[sustran] Re: 20:20 Century Transport Icons - Cut 1 of idea for a cooperative

[Piotr Olszewski (Assoc Prof)]

Eric,

I agree with you that there is more than one way to price a road and that
good parking policy has undisputed advantages. However, at the risk of
repeating some well-known arguments, let me say why I think that road
pricing should be one of the transportation icons, especially in the SUSTRAN
context.

1. The aim of road pricing is to reduce car travel by charging motorists for
road use where and when congestion occurs. Many of the items on your list
(e.g. bottlenecking, parking supply reduction, parking charges) also serve
the same broad purpose but these are really half-measures. They address the
space dimension of congestion (i.e. can limit car trips into a particular
area) but not the time dimension. What is worse, bottlenecking and parking
supply reduction also reduce accessibility of the affected area. Parking
policy does not affect the through traffic, etc...    

2. If we are to believe transport economists, congestion pricing is the only
way to impose true external cost of driving on the motorists. And any
transport system in which users do not bear the true cost of driving CANNOT
be sustainable in the long run. This is because the external resources
(energy, environment, human health) are being used up at a disproportionate
rate.
     
Best of luck with your cooperative knowledge building exercise on the Web!

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Piotr Olszewski              colsze at ntu.edu.sg
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore


> -----Original Message-----
> From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org [mailto:eric.britton at ecoplan.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 5:46 PM
> To: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
> Cc: COLSZE at ntu.edu.sg
> Subject: [sustran] 20:20 Century Transport Icons - Cut 1 of idea for a
> cooperative
> 
> 
> Piotr Olszewski 	has written the observation that follows, to which I
would
> like to comment briefly, while at the same time working away to prepare a
> more completed 20:20 construct that may in time be more worthy of your
time
> and attention.  Two quick points I would like to make which I hope may
help
> to clarify what we are about here:
> 
> 1. First, the idea of the list as it stands thus far is not at all to
> provide a compendium of "wonderful transport solutions" of our soon gone
> century.  That list as it stands includes not only icons to which I think
we
> might usefully give more thought and attention, but also a certain number
of
> candidates for what, if my courage holds out, we may end up call the
> "Transportation Hall of Shame" (a bit strong, really). I leave it to you
for
> now to see how that might work out and what should go where.
> 
> 2. Point two is indeed good old Road Pricing, a terrific idea if every I
> heard of one.  But there is, in the 20:20 view of things anyway, more than
> one ways to price a road. For instance....
> a. Piotr reminds us of Singapore of course, past and present, and that's
> certainly one way.  This is, in my book, the choice of Real Men (which is
> not me). If you are spoiling for a fight, try road pricing. You'll stay
very
> fit indeed since you will always have to keep moving.
> b. But what about Road Pricing the Works, a.k.a. parking policy.
> 
> And that, dear friends, is why parking policy is not only a 20th century
> icon (for all that we did and did not do with it, despite the fact that it
> was right there all the time waiting for us to really put it to work).
> 
> Is this beginning to make any sense at all?
> 
> (Thanks to Piotr and for others of you who have gotten back to me with
idea
> and challenges that are great grist for this mill.)
> 
> Eric Britton
> 
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