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Category Archives: Behavior
On bike lanes network development – examples in the US
I am sharing this article on the best new bike lanes in the United States:
Haggerty, M. (January 12, 2024) “The Best New U.S. Bike Lanes of 2023,” People for Bikes, https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/the-best-new-u.s.-bike-lanes-of-2023 [Last accessed: 1/23/2024]
Quoting from the article:
“Even for the most ardent naysayers, it’s difficult to deny that the landscape of bicycling in America is transforming (although not as quickly as many of us would like to see). While we have yet to see any U.S. cities emerge with truly bold citywide plans for bike networks as we’ve seen in places like London, Paris, and Bogota, many are (slowly) beginning to envision a future where cycling takes center stage. Although there remains a substantial amount of work ahead of us to cultivate a safe and comfortable environment for people of all ages and abilities to ride bikes in the U.S., it’s well worth pausing to commemorate the significant infrastructure victories U.S. cities achieved in 2023.”
The quote above also applies to us in the Philippines where there are still few examples of safe and comfortable bike lanes. I shared the same article on my social media page asking aloud if there’s something like this in the Philippines. I am aware of the Mobility Awards but that’s supposed to cover everything on mobility and particularly walking and cycling. The list is about bike lanes and touches on the various designs (note that in the US, while there are federal guidelines, most if not all states and cities would have their own that they use for planning and design of bicycle facilities). It would be nice to have our cities develop guidelines while also referring to the minimum standards in the DPWH Guidelines. Of course, the challenge is to come up with good if not the best designs and not just comply with the minimum.
If there was an award for best new bike lanes in 2023, I think Quezon City will have several nominees and even win the award with one. Picture above is the bike lane along Katipunan Avenue/C5.
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Speed limits and danger zones for trucks
Saw these signs at the back of a long truck as we were stopped before an intersection. One states the speed limits for these vehicles along different roads while the other is a warning sign for other road users especially those who might be less visible when the truck maneuvers (e.g., motorcycle riders, cyclists).
These are important information and fair warning to other road users. However, I think the signs should be bigger to be more visible or conspicuous. You have to be close to the truck for one to read and understand what the signs were. It might be too late by the time one figures out what the warning was about. I’ve read somewhere about people trying to debunk or play down these danger zones for trucks. That is bad opinion and puts drivers and riders heeding it in harm’s way. I think we should always go for what is on the safe side rather than risk being hit by these trucks.
Such information should be part of driver and rider education and perhaps education in general. While these large vehicles pose risks to other road users, they also play an important role particularly for logistics.
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On recent airline incidents in Japan and the US
There were two recent incidents involving airlines the past days. One was on a collision as a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 jet arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The other was a midair incident where an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane lost part of its fuselage. While both are troubling, the first incident provided a good example of how emergency evacuations should be. The second incident reminds us of the importance of aircraft maintenance and tests to make sure planes are safe for use by passengers.
To quote from a New York Times article on the Haneda Airport incident:
“In addition to a well-trained crew and an advanced plane, the safe evacuation of 367 passengers came down to a relative absence of panic.”
I think that basically described “how to survive a plane crash” in the context of the collision at the airport, where passengers and crew had to evacuate the plane immediately.
Meanwhile, the B737 Max crash is a cause of concern since the model was already involved in previous crashes that caused the planes to be grounded worldwide. There will be an investigation on this incident and perhaps the outcomes can help address the problems concerning the aircraft. On the business side, such incidents will further convince airliners to reconsider acquisition and operations of these planes. I am sure they are already thinking about replacing the B737’s with the competition’s aircraft (e.g., A319, A320 or A321).
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On road crashes involving trucks
In the week leading to the Christmas break, there was a major crash in Antipolo City along Ortigas Avenue Extension. The crash caused a standstill for both inbound and outbound traffic as the road was impassable to traffic and later, only one lane was available and vehicles had to take turns to use the lane. Here is a photo taken by a passer-by and shared multiple times on social media:
The crash damaged electric and phone poles causing power outage and phone and internet lines to be disconnected. Obviously, the crash not only inconveniences travelers but a lot of residents of the area affected by the blackout and phone and internet disruptions. Crashes like this are preventable if only operators and drivers are extra diligent with vehicle inspection and maintenance. Apparently, the occurrence of such crashes are not enough a lesson that people could learn from. So there needs to be stronger initiatives including inspections of vehicles that can cause major damage and murder. While we expect a lot from national government, local government units must also pitch in along with the private sector in order to improve safety conditions.
We hope that 2024 will be better and that we will have safer roads for all users.
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Speeding, road crashes and nuts behind the wheel
A recent road crash involving a car slamming into a truck along Marcos Highway in Antipolo City highlights one of the main concerns affecting road safety in the Philippines – speeding. Video from a CCTV camera installed at an establishment near the crash site showed a truck making a U-turn and doing it correctly (i.e., the maneuver) and safely. What followed was a car that was obviously speeding but seemingly not out of control. The car slammed the back of the truck in what was a fatal and tragic crash.
