More from @grescoe

Taras Grescoe

@grescoe

Aug 29

What's missing from these pictures?

No on-street parking makes all the difference in the cities of #Japan. The 1962 "proof-of-parking" law means you buy a car, you've got to show you've got a place—off public streets—to warehouse it.

🧵

In the three #Tokyo neighborhoods I spent time in over a decade, the streets were refreshingly free of on-street parked cars—certainly compared to North America.

The parking laws lead to some interesting arrangements; cars squeezed into tiny garages (how do you open the door to get out?); car elevators; multi-storey lots where cars are stacked like battery hens.

Read 5 tweets

Taras Grescoe

@grescoe

Aug 28

"NASA has declared automobiles are the largest net contributor of climate change pollution in the world."

Your regular reminder that cars aren't part of the problem—they *are* the problem.

giss.nasa.gov/research/news/…

...and SUVs are the absolute worst.

“In 2010, there were 35 million SUVs in the world’s car fleet. Now there are over 200 million. SUVs were the second greatest contributor to the world’s increase in carbon emissions from 2010 to 2018.”

vox.com/the-goods/2020…

And replacing 1.3 billion+ gas vehicles with EVs isn't going to help.
theguardian.com/news/2020/dec/…

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Taras Grescoe

@grescoe

Aug 26

THIS JUST HAPPENED—AND IT'S BIG.
Speed limiting tech on cars is now mandatory in the European Union.
"From July 2022, Intelligent speed assistance (ISA) will be mandatory for new models/types of vehicles introduced on the market."
road-safety-charter.ec.europa.eu/resources-know…

These are speed governors in new cars and trucks that stop them from exceeding maximum speeds limits.

NYC has equipped 50 municipal vehicles with similar tech.
www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-…

Read 4 tweets

Taras Grescoe

@grescoe

Aug 18

The population density of the American Midwest is comparable to that of #Spain.
Spain has 2,240 miles of high-speed rail.
American Midwest: 0.
🧵

High-speed rail in this region would replace short-haul flights, and go a long way to reducing carbon emissions. Should be a no-brainer for Amtrak Joe Biden—you'd think, anyway...
(Fantasy map below)

@the_transit_guy

I bring this up b/c @the_transit_guy has made the comparison between overachieving China and sad-sack US. Fair point, but a more proximate comparable might be Spain...

Read 6 tweets

Taras Grescoe

@grescoe

Aug 17

This will sound unbelievable to most people. (Not to me!)
A classic study from #Denmark followed 30,000 people of all ages for 15 years.
Those who rode a bicycle to work were 40% less likely to die—of all causes—over the study period.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10847255/

A more recent study of cyclists in the UK had similar results.
bmj.com/content/357/bm…

North Americans are now so inactive that, if current trends continue, by 2030 they will expend only 15% more total bodily energy in a week than somebody who spends entire 7 days in bed.

Read 6 tweets