Articles on railway safety
I shared a link to a Medium writer who specialized on articles about air crashes. These were investigative articles that provide details about air crashes especially since these are all tragedies and include those that have remained mysteries like Malaysian Airline Flight 370.
I am sharing today another collection of articles pertaining to transport safety. This time they are about railway or rail safety. Here is the link to the collection of articles from Max Shroeder:
https://mx-schroeder.medium.com
And here is an example of what he writes:
https://mx-schroeder.medium.com/stressful-schedule-the-2005-amagasaki-japan-derailment-12156ddd488
Again, there is much to be learned about these incidents. The circumstances, factors and experiences need to be examined in order to draw lessons from these incidents and reduce the likelihood of them happening again. In the case of the Philippines, this is especially applicable as the country rebuilds its long distance railways infrastructure with a line connecting Manila and Clark, Pampanga along what used to be called the Main Line North (MLN) of the Philippine National Railways (PNR), and another currently being rehabbed and for upgrading to the south in what was called the Main Line South (MLS). Other rail projects are also underway like the Metro Manila Subway and the MRT Line 7. All pass through populous areas, and railway crashes may not just lead to passenger and crew fatalities and injuries but also the same for those residing or working along these rail lines.
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On the right to a walkable life
Here is an article from a perspective that’s very relevant today everywhere. We need to examine our daily routines particularly when it comes to commuting or moving about. Do we live in walkable communities? Is walking to certain places like school, the market, or the office an option to many of us? Or do we automatically choose to ride a car, a tricycle or motorcycle to get to these places?
Malchik, A. (May 13, 2022) “Driving is killing us,” Medium.com, https://antoniamalchik.medium.com/driving-is-killing-us-6a1b35158458 [Last accessed: 5/28/2022]
To quote from the article:
“Ask yourself this question: if you stepped foot outside your door, would you be able to walk anywhere you needed or wanted to go? Can you walk to a store, a library, school, or work? If your answer is “no,” what’s stopping you? Distance, highways, private property, broken or absent or inaccessible sidewalks? …
The loss of walking as an individual and a community act has the potential to destroy our deepest spiritual connections, our democratic societies, our neighborhoods, our freedom, our health, and our lives. But we can reclaim it. We can start to make a world that welcomes the walker, the pedestrian, rather than paving over that incredible human inheritance.”
I myself have enjoyed the benefits of walking when I was a college student in UP, when I was studying abroad in Japan, when we lived in Singapore and now in our community in the midst of the pandemic. I always think about opportunities and even schedule times for walking. Nowadays I am even conscious of my daily step count, which I equate with being active.
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Tagbilaran – Panglao Airport Arrival
The last time we were in Bohol, the airport was still in Tagbilaran City. One had to travel about 45+ minutes if you were staying at a resort in nearby Panglao Island that is part of the province. The old airport was closed (the runway though served as a venue for ) and replaced by a new airport. This one is located in Panglao Island and close to the resorts that are the main attraction of the province.
We deplaned via tube/bridge at the new airport terminal
A photo of the control tower from the bridge
Did the airport terminal architecture take inspiration from Bohol’s famous Chocolate Hills?
The corridors were well lighted, again thanks to the building design.
Our plane at the tarmac or apron unloading luggage and cargo
We arrived at the baggage claim area ahead of most people. The carts were already placed across the conveyor belt by airport staff.
Belt 2 on the other side is for international arrivals. The airport already served international flights before the pandemic. These have yet to resume.
Passengers file unto the baggage claim area to pick up their luggage.
The hallway towards the terminal exit. The toilets are on the left side of the hallway.
The sign indicates international arrivals. The airport currently does not serve international flights but these will likely resume once the pandemic threat is clearly contained. Other airports like Iloilo and Bacolod have also suspended international flights.
The international arrival area at Tagbilaran-Panglao Airport
Airport driveway
Exit towards our destination
A view of the control tower as we headed towards the airport exit gate
The new road connecting to the national road circling Panglao Island, which connects to the local roads leading to the resorts and towns in the island.
It now only takes something like 10 to 15 minutes to many of the resorts in Panglao Island. This is a convenience to tourists. However, the distance from the main island of Bohol (the rest and most of the province) means a longer travel time for Boholanons or Bol-anons to/from their hometowns from/to the airport. This looks to be a non-issue considering the pros of the new airport outweighs its cons.
More on this airport soon!
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On phasing out cars in cities
I’m sharing another article on reducing car dependence. The article was referred to by the previous series that I shared recently.
