London, Paris Honored for Greening Transit Systems
NEW YORK, Jan 18 (OneWorld) - London and Paris were given a prestigious award this week for their innovative citywide programs to improve public transit and reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
"Both cities [have] done so much effective work," said Michael Replogle, a member of the selection committee and transportation director for the U.S.-based Environmental Defense. "London with its congestion pricing, funding for better public transit, and improved space for walking and cycling; and Paris' very effective bicycling, bus rapid transit, and street space management." Both cities have achieved significant reductions in vehicle traffic and carbon dioxide emissions. In London, where drivers used to spend 50 percent of their time in traffic jams, according to Environmental Defense, congestion is down 21 percent and carbon dioxide emissions down 16 percent. More Londoners are riding buses and bicycles around the sprawling city -- ridership is up 45 and 43 percent respectively. Under Paris' innovative Velib ("Freedom Bikes") system, riders pay a small fee to use public bicycles that can be picked up and dropped off at any of the numerous city bike stations. Paris has also renovated public green spaces, made city streets more bike-friendly, and expanded bus rapid transit -- bringing a 20-percent cut in private vehicle transit and a 9-percent drop in carbon dioxide emissions in 2007. In addition to reducing the impact on climate change, the programs "improve the quality of life and delightfulness of the cities," added Replogle. Guatemala City; Eugene, Oregon; and Pereira, Colombia earned honorable mention for their work to improve bus rapid transit and sustainable land use development. The fourth annual Sustainable Transport Award comes as other cities around the world are considering ways to promote "greener" local transport -- notably Guanjo, China and several dense metropolises in India and Africa.
In New York City, the mayor's proposal for charging a fee for vehicles entering certain areas of Manhattan at high-traffic times has generated headlines and much debate about the cost to commuters. On Jan. 31, the New York Traffic Mitigation Commission on Congestion Pricing will present its recommendations to the City Council, the mayor, and the state legislature. Andy Darrell, director of Environmental Defense's Living Cities program, and member of the Traffic Mitigation Commission, says New York City's plan builds on London's approach, but with some specific changes to meet the needs of the New York metro region. "For example, London spends about 40 percent of the total revenues for congestion pricing on operation and management, and we're looking for a way to make that less expensive for New York City to operate, primarily by reducing the number of cameras involved," he said. As New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg knows first-hand, congestion pricing can be a politically difficult proposition -- but one that proponents say can pay off for the environment and for city residents. "By recognizing cities' successes, this award shows political and civic leaders that it's possible to create a world-class financial capital without being choked by traffic," said Darrell. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and Environmental Defense say they will be tracking future developments in London, Paris, and other cities that have received the award as they work to identify future achievers. ....................................................................................
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"Madness with a green hue"Author:
Don Robertson
Time: 01/18/2008 21:21
Comment: It would be wishful thinking to think for a single second sending all those London and Paris planetary parasites off to work on greener subways to their vile jobs where they each daily stick their razor sharp, straw-like probosci into the body of the world to suck it more dry and more lifeless, or to invent any yet more efficient and perhaps greener ways to degrade and debase the world of humanity, or again, perhaps to shut the door to humanity for ever and ever and thus stopping anyone from ever again writing a love letter, a poem, or seeing the smiling faces of children at play.
Life is a party. Everyone has a moral duty is to act as a ever gracious guest. You have no right to experiment and place wagers among yourselves betting you can make the world a better place. Better than what? Better than what we inherited from others who also thought they had the right to gamble betting the future of the world? The endless betting is what will destroy it. It is immoral to continue on this path that praises and allows ever more empirical experiments upon the world attempting to make it better, all the while we all know better, and, that these bets, that we can make the world better are not just immoral. They are sure losers too. That is the track history of humanity regardless the good intentions of the gamblers involved. It is the world of the future our failures will degrade. Our bets are immoral, won or lost, when these bets are placed with the wager being the world. We are in the future of the past when other similar immoral bets were made. We are in the future of the past when other similar immoral bets were made. We are in the future of the past when other similar immoral bets were made. Are we too fool enough to think we can make a better world by gambling away its future? Not I. Don Robertson, The American Philosopher |
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