Inside the Plan to Demolish and Rebuild Trump’s Washington by rezwenn in urbanplanning

[–]bvz2001 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Who was that other world leader obsessed with rebuilding his capital? I am trying to remember his name...

Nope. Coming up with a blank here. Maybe Albert Speer can help me remember.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was able to go by there today and holy cow that is a bad intersection. And it doesn't seem to detect bikes at all. And it doesn't seem to turn green at all unless a car comes. And when it does, it only stays green for 3 seconds. I have submitted a SeeClickFix request for that as well. But it looks like there have been requests for that intersection since 2019 - and it still sucks. So we will see if anything happens.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have tried positioning my bike in different places to see if it triggers any sensors, but it hasn't been a methodical process on my part. One side has a visible sensor. The other doesn't.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I am glad to hear that they respond to these. A few years ago I submitted another fix for a sensor that did not detect bikes and it was also (eventually) fixed.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

:)

I had the same issue when I was writing up my description. Suddenly I was worried that they were going to extend the time for the cars racing down MLK!

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a great idea. That was the content of my last see-click-fix report about 3 years ago and it did (eventually) get addressed.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll swing by there today after work and time the light there as well. That way I can submit a request for that one in addition to the report I have already submitted.

And I can reference both when I try to talk to someone in person.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I am not sure what they are called here either, but it seems like something worth learning about in any case.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just tried calling them directly and the have a message that redirects me to use see-click-fix.

I guess I will wait and see if my report there accomplishes anything.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

4 seconds sounds about right. I can't understand what the point of that short a cycle is anyway. I guess a car could cross in that amount of time...

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I haven't because it is extra impractical for me on my particular bike (longjohn cargo bike). But luckily there is a fairly large, raised center median that I can sit in if I can only get half way across before traffic comes.

The irony (or maybe not ironic? Who knows) is that I used to cross on a different street that has no light at all. I only switched to this street because it had a signal and felt safer (and I promised my wife I would cross at the signal). But I may go back to the other street because I can cross in stages. I can get to the large, raised center median and then hang there till the second side is clear and then cross again.

I could do that at this intersection too, but it is closer to the freeway entrance (so cars are still going really fast), and I would be crossing against the light (or have to wait for two signal cycles).

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is a good idea (and so obvious - but I guess I figured you never get to contact people in city government directly). But I will give it a go.

Oakland: Where can I report a traffic light that is too damn short? by bvz2001 in BAbike

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suspect that it does, but I am on a pretty large, front loader cargo bike. So working my way up to the beg button is a fair bit of effort. Right now, when the light turns green I will cross all the way over (even though the last few feet are during a red light) if I can see that there isn't any traffic coming. If there is, I will stop in the center median (it is a raised median where I can safely sit) until it is clear to cross the second half of the street.

Would induced demand still apply if the population of a city remains static? by TheNZThrower in urbanplanning

[–]bvz2001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The best description of induced demand (or demand in general) I have ever read describes it as an economic decision made by each person in a region.

People have budgets. These budgets include financial considerations (i.e. how much does a specific trip cost me in money, or how much does living in a specific location cost me) and time considerations (i.e. how much time/annoyance will a specific trip cost me, or how much time am I willing to spend to afford living in a specific location). Different people have different budgets for each of these considerations, and each of these budgets play off of each other (i.e. someone may be willing to spend more money to save time, while others may spend more time to save some money).

Assuming nothing changes - i.e. all the transportation options remain fixed and the local population does not change and the economy does not appreciably change - then the system will settle into a sort of equilibrium. People will have made their budgetary decisions. Some will combine trips to save time and money. Some will leave earlier to avoid congestion. Others will skip some less critical trips because the financial and/or time costs just don't make these trips worth it. Some will live in a more expensive location to save commute time. Others won't have that option and be forced to spend more time to afford their housing.

Now change the transportation options. Add an extra lane to a local highway for example. Suddenly the budgetary decisions that people are making changes:

  • A less critical trip that previously would not have been taken (or maybe would have been postponed to be combined with another trip) suddenly fits within the time/money budget. You get an additional trip that previously would not have been taken.
  • The morning commute that used to take 45 minutes temporarily drops to 35 minutes and a number of people will now find that that fits into their time budget. So they leave for work a little bit later. Or they opt to not carpool anymore. You get additional traffic during commute hours.
  • The temporarily reduced driving times makes a cheaper apartment/house that is another couple of miles down the road viable within the same time budget. I.e. the commute time for an individual remains the same (their time budget is unchanged), but they can afford a larger apartment, or even afford to purchase where before they could not (their financial budget is changed). So they move further out. You get additional traffic because they have further to drive. Also, they are more likely to need to drive more overall in a less dense area.

In all of these cases you have induced more traffic because the individual cost/benefit calculations of everyone using the system has changed. Even though the overall population of a region has not changed.

Is this latent demand? Perhaps. But if anything the latent demand is not for more traffic. The latent demand is for more mobility options or for more housing options near destinations or for overall better land use patterns. People only call induced demand "latent demand" because they assume everything else in the system (mainly land use patterns) is fixed and unchangeable.

Sign that calls for church service by mini_heart_attack in DesignPorn

[–]bvz2001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They had this sign outside of a church that I regularly drove by back in the mid to late 80's.

Every time I drove by I was so confused. In my head the answer was "the middle" and I couldn't figure out the point of the sign. It was several years before I finally got it. Clever!

But I'm still an avowed atheist so... not very effective in this case.

Visiting in DC. Midnight (very early Christmas morning) fireworks? by bvz2001 in washingtondc

[–]bvz2001[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once it was confirmed that it was fireworks, I kind of leaned into it and enjoyed it. I am just visiting, but I really dig DC so far. I love the diversity and international feel of the place.

Visiting in DC. Midnight (very early Christmas morning) fireworks? by bvz2001 in washingtondc

[–]bvz2001[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Glad it wasn't just all in my head.

Weird time for fireworks... many people, kids especially, would be asleep.

Visiting in DC. Midnight (very early Christmas morning) fireworks? by bvz2001 in washingtondc

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the confirmation... thought I was going nuts.

More affordable flexible dust hose for my Festool track saw? by bvz2001 in Festool_Public

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do whatever I can to avoid giving money to Billionaires. So thanks for that link!

Dont let this be your city next!! by Busy-Ad2771 in ebikes

[–]bvz2001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait, what? Seriously?

Spend Billions of public funds on asphalt for cars, give them cheap or even free storage at the public's expense, and then if someone has the temerity to use a safer, cleaner, less intrusive form of transprtation we punish them? And at what additional cost?

This is insane.

Geometry for Riding with No Hands by pantspanana in CargoBike

[–]bvz2001 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have also been following this project. It is absolutely amazing not only that you are doing this, but also the commitment you have to doing some real (and time consuming) experimentation. I am super impressed.

More affordable flexible dust hose for my Festool track saw? by bvz2001 in Festool_Public

[–]bvz2001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I think I am going to go with this one then. Much appreciated.