[sustran] Re: Ex-Bogota Mayor presents his concept of a developed city

Carlosfelipe Pardo carlosfpardo at gmail.com
Tue Sep 23 02:39:44 JST 2008


Also, on the topic of rail costs in the long term (which is normally a 
pro-rail argument), there is an interesting article in a recent 
Economist (link and title, subtitle below):

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12209493


  Holes underground

Sep 11th 2008
 From /The Economist/ print edition


    Expensive Tube upgrades could mean sacrifices elsewhere



Walter Hook wrote:
> Dear Eric, 
>
> Your comments infuriate me, as usual. 
>
> The Metro project in Delhi was discussed for years before anyone in India
> had ever heard of Bus Rapid Transit.  Lima's Metro is still a hole in the
> ground after decades. Where is our Second Avenue Subway, by the way?  The
> MTA has a $1 billion deficit and Wall Street is in freefall.  When do you
> think we will build the 2nd Avenue Subway when $700 billion is going to bail
> out our banks?  Isn't it time to start looking for cheaper solutions, even
> here in 'wealthy' US cities, where a couple billion dollars a mile could go
> a whole lot farther with BRT solutions.    
>
> The fight for control of our streets, is, after all, the whole point, no?
> By going around the problem on our city streets, you also don't solve the
> problem of traffic fatalities, the air pollution, unsafe conditions for
> cyclists, etc.   The Delhi BRT system, for all its flaws, wasn't just about
> buses, it was about good pedestrian space, organized spaces for vendors, and
> good bicycling lanes.  BRT actually got the government to pay attention to
> all these problems with their road design. Your solution of going around the
> problem is like moving to the suburbs to avoid the problems of the city
> rather than fixing the problems in the city.  
>
> Who is saying TransMilenio is better than the best Metro system in the
> world?  What is the point of this sort of question?  
>
> Our field is full of distortions and misrepresentations by advocates of one
> mode or another.  But have a bit of proportion, Eric.  There is a long
> history of metro rail advocates overstating the benefits of their projects,
> misrepresenting projected profits, projected demand numbers, convincing
> governments in developing countries of the merits of spending taxpayers
> money on costly projects that largely benefit a few corporations and a few
> wealthy neighborhoods.  If a few BRT advocates have occasionally overstated
> their case, they are in very good company.  
>
> I believe some rail advocates were recently arrested in Brazil for paying
> bribes, btw.  
>
> w
>
>
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org
> [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
> Of bruun at seas.upenn.edu
> Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 12:46 PM
> To: sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
> Subject: [sustran] Re: Ex-Bogota Mayor presents his concept of a developed
> city
>
>
> All well and good in theory to build "cheaply". In practice, it can be  
> impossible or it can actually take longer to build the cheap solution.  
> Have a look at Delhi, the Metro is now far along and the BRT network  
> is only now beginning. This delay of benefits to the city while  
> fighting for control of the streets or to expropriate land is also a  
> form of expense that should be discounted from the lower construction  
> costs.
>
> Nor is "flexibility" always a good thing, or even relevant. Somemtimes  
> permanence is desired in order to focus development.
>
> Also, one should distinguish between the "best for the money for the  
> particular situation at hand" and the "absolute best alternative  
> regardless of construction expense". No one can tell me that  
> Transmillenio is absolutely better than the best metro systems in the  
> world.
>
> I admire Penalosa, but I think BRT advocates overstate their case.
>
> Eric Bruun
>
>
> Quoting Eric Britton <eric.britton at ecoplan.org>:
>
>   
>>
>> Ex-Bogota Mayor presents his concept of a developed city
>>
>>
>> http://www.thenews.com.pk/images/shim.gif
>>
>>
>> http://www.thenews.com.pk/images/shim.gif
>>
>>
>> http://www.thenews.com.pk/images/shim.gif
>>
>>
>> Wednesday, September 17, 2008
>> By our correspondent -
>>     
> http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=136333
>   
>> Karachi
>>
>> What makes a difference between a developed city and a backward city is
>>     
> not
>   
>> the quality of expressways, highways or flyovers but that of pedestrian
>> streets, bicycle tracks, public parks, water fronts and bus ways for mass
>> transit, says Enrique Penalosa, a world renowned urban strategist and
>>     
> former
>   
>> mayor of Bogota, Colombia.
>>
>> Penalosa said this during his presentation in a seminar on organised
>> "Sustainable Urban Development & Mobility" which was organised by the City
>> District Government Karachi (CDGK) in collaboration with the Clinton
>>     
> Climate
>   
>> Initiative (CCI), a programme of the Clinton Foundation, and SHEHRI-CBE at
>>     
> a
>   
>> local hotel on Tuesday. The objective of this seminar is to provide key
>> stakeholders an opportunity to hear about a different and more socially
>> inclusive and efficient urban vision, which would improve the quality of
>> life and make our cities more competitive.
>>
>> Penalosa who was the main speaker at the seminar discussed in detail the
>> vision of a developed city and gave several practical examples from the
>>     
> west
>   
>> and parts of Asia on how that vision can be materialised.
>>
>> Public parks, pedestrian streets, bicycle tracks and water fronts are
>> crucial for a city to be developed, he said. These are the things that
>> please people that make them happier and improve the quality of their
