I hear what you are saying on trains. I can’t relate completely because I am a married man, but your points are well taken. I will say that you have it good when you can decide to take a car when it is more convenient. Going completely carless requires some sacrifices and sometimes the freedom is sorely missed. In the long-run the goal should be to give people many different options that are all offered in an effective manner.

Maggie – not sure about Vermont’s safety record, but I will let you know if I come across anything.

Changing speed limits does not change the urban scene outside of someone’s car, and that’s what’s fundamental. There is no reason for me to NOT want to blaze through an urban environment that’s not worth caring about at 50-60 mph or greater. On the flipside, I want to drive slower, maybe 25-30 mph through a worthier urban environment. For instance I get impatient when I’m stuck behind a string of cars driving 60 down I-35 between Moore and OKC, while I have no problem at all going 25-30 through a great urban area such as Central Norman. I never see people complain about the 30 mph speed limit on Boyd Street in the heart of Norman, but everyone that’s alright can’t stand the 60 mph speed limit on I-35. What gives?

It’s a psychological issue. I’m driving, I see an urban scene not worth caring about, I want to get where I’m going, or at the very least, I’m focused on the ROAD. It’s the complete opposite in an area like Central Norman and it has nothing at ALL to do with the speed limits. If people complain that cars are driving too fast down East Reno in Bricktown, then I would say that the problem is not the cars, that it’s actually East Reno in Bricktown. Traffic calming measures are nice ways of aggravating people and forcing friction with inadequate and uninteresting urban environments, and the people will always win. It seems like fixing the psychological issue would be a much better solution.

We definitely don’t want agitated drivers, so calm is probably a good thing. However, if drivers become too comfortable, or feel too safe, often they travel faster than they should and become less aware of their immediate surroundings. Hans Monderman, a dutch traffic engineer who sadly passed away this last year, always said that the best way to make roads safer was to actually make them feel more dangerous; so his “naked streets” concept proposed ditching all of the stop signs, curbs, speed limits, etc in areas frequented by pedestrians and forcing pedestrian, bikes, and cars to work things out by communicating. Needless to say, in such conditions, everyone slows down a little, becomes more friendly, and traffic still flows very steadily. Sounds like your friends in Omaha have been able to create conditions that are probably even more unpleasant for cars to navigate – I guess that works to some degree, but I can’t say that I endorse bad streets (though the mechanic charging to fix people’s shocks probably could).

Prof. Murga went over a number of traffic calming techniques that manage to calm traffic while providing some other benefit to the streetscape. I will try to compile a list of some of these and throw them up.

Thanks for reading!

I know of a neighborhood in Omaha that intentionally keeps its road bumpy and uncomfortable because that keeps people from driving through. The homeowners are willing to slow down and suffer the bumps to keep their neighborhood safe for children. Apparently one cannot get through the neighborhood any faster than 10 mph! Genius!