Nicholas, K. (April 14, 2022) “12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research,” The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/12-best-ways-to-get-cars-out-of-cities-ranked-by-new-research-180642 [Last accessed: 5/20/2022]
Here are a few excerpts from the article:
“Question: what do the following statistics have in common?
The second-largest (and growing) source of climate pollution in Europe.
The leading killer of children in both the US and Europe.
A principal cause of stress-inducing noise pollution and life-shortening air pollution in European cities.
A leading driver of the widening gap between rich and poor urban residents.Answer: the vehicles on our streets, primarily the not-so-humble passenger car.”
also this:
“The research is clear: to improve health outcomes, meet climate targets and create more liveable cities, reducing car use should be an urgent priority.”
and this:
“To meet the planet’s health and climate goals, city governments need to make the necessary transitions for sustainable mobility by, first, avoiding the need for mobility (see Paris’s 15-minute city); second, shifting remaining mobility needs from cars to active and public transport wherever possible; and finally, improving the cars that remain to be zero-emission.”
You can also listen instead of reading it as it is a narrated article.
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Articles on examining the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion
Planetizen recently published a three-part series of articles examining the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion:
Part 1: Brasuell, J. (April 13, 2022) “Planning and the Complicated Causes and Effects of Congestion,” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/features/116834-planning-and-complicated-causes-and-effects-congestion [Last accessed: 5/17/2022]
Part 2: Brasuell, J. (April 20, 2022) “How Planning Fails to Solve Congestion,” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/features/116914-how-planning-fails-solve-congestion%5BLast accessed: 5/17/2022]
Part 3: Brasuell, J. (May 12, 2022) “Planning for Congestion Relief,” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/features/117153-planning-congestion-relief?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-05162022&mc_cid=34b0612d40&mc_eid=9ccfe464b1 [Last accessed: 5/17/2022]
I think these articles are a must read especially for students (and not just practitioners or professionals) and is sort of a crash course on transportation engineering and planning. It covers many concepts and learnings from so many decades and touches on certain programs that are most effective in reducing car trips. To quote from the article, the top 12 programs based on case studies in Europe are:
- Congestion Pricing (12-33% reduction in city-center cars)
- Parking and Traffic Controls (11-19% reduction in city-center cars)
- Limited Traffic Zones (10-20% reduction in city-center cars)
- Workplace Mobility Services (37% drop in car commuters)
- Workplace Parking Charges (8-25% reduction in car commuters)
- Workplace Travel Planning (3-18% drop in car use by commuters)
- University Travel Planning (7-27% reduction in car use by university commuters)
- University Mobility Services (24% drop in students commuting by car)
- Car Sharing (12-15 private cars replaced by each shared car)
- School Travel Planning (5-11% reduction in car use for school trips)
- Personalized Travel Planning (6-12% drop in car use share among residents)
- App-Based Incentives (73% – proportion of app users declaring reduced car use)
Are we ready to confront congestion and at the least start discussing these car trip reduction programs? Or are we content with the current discourse, which remains car-centric?
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Join the campaign: UN Global Road Safety Week 2022
Next week will be the UN Global Road Safety Week. Many organizations will be holding activities or events to promote road safety. In our case, we are part of a National Coalition promoting child road traffic injury prevention (CRTIP) in the Philippines with the support of UNICEF.
Here is the link to the UN’s page promoting road safety:
https://www.unroadsafetyweek.org/en/home
The theme touches on the campaign to reduce speeds to 30 kph. This is particularly important in the vicinity of schools or school zones where children are at a high risk of being involved in crashes. Their safety is of utmost concern and requires interventions to improve conditions. We have done assessments using iRAP’s Star Ratings for Schools (SR4S) tool and recommended interventions for many schools in Valenzuela City and Zamboanga City. This year, we hope to do the assessments in Angeles City and Cagayan de Oro City as well for Phase 2 of our project with UNICEF as we continue to help improve road safety for our children. After all, roads that are safe for children are safe for everyone else.
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Quezon City’s bus services
One of the projects of the Quezon City (QC) government during the pandemic and which they continued to the present was transport-related. QC deployed buses to provide free transport for its residents.