>>     
> lives,
>   
>> he added.
>>
>> What makes a difference between a developed city and a backward city is
>>     
> not
>   
>> the quality of highways or elevated expressways but the quality of public
>> places, pedestrian streets, and bicycle tracks linked with busways.
>>
>> "A developed city is one where rich uses public transport. A good city is
>>     
> a
>   
>> city for the poor, elderly and children," said Penalosa. He adds, "20th
>> century would be remembered as a disaster in urban history since giving
>>     
> the
>   
>> cities to cars is the biggest mistake we ever made." He further said that
>> the developed cities in Europe realised that building roads for cars was a
>> big mistake. It was not what they wanted therefore, they built pedestrian
>> streets stretching up to hundreds of kilometres.
>>
>> Giving an example of some developed cities, he said most of the advanced
>> cities have demolished their highways and expressways. In Boston a highway
>> built at a cost of US $24 billion was demolished to construct a waterfront
>> and pedestrian and bicycle tracks at both sides of it. He also gave an
>> example of an expressway in Seoul that was built with a cost of US $7
>> billion and that too had to be demolished to finally convert into a
>> beautiful waterfront with wide pedestrian tracks on either side. He also
>> mentioned of a 23 km bicycle path in Columbia that is used by thousands of
>> people.
>>
>> He also proposed for 1000 km pedestrian network in Karachi and said it
>>     
> would
>   
>> improve people's life and they would be happy. "It would save them some 30
>> per cent of their income and people would love to use bicycles to get to
>>     
> bus
>   
>> stands, he said. "In fact New York and London too would love to build
>> bicycle tracks but it is too late for them. However, for Karachi it is not
>> very late and they can think about it now," he added.
>>
>> He proposed to build side ways for pedestrians as wide as possible
>> especially in the areas near schools. "Cars parked everywhere when there
>>     
> is
>   
>> no space for pedestrians is not what you call development;" he criticised.
>> "This is not a democratic thinking," he added. There is huge lack of
>> political will and it is telling the poor that the people in cars are more
>> important than those on feet or bicycles," he commented.
>>
>> Building pedestrian streets, bicycle tracks and side ways for the citizens
>> coupled with a good public transport system that provide mass transit will
>> discourage the use of cars. "Building high velocity roads and elevated
>> expressways won't solve the problems of Karachi," he said. "Rapid Bus
>> Transit (RBT) is the only solution and is perfectly possible in Karachi,"
>>     
> he
>   
>> proposed. Exclusive busways are needed for mass transit, RBT is more
>> flexible than subways and it can be built with low cost, he said.
>>
>> A good public transport is one with low cost and high frequency, the main
>> problem of public transport in Karachi is 'the income of bus
>>     
> owners/drivers
>   
>> depend on per passenger. This is why these buses have created all this
>>     
> mess
>   
>> as they run behind each and every single passenger, pick and drop them
>>     
> where
>   
>> they want. Under RBT the owner is paid on the basis of per kilometre
>> therefore the driver doesn't bother whether the bus operates empty or full
>> and they do not stop everywhere for passengers thus abide by their timing
>> and run at a decent speed. As a result of that the quality of public
>> transport service improves.
>>
>> Penalosa further said that TransMillenio has earned great success not only
>> in the West but also in Asia. This is the only possibility for Karachi as
>> this system can carry 50,000 passengers per hour per kilometre per
>> direction. "There can be modern stations where people will pay for their
>> tickets at the station so that they can get into and off the bus in
>>     
> seconds
>   
>> and on one ticket they can change two to three buses," he elaborated.
>> "Similarly there should be feeder buses to carry people to RBT stations,"
>>     
> he
>   
>> continued. He said that in Karachi the government might have to demolish
>> some buildings to construct busways and pedestrians' sideways but it is
>> worth it.
>>
>> Replying to a question he said, this was perfectly possible in Karachi and
>> the problem was not of technology or finance. In fact there were
>>     
> managerial
>   
>> problems and lack of political will.
>>
>> Following the presentation by Penalosa, Oscar Diaz, Sr Director, Institute
>> for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP) delivered a talk on "Issues
>>     
> and
>   
>> Challenges of Public Transport and Mobility in Developing Countries". He
>> also proposed ways to reduce use of cars from the road. "There should be
>>     
> car
>   
>> free days, additional taxes on gasoline and licenced plates for vehicles
>> that will help reduce the number of cars from the roads in peak hours," he
>> said.
>>
>> Talking to journalists, Director General Mass Transit Malik Zaheer Ul
>>     
> Islam
>   
>> said that they had already adopted RBT for Karachi and were working on the
>> project on priority basis. The work on first three corridors of RBT is
>> likely to begin this December, however, according to Penalosa a lot of
>> planning and work needs to be done before the launching of RBT or it can
>> meet the same fate as it did in Delhi India and thus result in a failure
>>     
> if
>   
>> launched without proper planning.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.thenews.com.pk/share/dot.gif
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
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>
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