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everybody in London is breathing toxic levels of PM2.5 particles. And the fact that the largest sources of PM2.5 particles are tires and brake dust suggests that electrification is at best only a partial answer.
We also have to drive a whole lot less.
Fortunately, London appears to be pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy when it comes to greener transportation, including electric buses to a massive investment in cycle infrastructure, the goal really does appear to be easing gridlock and rethinking how we get from one place to another.
London's cycle superhighways have already shown they can deliver 70% increases in cycling, and now Mayor Sadiq Kahn has announced an entirely new, fourth superhighway bringing segregated lanes to Southeast London for the first time.
Instead of car tire and brake dust, Londoners will be able to inhale healthier bike tire and brake dust.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Friday October 06 2017, @02:18AM (4 children)
How about improving the road system so that less braking is needed? More interchanges is one way.
Another no-brainer that I am astonished gets so little attention is smarter traffic lights. Far too often, cars are forced to wait, or worse, stop, for nothing because the traffic light cannot tell that there is no traffic on the crossing street, or in the left (or right) turn lane. They're programmed to give the side street the green light anyway, on a timed basis, just in case the detectors failed to notice the presence of a car. Instead of improving this situation, we've seen resources put into those abominable red light camera revenue extraction schemes. Smarter traffic lights should be easier to do than self-driving cars.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 06 2017, @03:11AM
Even traffic lights with a timing visual indication (how long 'til the light changes) is better.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by RS3 on Friday October 06 2017, @05:47AM (2 children)
Oh, in my backward area and state many lights turn red when they sense you coming! I'm not kidding. There are many that do this, especially after 11 PM or so. I've tested my theory by driving around the sensor loops and the light stays green. But hit the loops, and it goes yellow every time. I once asked a cop about one of them and he looked off in the distance and muttered something about "oh it's doing that again... I'll have to talk to [someone]" and within a few days the yellow on approach behavior stopped. A couple of years later and it's back to the turning yellow behavior. Govt. seems to attract the power-and-control personality types.
Some other lights turn yellow and stop traffic on a major road the instant a car pulls up to the intersection on a side road. Stupid light programming: that car might want to make a right on red, so no need to cycle the light instantly. And yes, I know of many intersections which have a right turn only lane, and a car pulling into that lane cycles the light immediately.
I'd like to see those light-setting govt. officials get a carbon tax / fine.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by linuxrocks123 on Friday October 06 2017, @09:00AM (1 child)
It sounds more like an odd defect or misprogramming of some kind than a conspiracy, especially since they fixed it when you pointed it out.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Friday October 06 2017, @10:10AM
We can only guess how many traffic lights are "political lights", purposefully mistimed, to delay traffic, but it's probably more than you think.
The blatant one is the traffic light that instantly turns green for the entrance to the highly exclusive golf course where only the wealthiest people play. Nearly every light at the entrance to a shopping mall seems programmed to delay passing traffic. Merchants believe that forcing people to wait in front of their stores increases business, and I suppose they are correct in that belief. Then there are streets that run parallel to toll roads. Private toll road operators want those competing streets snarled up as much as possible, to drive more "business" to their road. Sometimes neighborhoods get in on the business of gumming up the road, to drive traffic and its pollution away from their areas. Of course red light camera operators prefer lights that generate the most violations, and they've been caught shortening the yellow. If they'd mess up the yellow, they surely would not refrain from any other means of provoking light running. Brake repair shops are another group that might prefer maximally mistimed lights, to wear everyone's brakes out faster of course. It's not much different from the tire shop that spills nails on the nearby streets, except that it's legal.
All these special interests prefer that traffic light timing and intelligence continue to be neglected rather than improved. Interchanges and roundabouts are one of the surefire ways of putting an end to all that gaming of a traffic light.