Op-Ed. Time to put a stake in the ground

Our friend and occasional contributor from Lahore Pakistan, Hassaan Ghazali, is a very severe critic not only of transport policy and practice in his country, but also of the many cultural and political facts of life which form the fundamental bedrock of the decisions which shape (or misshape) the sector (and with it our day-to-day lives). Bad decisions, very bad decisions in our sector, are rarely just accidents or one-off occurrences. They are deeply embedded, almost invisible to most, and there are entrenched reasons behind them, whether in Pakistan, Paris or Peoria. Here he explores man/car/technology relationships which can be seen in many places around the world. In short, most of us have a problem with the car. But it’s not the car that is the problem. It’s us. That’s the first thing we need to come to grips with. All of us in fact. Read on.

Managing Two and Three-Wheelers in Asia

Drivers of two-and three-wheelers are vulnerable to road accidents and deaths, and are exposed to high levels of air pollution. Two and three-wheelers remain important modes of transport in many Asian countries and cities now and in the future, and … Continue reading →

Honk! New Delhi. Diesel cars dearer on eco concern

New Delhi: Buying diesel cars is going to get costlier as Delhi government has proposed a 25% increase in tax at the time of vehicle registration. The move, aimed at curbing the growing number of diesel-run vehicles in the city … Continue reading →

The Battle for the Streets of New York City

What was the song? "If you can do it here you can do it anywhere. New York New York"? Well there just may be something to that. Here is some of the latest on how the proponents of more and safer biking in New York City are using social media to gain support from the citizen base, while at the same time an irate lobby is doing its best to keep the streets as they were and, as they hope, ever shall be. Amen Sister. (BTW, this is by no means a unique conflict. It could be your city.) … Read More

via World Streets and the New Energy Spring

Fix Sustainable Transport: Ensure Full Gender Parity in all Decision and Investment Fora

Today is International Women’s Day. And not only that, 2011 marks the one hundredth anniversary of this great and necessary idea. So what better occasion for World Streets to announce publicly, loudly and yet once again our firm belief that the most important single thing that our society, our nations and our cities could do to increase the fairness and the effectiveness of our transportation arrangements would be to make it a matter of the law that all decisions determining how taxpayer money is invested in the sector should be decided by councils that respect full gender parity. We invite you to join us in this challenge and make it one of the major themes of sustainable transport policy worldwide in 2011. . . . Read More

via World Streets: International Women’s Day

What percent of your city’s street space is allocated to non-car uses (via World Streets)

The pie chart you will find just below  graphically illustrates the state of street space allocation today in New York City, after four years of hard work on a committed local effort by city government and many associations to free street space for pedestrians, bikes and buses. All that for less than one half of one percent of the public space given over to cars. So here is our question this morning: Do things look any better in your city in 2011? We invite your reports and comments. … Read More

via World Streets

Lahore Transport Master Plan: Master of none

As we read Hassaan Ghazali’s clear-eyed commentary on the short-comings of the Lahore Transport Master Plan, and the process behind it, it is natural enough that we from other parts of the world think of it as a saga that typifies that city, that country and that part of the world. He tells us that “role of planning in urban development has always been our Achilles heel”, which I am sure is the case, But whoa, if we think about it we have to admit that there are all too few cities in the world in which these challenges have been all that well handled. We are all in fact involved in a learning process, and with a little luck we will be able to learn from each other So let’s hear what Hassaan has to tell us about Lahore, without forgetting for a minute he is sharing with us a story and a challenge that we all face.

Seize the moment: A Street Code for Porto Alegre

Dear Porto Alegre and Brazilian Friends, With all due respect, I propose that you give some thought to organizing to get strong citizen and multi-party support to exact “appropriate compensation” for Friday’s horrible, dumb and indeed tragic event on the streets of your beautiful city. I would imagine that this is a one-time, not to be repeated opportunity to get something very important and far-sighted out of a shaken city administration. Timing is everything in cases like this. You should thus be able to exact what you need today far better than just one week ago. Or a month or more from now once the heat has dissipated. So go for it!

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via World Streets (A world changing before our eyes)

What can we learn from the murderous attack on cyclists in Porto Alegre Brazil on Friday?

Porto Alegre Brazil. 25 February 2011. At least forty people were injured when a mad driver slammed his car into a pack of more than 100 cyclists in the city of Porto Alegre in Brazil. The cyclists, mainly young people, were staging a peaceful demonstration calling for a reduction in the number of cars on the streets. The 47-year-old male driver fled the scene of the incident Friday evening and was later arrested after authorities found his his abandoned car over the weekend.

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via World Streets (A world changing before our eyes)