[sustran] Request for comments - Road safety for cyclists in urban areas - a case study of Dar es Salaam

eric britton eric.britton at ecoplan.org
Tue Nov 15 00:08:33 JST 2011


_____________________________________________________

World Streets

 

Dear Elaine,

 

In the first place, let me congratulate you on what I find to be an
important and timely initiative.  In cities around the world we are all
battling the same thing, and rather than try to put it into my own words let
me quote those of John Whitelegg which will see in the latest Journal of
World Transport Policy and Practice .  His words:

 

Sadly our conclusion is that transport policy is still largely free of any
close link between scrutiny, rigour and the choices that are made. 

Transport policy is still deeply embedded in a car-dominated culture and a
touching belief in the links between expensive transport infrastructure and
economic growth and job creation. The relatively independent careful
observer of transport policy can be forgiven for arriving at the conclusion
that transport policy is very simply about building more roads, high speed
rail and airport expansion so that more of us can move around at a greater
speed and travel more miles and not be disturbed in this activity by the
behaviour of others trying to do the same thing. 

In spite of a huge explosion of rhetoric and spin around climate change,
sustainability and civilised cities the important work still goes on
ministries of transport and in the world of PFIs and transport
infrastructure to give us a higher level of mobility than last year and make
sure it goes up again next year.           The independent, careful observer
will very rarely find a transport policy that sets out a staged programme of
reducing car park spaces, decommissioning highways and turning them into
parks and woodland, closing residential streets to through traffic or
setting out a clear vision of zero deaths and injuries in the road traffic
environment or a zero carbon transport future.

 

Of course you are aware of that, but I thought it might serve as reminder
that if your objective is to do something about safe cycling in Dar es
Salaam, at least there is comfort -- although cold comfort it is -- to know
that you were not alone in this. 

 

Now back to your paper.  A couple remarks I have to make here may not be
useful to you, but at least they reflect what I feel is important for at
least me, and perhaps others who do not know to Dar that well, and that is
everything that you have about the specific situation you face.  The more
general introductory information on the advantages, etc. of the cycling
interest me for one far less than what you have to tell me about problems
and possible solution paths for your city. (By the way it has been many
years since I have spent any time in Dar, but my memories of my several
visits there all that time ago are fond ones and I certainly am interested
in trying to be useful to you and others that are in some way.

 

Another reaction that occurs to me is that I cannot figure out who is
supposed to be the ultimate reader of this paper and what specifically
should they be doing with what they learn from you.  Once again, this may be
because my job consists not so much a research but of informing and trying
to convince policymakers to make better decisions in very specific ways.  I
see the raw materials for this in your report as it stands it looks more to
me like a very useful general analysis of the situation there.

 

To conclude for now, I would really like to see as editor of World Streets
would be a hard-hitting policy advisory piece specific challenges and
recommendations to local and national government in Tanzania.  Certainly if
such a paper were available, I would be interested in discussing with the
authors the possibility of turning it into a feature for World Streets.

 

I hope you find some use of this and I am sure that for mothers of our
colleagues you will get more useful counsel, but this is the way it looks to
your friend in Paris this morning.

With all good wishes,

 

Eric Britton

 

PS.  I have taken the initiative of forwarding this letter and your
original, along with a copy of the paper to several colleagues and
discussion lists whom I know will be interested.

            

 

From: UWABA <uwabadar at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: request for comments on paper
Date: Monday, 14 November, 2011, 12:14


Attached is a draft paper which UWABA will be presenting at the National
Roads Convention in Dar es Salaam on Thursday.
Would appreciate any inputs for example research studies we could quote or
reference to back up our points.
Thanks and best wishes
Elaine Baker-Guni
Secretary UWABA

Umma wa Wapanda Baisikeli Dar es Salaam (UWABA)
www.uwaba.or.tz

 

 



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