Mini Exasperation #5
Island Press Sale and I'm Not Even Stressed.
I’m so proud that my little engine of exasperation has been able to partner with Island Press for the last few years and now I’m excited to share some of the benefits with you, dear reader. Through Midnight on March 2, all (except NACTO’s new amazing guideline (my write-up coming next week)) e-books are $4.99. The best part of this deal is that you get to support:
A small, but mighty publishing house responsible for a biiiiiiig number of the planning and urbanism books you’ve read or have wanted to read. If they don’t exist these books don’t get published.
Authors and thinkers who are actively working to make our communities better. This federal, uh, situation aside, we’ve had an uphill battle to fight in the history of dignity and access to life’s beautiful bounties forever. Some of the doers have decided to write their experiences as a cautionary tale, a set of instructions, or a novel perspective and it’s a great idea for you to thank them by supporting their writing.
You. You get to read an amazing new book to help quell your exasperation for less than the price of a cup of coffee.
I’m tired of writing about this administration but to say this:
The month of absolute stress testing will be followed by years and decades of a deep response. We are a nation of individuals and won’t be ruled by a pathetic attempt at anything but the most mediocre in the long term.
In the meantime, I’m proud of Gov. Hochul for rebuking Duffy’s scarememo, written by an idiot on behalf of a bigger idiot thinking we’re all idiots.
Some Articles I Liked This Week
High-speed rail line with 300 km/h trains will run between Toronto and Quebec City, Trudeau announces by Peter Zimonjic for CBC News
Here’s a map of a proposed HSR with a top speed of 300km/hr (186mph) that would connect Quebec City and Toronto, with intermediate stops in business and leisure destinations, like Ottowa and Montreal. They’re expecting the planning and design to cost C$4 billion and construction to cost close to C$60 billion, which is on its face a lot of money. The 800km journey between Toronto and Quebec City current takes about 8.5 hours to drive—a train that tops out at 300km/hr could cut that trip in half, or more depending on conditions and findings from the design and planning work.
Exasperated: I’m not exasperated about this on its face; yes the costs are expensive, but not really, since the 800+ km track would cost just ~$375 million per km (remember there will be at least two tracks that run parallel), which is a lot but waaaaaay less than California’s HSR, which is topping out at, well, much more. We’ve also got to remember that these projects don’t exist in a vacuum: they necessarily create construction and support jobs during a decade or more of design and construction, and many more after the fact, never mind the amount of GDP will travel up and down this corridor, never mind the environmental and never mind the safety benefits. It’s a great project that’s leaning very conservative on its costs and timelines to set expectations correctly. Looking forward to following this one.
Austin just made it illegal to park in bike lanes by Luz Moren-Lozano for KUT 90.5
This rule, now codified into law and able to be enforced, will fine drivers between $50 and $300 for parking, idling, or otherwise obstructing the free flow of marked bike lanes in Austin, TX. This move will help improve street legibility and seek to combat safety issues when bikes and cars collide.
Exasperated: This is a great idea in theory but I’ll have to read the ordinance’s text to get a sense of whether this law has any teeth at all or is a lot of yap. Here’s what I’d look for:
Is there a clear definition of what an infraction would look like and a clear delineation of what would trigger a $50 fine compared to a $300 fine?
What does enforcement look like? How will it be applied equitably so the city’s not just broken-windowsing its way to a cash grab?
What are the triggers for whether the bill needs a re-look? How will the bill text prevent it from being raided by a less-friendly Council?
Uber, Lyft riders choose ride-hailing over transit to save time: study by Dan Zukowski for Smart Cities Dive
No shit.
Exasperated: This report is not saying anything new at all, but we’ve got no real answer to it, either. Even in New York with the most robust transit system and peripherals and other ways to get around, ride-hail and point-to-point cars are a preferred choice for so many city revelers and workers.
The Subway is an amazing engineering feat and a perhaps-oiled machine, but its headways (times between arrivals) are all over the place and greatly increase during hours outside of “peak” travel. If I’m drunk, tired, other things, after a night out am I really going to choose to wait 45 minutes for an F train with a transfer to an A, which is another 30-minute wait? Unless it’s $100, which it might be, the answer is no. And I do this for a living and actively think about this tradeoff in almost every waking moment.
The way we think about transit has to fundamentally change. LOL. For another piece, but the outcome here is expected and the profits ripped away from our transit systems are both a feature and a market force worth fighting for.
A job I’m not qualified for but maybe someone you know is.
https://rpa.org/join/transportation-associate
If I were 12 years younger and hungry for a deep dive into New York and regional transportation knowledge, this job would be actually perfect. Pay is fine for a young person, but the HUUUUUUGE W is being able to learn from Tiffany-Ann Taylor for as long as she’ll have you.