Arnaud Exbalin, Université Paris Nanterre – Université Paris Lumières
The debate over the place of cars in cities may seem recent, but pamphlets published during the French Revolution show that the battle was raging before the first automobile even saw the light of day.
Torontonians have been experiencing pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities since the advent of the automobile. The one way to stop the deaths is to ban cars but since that won’t happen, what can be done?
Electric rideables are making life less comfortable and more dangerous for pedestrians. Here’s how makers of rideables could help make cities safer for everybody.
Paul Salmon, University of the Sunshine Coast et Gemma Read, University of the Sunshine Coast
Collisions at intersections between motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians cause many deaths and injuries. Design that considers how each group approaches intersections improves everyone’s safety.
Everyone doesn’t simply wait their turn at traffic lights. Signals are set up to enable a ‘green wave’ for cars and adjust to heavy traffic, making walkers wait longer no matter how many there are.
By expanding our understanding of streets and enhancing their design, every street corner could become a space to socialise, to exercise, to play, or to trade.
If all the elements in the transportation system are going to talk to each other, the people at the companies and government agencies that make those items need to talk to each other too.
In recent years the number of motor vehicles – and the pollution they generate – has grown astronomically, leading some citydwellers to wear facemasks in the hopes of protecting themselves. So do they work?
Shifting to plug-in cars wouldn’t be enough to max out global oil consumption by 2040. But it could help make that happen if cities pitch in and ride-sharing doesn’t crowd out public transportation.
In contrast to increases in vehicle safety over the decades, we have seen little new technology to ensure the safety of pedestrians – and current innovations are still based on a car-centric approach.
Racewalking has been part of the Olympic Games since 1904, but gets little respect in the United States. That might change if Americans knew a little more about it.