants were churning out cars, and #debt to the people of Oakland, and the #newspaper was a marketing organ for these industries... This is all described really well in #MitchellSchwarzer 's book #HellaTown, which I recommend. I like old #maps, knowing how #roads came to be, and I've always been curious about the term "Little Skyline," which shows up in articles from this time. This article explains the route, and tells the story...
https://fastestslowguy.blogspot.com/2023/07/new-roads-open-routes-for-autoists.html
Last year, more than 7,500 American pedestrians were killed on our roads — a 40-year high.
Slate explores the issue in "Death by Design": https://flip.it/JQypfx
The electrification of domestic car travel
The Bellingen case
Now that the Gleniffer 'highway' is nearly complete they discover it's so past century. The 'Scenic Drive to Gleniffer' has no EV charging network, no cycle paths, no footpaths and no toilets. But you get to experience the change from a quite scenic country road to a highway like ambience leading you along logging sites and tonnes of cement.
A post-servo highway? How electric vehicles are changing the Australian roadscape
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/22/electric-vehicles-australia
#Bellingen #roads #tourism #GlenifferRd #TheDrive #cars #EV #cycling #energy #infrastructure #so50s #FossilFuel #ClimateChange #denial
Some #UrbanGardens I've come across recently, that I wanted to highlight on #SilentSunday. Gardens like this provide food for #pollinators and make #UrbanSpace more tranquil. Obviously, it needs to be done the right way (without bee-harming pesticides, with good soil and untreated seeds), but imagine if we had these in the space between #roads and #sidewalks instead of #grass?
#BloomPosting #BloomScrolling #Gardening #GardeningForPollinators
How Recent State Laws Are Making It Harder to Sue #Trucking Companies After Crashes
==
#Texas, #Florida, #Iowa and other states have passed new laws backed by trucking
industry #lobbyists that can limit crash victims’ ability to bring #lawsuits or cap the compensation plaintiffs can win.
#Trucks #Cars #Safety #NHTSA #Roads #Highways #Lawsuits #Courts #News
How it started / how it’s going – in Egypt
Alexandria 🇪🇬 finished construction on widening an urban highway and building a new highway overpass over a prime public beach.
"Officials say this project is necessary to end traffic congestion, especially during the summer when large numbers of tourists visit."