Thread by @gspeng

Dropped off our car at Costco Tire Center for tire rotation. I learned from Nick Molden, CEO of Emissions Analytics, that EV tires have 2x the surface area (& 2x the VOC emissions) of tires from similar size cars.

.@Toyota stopped selling Prius V station wagons, pushing buyers into the RAV4 Hybrid--taller, heavier, more dangerous, but carries the same amount of weight/volume.
Look at the difference in tire surface! Although similar MPG, the RAV4 tires emit more VOC & particulates

Ever wonder why particulate air pollution keeps climbing skyward? Look no further than our jacked up cars, that need bigger tires so they don't slide off the road. Tire wear becomes tire particulates

Tires are complex. I did not know until the salmon die off stories that they contain as much plastic as rubber. Car tire crumbs are the largest source of micro plastics in coastal CA. Bottled water is bad. But cars are so much worse @mateosfo
badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2020/12/leaf-b…

I explored ways to get between Costco and REI that were not on loud arterial truck routes. First, I tried a transmission Right Of Way parallel to light+heavy rail ROW. A car dealership is also storing cars here.
BNSF appears to be shuffling engines in this video

Then a Metro single train came by on the way to rest at the rail yard next to Costco twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Areas under transmission lines are kept permeable (to water). The land is frequently leased to plant nurseries but this ones seems to be leases to auto dealers. Flowers enjoyed our winter rains

Ultimately, I was stumped by a locked gate and had to backtrack, go through a park lot, and walk along Rosecrans here. Noise and pollution sucked

Here's why I don't recommend housing near transmission and rail Right of Ways (ROW) in the South Bay. See the petroleum pipelines markers for 4 different companies? I think that there are 4 pipelines here

When I walked around the corner, I found a Chevron marker, so there are 5 fossil fuel pipelines under this ROW

Another type of petroleum pipeline

When I got to REI, I saw a truck too big to fit in the large parking space. At least they folded in the side mirror.
I hate riding in door zone bike lanes where people park giant vehicles with protruding mirrors that force me into general traffic lanes

Stymied by abysmal Torrance Transit 8 headways, I walked back to Costco for a hotdog and to see if they were able to service my car early (nope).
Remember the prohibition on watering nonfunctional turf? Costco did some uninspired stuff, but it's ok when it blooms

The walk between Costco and the train station lacks sidewalks (concrete strip on left slopes down)
Then you have to go around a blind corner

I made it alive and saw this line of petroleum pipeline markers

This is where I park my bike when I take the train. I saw a C/Green line train pull in so I looked for a Beach Cities Transit 102 bus (timed to bring people to and from the trains)

And the bus was there, ready to take me 2 blocks to my house

One of my neighbors inspired me to grow food in my front yard. She turned a SFH into a 4-plex before Redondo Beach banned that (now zoned R2 on her block). She lives in the large unit in F, rents out the other 3 for retirement income

Later that evening, I tabled with other LWV Beach Cities volunteers for public outreach about pedestrian/cycling improvements in my area. Please read this & take the survey
badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2023/05/guidan…

Public response to better bike and pedestrian infrastructure was positive. Check out these family eBikes. I met a dad who carries 3 kids on his Riese & Müller. His wife rides the other eBike. He used to carry 2 kids on a Radwagon, like this other family

Hope you enjoyed seeing how I spent yesterday (not counting the cooking, cleaning, reading and writing)

Oops, I mean it was 1.7 mi home, but BCT 102 took me the first 1.5 mi of that in just 8 minutes

https://twitter.com/gspeng/status/1663628697700823040