While in Delhi last month I had a copy of The New York Times saved for me. It’s real amazing, the kind of initiatives Europe is taking to actually minimize CO2 emissions and improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport networks and even local business.
The article titled, ‘Traffic Torments, By Design’ by Elisabeth Rosenthal is the article in reference. It gives a multi dimensional view on the happenings to make road conditions unbearable for private vehicle owners while at the same time, cites examples of infrastructure designed to boost public transport efforts.
· Copenhagen, Munich and Vienna have closed significant road space for car traffic
· Barcelona and Paris have had car lanes taken over by bike sharing programs
· London and Stockholm seem to have created a toll for drivers entering heart of the city
· German cities have bonded by creating ‘environmental zones’ where only low carbon emitting vehicles are permitted
· Zurich has an increase in number of red light signals which are closely spaced
· The city’s tram system can switch traffic lights to their favour to stop car traffic
· 91% of all Swiss Parliament delegates take the tram to work
Looking at the economics of man v/s automobile, nothing seems fair. An individual occupies three cubic meters of space whereas a car takes up 115 cubic meters of urban space in Zurich. Looking further, once road space is made unofficial for automobiles, the number of pedestrians naturally increase, this improves the business for stores.
In my understanding, it’s the attitude of the people towards one other and the environment which matters. Calculating changes in man built environments is practical in order to save the environment. Above mentioned initiatives should be taken as a deliberate push for change. We are worth more than luxury emissions.
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