Are the roads to blame? While roads and bridges are static, design elements are the main culprits for why these facilities can be unsafe to users. Straight, level and wide sections of roads invite speeding among drivers and riders alike. The so-called ‘ideal’ sections of roads encourage drivers and riders to speed up, regardless of the speed limits. Thus, roads like Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Marcos Highway in Antipolo, Cainta, Marikina and Pasig have many speeding vehicles. The design speeds for these roads are definitely above the speed limits. I still maintain though that it takes two to tango. That is, even with the above conditions, disciplined, experienced drivers and riders should not have been speeding or doing any other risky maneuver. That could have reduced the likelihood of such crashes. I think that’s pretty plain and common sense.
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On making intersections safe by ‘daylighting’
I came across this interesting article that introduced a somewhat new term to me – daylighting.
Abramson, B. (November 24, 2023) “How to Daylight Your City’s Intersections (and Why It Matters),” Strong Towns, https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/11/24/how-to-daylight-your-citys-intersections-and-why-it-matters [Last accessed: 12/3/2023]
From the article:
“Daylighting is the technical term for a common-sense solution to traffic safety: By removing visual obstructions in approaching intersections, users can better see and more safely cross each other’s paths. “
There are certainly many intersections and even mid-block crossings in our cities and municipalities that could use ‘daylighting’ to improve safety. Many of these intersections and crossings are used by the most vulnerable road users like children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Interventions need not be expensive and may also involve the community. Examples are shown in the article, and these can easily be implemented formally or informally with the cooperation of stakeholders including the local government units and national agencies (i.e., DPWH) under whose jurisdiction many roads are.
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On walking and running for health
Here is a quick share of an article on walking and running from the New York Times:
On walking and taking the stairs
With the increasing popularity of active transport, people still forget that biking is not the only mode being referred to by the term. Walking is the most basic form of transport for us and there are many creative ways to encourage walking even if it is indoors like in an office building, a school building or a shopping mall. Here is a photo of the stairs at one mall with encouraging words for those taking the stairs instead of the escalators or elevators. It only takes 30 minutes of walking everyday to gain the benefits of a more active lifestyle.
My daily walks take me up and down the hilly roads in our neighborhood. I attribute to these walks my relatively effortless climbs to the 4th floor of our school building where my office is. Our elevator has been out of commission for some time now so we are all forced to take the stairs to our lecture rooms and offices. These I refer to as ‘stairmaster’ exercises, which is included in my daily routine so it adds to my step count as well as being recorded for the flights of stairs I take each day. I attest to this routine to improving my health and well-being, and highly recommend this to those who are able to do so.
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Still on the Katipunan zipper lane
I’ve occasionally arrived at Katipunan with the experimental zipper lane still in use. I usually take Major Dizon from Marcos Highway in order to have a chance of using the zipper lane. That is, I take the left-most lane of C5 so I am in a good position in case the lane was available when I get to the Ateneo area. Perhaps it is already assumed that the right most lanes are already dedicated to vehicles bound for Ateneo or Miriam (mostly Ateneo I suppose).
So far, I’ve been able to use the zipper lane only once. On the other times, I stay on the left-most lane (beside the island) of Katipunan/C5. The zipper is relatively short as vehicles return to the correct side of the road at Ateneo Gate 3. The merging there means slower movement of both the zipper lane and the median lane traffic. So is the zipper lane a success? I would say the experiment is just above “marginal success” (or pasang awa) given its limited application. It doesn’t hurt to implement the scheme as traffic along the southbound side of Katipunan is generally light anyway.
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Opinion: The Arrogance of Social Media Urbanists
Here’s a quick share of an interesting article. It’s basically a reaction (I prefer not to call it a rant as the author refers to it.) and a fair one for those who are exasperated with the generalizations and criticisms often posted on social media that are thrown vs. planners. I would extend this observation about engineering as well. I suddenly remember discussing in one of my classes about how unreinforced concrete pavements are legit and not because a contractor or highway agency settled for inferior design or were corrupt that they decided not to use steel bars. It is very easy these days to post your opinion or criticism without understanding all the other (and probably essential) factors that come into play.
Source: Opinion: The Arrogance of Social Media Urbanists
Quoting from the article:
“What is the point of this rant, besides easing my frustration with my social media feed? It’s to hopefully educate those who think that changing close to a century of development patterns should happen overnight and that anyone who is not in lock-step agreement with the right way to develop is too ignorant to know better. No opinion has ever been changed by a snarky meme. Change happens through education, outreach, and time. Planners are not ‘afraid’ to build good things; they’re constrained by obsolete regulations and policies, deeply embedded political values, financial barriers, and the momentum of existing patterns of behavior. The goal should be to address those things and make it just as easy to build dense, mixed-use, walkable communities as it is currently to build single-use sprawl. If we get to that point, consumers will have equal access to the products they want, whether it be a single-family home on a cul-de-sac or a townhome with a coffee shop on the corner.
That is how we effect change. Arrogant and condescending posts on social media will not win converts to your cause, only harden their resistance.”
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Caught (up) in traffic 