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Tag Archives: policy
On the impact of bike lanes on motor vehicle traffic
With the news that bike lanes will be removed along major roads including, most recently, I share some findings from the US about a decrease in traffic speeds when there are protected bike lanes. The decrease in speeds are associated with a reduction in road crashes, ergo safer streets.
McPherson, K. (June 3, 2024) “Traffic Speeds Decrease When Bike Lane is Present,” Rutgers.edu, https://www.rutgers.edu/news/traffic-speeds-decrease-when-bike-lane-present [Last accessed: 6/8/2024]
To quote from the article:
“They found that the presence of the delineated bike lane made a difference: a 28 percent reduction in average maximum speeds and a 21 percent decrease in average speeds for vehicles turning right. For those heading straight and not turning, a smaller speed reduction of 8 percent was observed. In addition, drivers moving at a perpendicular angle to the bike lane did not slow down.
Marking the bike lanes with cones as a clearly delineated space was more effective at reducing speed than a painted-only bike lane. The painted-only bike lane was associated with a smaller speed reduction of between 11 percent and 15 percent, but only for drivers turning right.
Younes hypothesized that drivers slow down when they see a bike lane marked with the cones because the driving lane is narrower and requires more concentration, and it’s easier to notice cones or planters or some other space delineator than it is to spot painted lines on the road surface.”
Of course, one major element that was probably not considered in their studies is the presence and behavior of motorcycle riders. Motorcycles here frequently enter and use bike lanes whether protected or not. Often they crowd out bicycle users leading to situations where riders of motorized and non-motorized 2-wheelers come into conflict. Still, it would be nice to have a study to determine not just whether there are similar outcomes here but to what extent as well as how motorcycles figure in the study.
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Article share: on making more affordable neighborhoods
I’ve been commenting about how transportation cannot be isolated and the need to relate it to other factors such as housing or home location choice. The latter though is also affected by other factors as well that affect the affordability of homes near the city centers or CBDs where workplaces and schools are located. The result of course is sprawl or the encouragement of sprawl. Private companies take advantage of this or contribute to this ‘encouragement’ by developing land farther away from the center. Thus, for Metro Manila’s case, many people reside in the peripheral provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite. There are even those who choose to reside in Pampanga, Bataan and Batangas.
Kayatekin, C.S. and Sanmiguel, L.U. (April 16, 2024) ” ‘Urban form’ and the housing crisis: can streets and buildings make a neighborhood more affordable?” The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/urban-form-and-the-housing-crisis-can-streets-and-buildings-make-a-neighbourhood-more-affordable-224108 [Last accessed: 4/23/2024]
Quoting from the article:
“Our main finding was that the bottom-up districts we looked at had, overall, more small-scale apartments. The reason is simple: they had more small-scale buildings, built on small-scale plots. Once divided into apartments, this produces small apartments – homes in the bottom-up areas were 10% to 23.1% smaller than their top-down counterparts. This also made their real estate markets for small homes more competitive, and therefore more affordable.
However, our study showed there is nothing inherently magical about bottom-up areas. Their more intricate housing stock has little to do with the layout of streets and blocks, and a lot to do with how that land is built upon.
Plot size appears to be the deciding factor: the districts with greater numbers of small buildings built on small plots supported a denser and more affordable housing stock, regardless of whether they were top-down or bottom-up.
Older bottom-up areas seem to naturally lend themselves to having more small-scale plots. This is likely due to the incremental development of these areas, and the complex land ownership patterns that developed as a result. However, there is no reason why a top-down area cannot be designed to replicate these characteristics.”
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Lower speed limits may not slow drivers, a before-and-after study shows
I am sharing this article on drivers not reducing their speeds after speed limits have been lowered along certain roads. My first reaction after reading the article is that it is that perhaps in the US case, the after study was conducted quite early and before people have become aware, understood and adjusted to the lower speed limits. The responses or reactions to lower speed limits (particularly those posted or on signs) may vary among cities and countries. In the Philippines, where drivers and riders appear to be oblivious to speed limits, other interventions may be required including some types of traffic calming devices. This is very much a concern particularly in school zones where children are exposed to the risks of being run over by motor vehicles speeding along the roads and not minding the speed limits in the area.
Here is the Research report:
Source: Lower speed limits may not slow drivers, a before-and-after study shows
On the current issue about 2 and 3-wheeled electric vehicles
Electric vehicles are again in the news due to the proposed policies regarding them that the government is planning to implement. These include banning them from national roads and requiring their registration as well as their drivers having licenses. While it seems simple enough to many, there are complexities involved here due to the provisions of a law incentivizing the e-vehicle adoption and use.
Most recently, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines or eVAP released a statement regarding the proposed policies on electric vehicle use. Here is their press release, which is available from their official Facebook page:
I tend to agree with the eVAP statement more than the stand of other organizations or entities. Perhaps its because I know many people behind eVAP (at one time I was one of their advisers) and trust that their statement is based on informed discussions not just among themselves but their partners and cooperators among different sectors including the government.
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Article share: on subsidies to public transportation
Here’s a nice article that presents arguments for subsidies to support transit or public transportation:
Wilson, K. (February 5, 2024) “Study: Subsidizing Transit Actually Makes It More Efficient,” Streets Blog USA, https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/02/05/study-subsidizing-transit-actually-makes-it-more-efficient [Last accessed: 2/18/2024]
Subsidies to public transportation can be quite tricky and may require quite a balancing act. There seems to be few options outside of the straightforward subsidies national and local governments in the Philippines provide. Rail transit, for example, is heavily subsidized but these are rare for road-based public transportation. The concept of service contracting has been considered but it also has a few variations. While there seems to have been a proof of concept tested during the pandemic, it required so much funds that government apparently lost interest (i.e., the funds were also needed by other sectors). Local governments meanwhile, or at least those that had resources, decided to operate their own public transport (e.g., Quezon City bus).
