[Vision2020] traffic woes

[Ted Moffett]

Donovan et. al.

Umm, are we communicating here?  Read what I wrote below again.  I included 
the idea of restructuring Moscow streets as a suggestion for dealing with 
the traffic problem.  I gave a list of possible solutions, of which you 
addressed only a few.

Your solution is no solution at all if the goal is reducing the number of 
vehicles on Moscow streets, but rather just a more efficient way of 
accommodating an increasing number of vehicles.

There are the problems created by the number of vehicles creating traffic 
congestion and an environment unfriendly to walking and biking while 
degrading the aesthetic environment.  The pollution issue is also a concern. 
  Pollution could be reduced with electric or hybrid or fuel cell cars, 
though there would still be the traffic congestion and other negative 
impacts, though less pollution would reduce that one negative impact on 
people in high traffic areas.

Biking is not as difficult in Moscow as you make it sound, though now with 
the increased traffic etc. it is more problematic than it once was.    I 
have used a bike off and on all year round in Moscow with little difficulty, 
of course not on days with bad weather.  Part of the reason to encourage 
biking is also the exercise and health gained.  It also creates a more 
friendly community environment to have people riding bikes rather than 
driving polluting traffic congesting cars.

I don't think I need to quote statistics to state correctly that Moscow has 
more traffic flow now than it had years ago with thousands of new residents 
in the city limits.  Are you serious about questioning an increase in amount 
of traffic?  Do you really think Moscow has not seen an increase in traffic 
in the past 5, 10 or 20 years?

Anyways, read my last paragraph below, where I suggest a traffic plan is not 
the solution, but rather a change in the mindset of people, a change I 
highly doubt will happen.

Ted


>From: "Ted Moffett" <ted_moffett@hotmail.com>
>To: donovanarnold@hotmail.com, rhayes@turbonet.com
>CC: vision2020@moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] traffic woes
>Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2003 21:01:47 +0000
>
>
>Donovan et. al.
>
>While you present some interesting ideas on how to improve traffic flow, 
>that fact is that the number of vehicles on Moscow city streets has 
>increased in recent years.
>
>There are numerous solutions that could be offered:  carpooling, improved 
>street layout and management, smaller less polluting motorized vehicles, 
>more biking (a three wheel bike can carry a lot), better bike lanes or 
>walking, or actual restrictions placed upon the number and/or use of 
>vehicles.  Some universities in the USA do not allow freshmen living in 
>dorms to come to college with a car!  They have such parking and traffic 
>problems etc. that these universities cannot handle allowing freshmen to 
>bring cars to college.
>
>This one restriction placed upon vehicle use would reduce the traffic 
>problem in Moscow somewhat.
>
>You can rearrange the landscape all you want to accommodate cars, trucks 
>and SUVs,  but this is an approach I think wrong headed from the start.   
>Because the bottom line is, if everyone and their uncle insists on using a 
>motorized vehicle to go everywhere inside the city limits of Moscow, we 
>will have problems with traffic and pollution, at least with current 
>internal combustion engines.  And as you accommodate to handle more cars, 
>growth will just add more traffic which means more accommodation to handle 
>more vehicles, and then we end up with a city less friendly to biking and 
>walking with a degraded aesthetic environment.
>
>If the mindset that encourages the use of motorized vehicles at every whim 
>is not addressed, the outcome will not be pretty, no matter what brilliant 
>street planning is offered.  This issue boils down to a choice of values 
>and lifestyle about which it is clear there is strong disagreement between 
>the car devotees and those who do not want a city dominated by the demands 
>of motorized vehicles.
>
>Ted
>
>

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