Here are the routes (source: QC FB page):
Route 1 – Quezon City Hall to Cubao (and vice versa)
Route 2 – Litex / IBP Road to Quezon City Hall (and vice versa)
Route 3 – Welcome Rotonda to Aurora Blvd. / Katipunan Avenue (and vice versa)
Route 4 – General Luis to Quezon City Hall (and vice versa)
Route 5 – Mindanao Ave. cor. Quirino Highway to Quezon City Hall (and vice versa)
Route 6 – Quezon City Hall to Robinsons Magnolia (and vice versa)
Route 7 – Quezon City Hall to Ortigas Avenue Extension (and vice versa)
Route 8 – Quezon City Hall to Muñoz (and vice versa)
See their UPDATED Bus Route & Schedule:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=273192358328744&id=100069139452704
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=273192031662110&set=pcb.273192358328744
Here are some photos of the buses along the Elliptical Road. These are air-conditioned and have WiFi for the comfort and benefit of the commuters.
With the fresh mandate (second term) of the QC Mayor Joy Belmonte, it is expected that they will continue with this public service. I am not sure if it should be strictly for QC residents. Perhaps those who work or study in QC should also benefit from the service. These people may show proof in the form of valid IDs like school or employee IDs.
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On walkability and walkability scores
I’m sharing a couple of articles on walkability and walkability scores. The first one actually points to the second but provides brief insights about the concept of walkability while the second is a more detailed article on the findings of a study on walkability.
Ionesco, D. (May 4, 2022) “Walkability Scores Don’t Tell the Whole Story,” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/05/117075-walkability-scores-dont-tell-whole-story?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-05052022&mc_cid=c04e3e4dc0&mc_eid=9ccfe464b1 [Last accessed: 5/7/2022]
To quote from the article:
“if cities truly want to be pedestrian-friendly, they need to think beyond the sidewalk…”
The second article is from late April:
Gwam, P., Noble, E. and Freemark, Y. (April 28, 2022) “Redefining Walkability,” urban.org, https://www.urban.org/features/redefining-walkability [Last accessed: 5/7/2022]
To quote from the article:
“To create a more comfortable walking experience, our research points to a few steps DC planners and policymakers can take to increase racially equitable walkability across the city:
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expand tree cover in the densest parts of the city,
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increase nonautomotive modes of transportation in central areas,
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reduce noise pollution,
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support more equitable access to key resources, and
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prioritize road design that limits the need for police traffic enforcement.”
While the article puts emphasis on the topic of racial equity, such concept can easily be adapted and adopted for our purposes. For one, it could be interpreted as being inclusive if one is not comfortable with the term “race”.
Don’t miss downloading the technical appendix of their report. This will be very useful to researchers, practitioners and advocates of active transport.
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On trucks and road safety again
The past days saw many trucks being involved in crashes along my commuting route. My social media feed also gives me updates on the traffic situation in my home city. And there are many reports of the same – trucks involved in road crashes or stalled due to a variety of reasons (engine problems, flat tires, etc.) . It is not an understatement to say that such incidents are a matter of concern especially since these may have been fatal (i.e., deaths due to road crashes). Here are a couple of photos we took as we passed a truck on its side along Ortigas Avenue Extension along one of my usual commuting routes.
It is fortunate that this did not result in any fatality but from the photos one can surmise the potential or likelihood of serious injuries if not death/s. Such underlines the importance of both proper maintenance and operations of these vehicles including how they are loaded. Shifting or unbalanced loads on moving trucks negotiating turns or maneuvering, for example, will result in loss of control and overturning that also leads to traffic congestion. Are the drivers competent, awake, alert? Or are they sleep or perhaps driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances?
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On ways to make streets safer
Here’s a quick share of an article suggesting a simple way to make streets safer:
Berg, N. (April 27, 2022) “The ridiculously simple way to make streets safer for pedestrians,” Fast Company, https://www.fastcompany.com/90745296/the-ridiculously-simple-way-to-make-streets-safer-for-pedestrians [Last accessed 5/1/2022]
To quote from the article: “Art projects painted onto streets and intersections significantly improve safety, reducing the rate of crashes involving cars and pedestrians by up to 50% and all crashes by 17%, according to the study.”
The article’s sub title states that you only need a bucket of paint rather than expensive new traffic signals or road blocks to keep pedestrians safe. I remember there were similar attempts to do the same in Antipolo prior to the pandemic. A group painted on the pedestrian crossings along major roads in the city. These, however, appeared to be somewhat invisible to most motorists and did not succeed to slow down traffic. Perhaps, as the article states, the artwork needs to be more visible or conspicuous in addition to its being comprehensive for intersections as the examples in the article show. These cannot be piecemeal or appear as publicity stunts for them to influence driver behavior and help improve safety.
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Caught (up) in traffic 