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Would you pay to avoid gridlock?
Gary Richards, San Jose Mercury News
We all know that the Highway 101 commute in and out of Silicon Valley can be pure torture, but a fix is in the works, a fix with a price – if you’re willing to pay it, that is.
Massive plans are moving ahead to transform 101 and two other vital South Bay freeways with features never before seen in the region: toll roads and, on 101 between Morgan Hill and Redwood City, a second carpool lane.
That’s right, a second carpool lane each way.
The trick? Solo drivers would be able to pay their way into the lanes, skirting backups and, hopefully, easing traffic.
The Valley Transportation Authority will report to its board later this year about its strategy to widen 101 and convert that freeway and Highway 85 into roads that offer tolling.
Preliminary engineering studies could be finished in a year, giving a better sense of how much the project would cost and when work might begin. But the VTA, taking advantage of federal incentives that favor tolling projects, appears serious about moving forward, viewing toll lanes as perhaps the most effective way to raise money while also battling traffic that’s expected to surge dramatically in the next two decades.
(13 September 2007)
Toll on, Columbia!
Knute Berger, Crosscut
Soon we’ll all be like salmon, with our way home blocked – by a tollbooth.
Just as the Bush administration has dangled a $138 million carrot of federal funds for Seattle area transportation projects if Washington starts tolling in the Highway 520 corridor, the feds have now moved another Northwest project to the front burner – one that will undoubtedly involve road tolling.
(14 September 2007)
Car weight limits are a big, fat problem
Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
Some motorists may be too big for their cars.
The growing girth of Americans is colliding with government-mandated warning labels on all 2006 or newer cars that list the maximum weight – passengers and cargo – that’s safe to carry.
Many two-seat sports cars, including Mazda MX-5 Miata and Chevrolet (GM) Corvette, aren’t certified to carry two 200-pound adults, according to a government formula aimed at tire safety.
Many five-passenger vehicles are rated about 850 pounds, maxxing out if their five occupants weigh more than 170 pounds each. Six 200-pounders would overload the seven-passenger Dodge Grand Caravan minivan.
Many five-passenger vehicles are rated about 850 pounds, maxxing out if their five occupants weigh more than 170 pounds each. Six 200-pounders would overload the seven-passenger Dodge Grand Caravan minivan.
The limitations are stamped on a “Tire and Loading Information” plate on the driver’s side door frame. The ratings are an outgrowth of the 2000 Firestone tire recall, in which overloading was considered a factor that could cause tires to fail. Weight limits are important because automakers could claim they don’t have responsibility for a component failure or a crash if a vehicle is overloaded.
(14 September 2007)
Bike sharing in Barcelona
Atrios (Duncan Black), Eschaton
Barcelona has a recently new program called Bicing, which is a bike sharing program. Bike stations are placed strategically throughout the city, and subway stops usually have signs pointing to them. Members have a card which they swipe, they’re told which bike to grab, and off they go. It isn’t necessary to return the bikes to where you got them; they can be dropped off at any bicing station. The first half hour is free, and after that there’s a bit of a surcharge. When the program began they set the annual membership fee at some absurd low figure like 7 Euros, causing most of the city to sign up. That’s now been increased to 24 Euros.
It’s apparently become quite popular with seniors, who use them for leisurely afternoon bike rides.
If you don’t read Catalan, there’s a Spanish-language site for the program. -BA
