W. K. Lis
Superstar
While American, should be remembered that Canadians tend to follow the Americans and that they can do no wrong.
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Not only that, but there is no future without something vaguely car-like in the transportation mix. We have just made it the only viable option in too many places, and sacrificed livability and sustainability to make it so.I really don’t get why people who are advocating a move beyond the automobile (which I agree with) feel the need to rewrite the history of the last hundred years and vilify the automobile as part of making that happen. The auto enabled a massive growth in the efficiency of moving both people and goods, and permitted development over a much broader expanse of the continent than was possible with railways and horse drawn transport.
Don't we want the traffic to slow down?Slowing traffic speed in urban areas has been shown to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities due to automobile accidents. This research aims to measure how brick and granite block paving materials, which were widely used historically prior to the use of asphalt paving in many cities, may influence free flow traffic speed. Traffic speeds for 690 vehicles traversing street blocks paved with asphalt, granite block, and brick materials were measured using a radar gun on a sample of 18 matched pair (asphalt and historic paving material) street blocks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fixed effects linear regression was used to estimate the effect of paving material on vehicle speed after controlling for the street class (e.g., arterial versus local road) and the matched pair. Results indicate that brick reduced speeds by approximately 3 mph (~5 km/h) and granite block reduced speeds by approximately 7 mph (~11 km/h), as compared to asphalt paved city streets, which we attribute to drivers intentionally slowing due to road roughness. This research suggests that brick and granite block paving materials may be an effective traffic calming strategy, having implications for reducing negative health outcomes associated with pedestrian–automobile collisions.
As an occasional cyclist, biking on cobblestones is the worst (and dangerous IMO).
I wouldn't think stones this close together would bother you, are you talking about more spaced-out stones?As an occasional cyclist, biking on cobblestones is the worst (and dangerous IMO).
How the dutch do it...It would be possible to introduce cobble stone in intersections and except the crosswalks and an additional area of 2.0M and/or the bike lane which would still be conventionally paved/concrete.
Though I wouldn't get stuck on cobblestone or any other specific material really; the idea is sound, which is using visual, textural (and in the case of cobblestone, audio) clues to a motorist to slow down a bit.
That can take the form of brick/stone etc. as well as pinch points/chicanes and all sorts of different choices depending on the road.
How the Belgians do it. My teeth were rattling. (Source: me) I couldn’t find my pics of downtown Ghent that was a ton of fun, especially coupled with the trolley tracks /sView attachment 322750
They seem fond of street-sweeper type brushes to remove snow.How do the Belgians clear the snow from the path in the winter?