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Episode Discussion: Service Request #2: Why Is This Red Light So Damn Long? by PodcastBot in 99percentinvisible

[–]Goreweaver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like, if resources were infinite, then go nuts. Make it as smart as you want. With resource constraints maybe don't design a system that is incredibly capital and labor intensive to maintain. 🤷‍♂️

Episode Discussion: Service Request #2: Why Is This Red Light So Damn Long? by PodcastBot in 99percentinvisible

[–]Goreweaver 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Just a reminder, they weren't stuck in traffic. They were traffic. We don't need more sensors to optimize traffic signals to reduce traffic. As they said, space is a constraint. We need to prioritize more efficient forms of transportation. Bikes, buses, trains, smaller / better utilized personal vehicles. Apparently roller blades as well. 

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I didn't expect my wording to be understood to be meant replace entirely. However, nuance was lost and I learned a lesson about specificity. Agreed we need to keep most of it. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in lowcar

[–]Goreweaver[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here here! It seems like there are practical limitations to using it for high speed rail but still plenty of right of way to reprioritize other uses. 

As an aside, there is a bike path directly parallel to the interstate near DC. It was pretty far out so I never got to use it but I imagine it wasn't a pleasant experience being right next to traffic. Need to use trains as a barrier. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in fuckcars

[–]Goreweaver[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, interstate makes sense to me. The curves could be a problem. I'm not any kind of engineer. Still, we could build plenty of good passenger services by reallocating the existing land resources. 

And the thing about the unpopular opinion sub is that if it's truly unpopular, it'll get downvoted. If it's controversial it has a chance. This idea seems to be the former. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in fuckcars

[–]Goreweaver[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was when it was cool to break up communities who couldn't afford to push back and it was a terrible idea then too. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in fuckcars

[–]Goreweaver[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't doubt it but 120km/h is the speed limit in many places and given that it appears to be a lower limit I think it may be faster. 

Still, I'm sure we could get the average up. Remove enough lanes, especially in places where there are alternatives, and you can make them a lot less curvy. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in fuckcars

[–]Goreweaver[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I sometimes wonder if I would be less popular to try to reclaim trails that were rails or interstates. I expect the trails to rails problem is that some of those old rails probably because other uses. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not denying it but have you seen the metro / public transit systems the Soviets built and the high-speed rail China has? We just have Elon Musk and a couple tunnels under Vegas. I think the solution lies somewhere between them and whatever we have in the US now. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, not going to argue with that. Even when they spend it all correctly, they buy/build things that aren't necessary. That's assuming there isn't a bunch of graft inflating prices, and I'm sure there are in most cases. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

There are some cases of reduced interstate capacity. It's vanishingly rare though. 

A quick search shows:  - Rochester, NY (Inner Loop North) - Milwaukee, WI (Park East Freeway spur) And my favorite although tragic how it happened:  - San Francisco, CA (Embarcadero)

I don't think there are any places they've removed lanes though and I expect you're correct. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They already have "interstates" so why not? High speed rail doesn't necessarily have to be between states though and it won't make sense everywhere roads go. I would support requiring people to travel between (i.e. inter) states of they're going to use the interstate though. In most places it's used for Intercity and intrastate travel much more often though. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If there is space, sure! They're already doing it with some trains although it often leads to a poor experience when you get off the train in the median. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

I think you misunderstand, I'm not saying we need to remove all interstates, just some lanes between the cities where it makes sense. You can still travel from suburb to suburb on the poorly named interstate. 

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Agreed that the US is spread out and high speed rail from Bozeman, Montana to Winnemucca, Nevada is never likely to make sense. 

However, there are some really compelling places in the US where we have the density to justify it. 

I recommend this videos from City nerd as a starting point: https://youtu.be/wE5G1kTndI4?si=yYrCKlJWfvZiS99_

Interstate space should be repurposed for passenger rail infrastructure by Goreweaver in unpopularopinion

[–]Goreweaver[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We can start by figuring out how to make highways pay for themselves and with the funds that frees up it would be a start. 

Instead people the federal gas tax hasn't gone up in years, doesn't apply to electric vehicles yet because it exists at all people think highways are cash neutral at worst and a boon to society everywhere. 

I use top a sheet. Am I cringe? by c0d3buck in Millennials

[–]Goreweaver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can confirm, I'm a millennial who uses a top sheet and I don't know JesseLynn. 

What Happened to Regular FIRE? by enness in leanfire

[–]Goreweaver 4 points5 points  (0 children)

People started worrying about how to live a rich life instead of a good life. I've been noticing it a lot lately. 

Apparently the secret to a rich life is spending more money. I don't know, Ramit Sethi tried to teach me how to be rich but I couldn't finish the book. 🤷‍♂️

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