To quote from the article:
“Newmark’s study doesn’t definitively determine why, exactly, high subsidies seem to correlate with better efficiency and transit agencies collecting more fares, but he has some theories. Some systems, he says, use subsidies to increase service frequency or install dedicated lanes to speed routes up along heavily-utilized corridors — and riders are responding, predictably, by showing up in droves. (Route expansion can help, too, he said, but only if agencies expand service to places “where there’s actual demand.”) Others use subsidies to keep ticket prices low, but not to eliminate fares outright, which Newmark argues is a smart move.
“People value stuff they pay for, and they pay for stuff they value,” Newmark added. “An underlying point in this paper is that transit offers something [valuable], and it’s worth trying to capture that value, whether through fares or in other ways.”
If transit networks and the taxpayers who support them can get that recipe right, it could create a virtuous cycle.
“If people see the benefits [of subsidies], that may make them more willing to invest [their taxpayer dollars],” he adds. “Good transit leads to a real social movement for more subsidies.” “
What do you think about subsidies to public transport in the Philippine setting? Of course, we are referring to ‘formal’ public transportation here. There are many ‘informal’ or paratransit modes like tricycles and non-motorized pedicabs. There are also motorcycle taxis providing services or filling in the gaps in transport services.
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On urban noise
We open February with an article share. The article is about noise in urban areas. Not surprisingly, most noise comes from transportation and the solutions mentioned in the article not only addresses transportation noise but at the same time addresses other concerns about transportation, including safety.
Durand-Wood, E. (January 25, 2024) “Why Are Cities So Noisy? And Can We Do Anything About It?“ Strong Towns, https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/25/why-are-cities-so-noisy-and-can-we-do-anything-about-it [Last accessed: 2/2/2024]
To quote from the article:
“In 2011, the WHO set recommendations for daytime and nighttime environmental noise levels, and found the maximum safe noise level for daytime is 55db (somewhere between moderate rain and normal conversation) and at night, 40db (about the level of a quiet library). Beyond these levels, prolonged exposure to environmental noise has been shown to cause health problems, and not just hearing-related ones.”In 2011, the WHO set recommendations for daytime and nighttime environmental noise levels, and found the maximum safe noise level for daytime is 55db (somewhere between moderate rain and normal conversation) and at night, 40db (about the level of a quiet library). Beyond these levels, prolonged exposure to environmental noise has been shown to cause health problems, and not just hearing-related ones.
Until recently, most analysis related to urban noise has focused on noise as an annoyance or disruptor to humans. But with these new guidelines, there was an acknowledgement that too much environmental noise can actually have grave health consequences, noting that “at least one million healthy life years are lost every year from traffic-related noise in the western part of Europe.”
We now know that higher levels of environmental noise raise heart rate and blood pressure, cause harmful sleep interruptions, and are linked to cardiovascular disease, dementia, and cognitive impairment in children, among others. And as with environmental pollution, there are racial and socioeconomic disparities with noise pollution.
In a 2022 report, the United Nations identified urban noise pollution as a top environmental risk.”
Have you noticed how noisy it is in our cities? Many actually choose to live in the suburbs as the perception is its quieter especially during the night. The health risks due to noise are well-established as presented also in the article. However, there are ways to address this and reduce the noise, particularly the type attributed to transportation and traffic.
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Want Less Traffic and More Parking? Start Charging for It!
Here’s a quick share of an article on parking:
Source: Want Less Traffic and More Parking? Start Charging for It!
From the article:
“like most urban issues, parking is not an isolated problem. If smart parking programs are implemented but road design and policies still encourage motor vehicle use, the efficiency of parking programs will be limited by the intrinsic political and physical nature of each location. Nevertheless, free parking is a nuisance and a massive cost to the public, especially lower-income individuals, causing congestion and ultimately reducing mobility. Research shows that charging for parking makes the most out of parking spaces in a given area, and makes the process of maintaining parking fairer by charging its users instead of everyone indiscriminately.”
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The wrong message for electric and hybrid vehicles
There are two billboards along Katipunan Avenue, each displayed to face either the northbound or southbound traffic along the busy thoroughfare. The ad by a major Japanese automaker is a sales pitch for one of its electric vehicle models. The ad states one of the incentives or come-ons for electric and hybrid vehicles granted by government (in this case the Metro Manila Development Authority) to encourage people to buy electric or hybrid vehicles; ideally to replace their fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
Electric and hybrid vehicles in Metro Manila are exempt from the MMDA’s number coding scheme. The ad is clear about that especially as a selling point for the vehicle featured.At this point, more electric and hybrid vehicles would probably translate to more traffic congestion. They will just be replacing the conventional vehicles if not adding to them. The incentive will actually backfire vs. the MMDA since the number coding scheme will eventually be rendered ineffective (di pa ba?) with the addition of these coding-exempt vehicles.
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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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Reference share – study on transport equity
Here is a quick share of a study report on equity in public transportation from the Mineta Transport Institute:
Defining and Equity in Public Transportation, https://transweb.sjsu.edu/research/2100-Public-Transit-Equity-Metrics-Measurement
Perhaps income, physical ability/disability, age and gender are the more applicable aspects of equity in our case. However, the concepts and methodology in the report may still be applicable and can be customized or contextualized for the Philippine setting.
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Caught (up) in traffic 