Victoria Decides – Traffic congestion and public transport high on the agenda
In the days counting down to an election the promises and future party policies are announced in rapid fire as last ditch attempts to persuade the undecided. Every speech is an attempt to impress the overall electorate with the “trust us – we know what you really really want” persona of political parties. This process […]
Repurposing roads and cycleways for renewable energy
In the Netherlands the first SolaRoad will open this week. The SolaRoad experiment is using a 100 metre stretch of cycleway to test whether solar power generated from these types of roads could “eventually be used for street lighting, traffic systems, electric cars and even households.” With 35,000 kilometres of cycleways and over 18 million […]
Rise of the elevator car park
The evolution and adoption of the automobile as an everyday necessity is one of the most impacting of the 20th Century. In 1886 the ‘modern car’ was developed by Karl Benz and only 22 years later in 1908 the first Model T became available to the mass population. Move ahead only 20 years and the […]
Brisbane’s Priority Cycle Crossing
In an effort to improve safety for cyclists along a notorious stretch of road, the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council are working together on a trial which will give cyclists priority crossing areas along the North Brisbane Bikeway. As reported in the Courier Mail, the crossings include a raised platform and the use of […]
A Parisian car park challenge
The Peninsula Hotel, situated in the heart of Paris was built in 1908, one of its many claims to fame being the site where George Gershwin wrote “An American in Paris” in 1928. It took two years to build and has recently undergone a four year restoration to bring it back to its former glory. […]
Traffic light hacking a security risk
While it might sound like a plot line from the latest action blockbuster, the exposure of traffic signal systems to hacking is a real risk that needs to be addressed. A group of researchers from the University of Michigan published a paper recently which details how they were able to break into the signal system, […]
SA trials Bluetooth traffic monitoring system
Adelaide is trialling a new system of traffic monitoring that picks up data from Bluetooth receivers in passing cars, and provides real-time traffic advisories to help drivers avoid congested areas. The new technology has been developed by the SA Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure (DPTI), as reported in The Advertiser. The Adelaide trial involves approximately […]
NZ trials new pedestrian crossing technology
It’s one of those things that makes you wonder….”why didn’t anyone think of that before?” As reported in the Otago Times, Invercargill is the first in the world to trial a new technology for pedestrian crossings. Simple as it sounds, it allows the would-be-crosser to press the button and then activate a longer crossing cycle, […]
Auto-pilot app for driving in traffic jams
A recently announced app developed by Scania and Volkswagen Group Research purportedly will make you more productive while spending time in traffic jams. In terms of road safety, it is hard to imagine that encouraging (more) people to use devices while driving would be a good thing. Nevertheless, the app has won a prestigious award, the 2014 HMi (Human […]
London Congestion Charge to rise
London is also grappling with its pollution problem and is considering changes to its Congestion Charging scheme. Currently imposed on every non-exempt vehicle entering the chargeable district, the levy is slated for a general increase commencing June 2014 from £10 to £11.50 per day. According to the Transport for London website, this increase is […]
Madrid tackles pollution problems with Smart Meters
The City of Madrid is enlisting Smart Parking Meters to help address the city’s dangerous pollution levels, which are consistently exceeding EU limits. According to The Guardian, the scheme which commences on July 1 will penalize drivers of cars that are responsible for more emissions. In a rating system based on the vehicle engine […]
Transport NSW trials CITS technology for truckies
In an initiative aimed at improving traffic flow and reducing heavy vehicle collisions, Transport NSW has announced a trial of a high-tech early warning system for truck drivers. As reported in the Illawarra Mercury, heavy vehicles will be fitted with Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems (CITS) technology which allows trucks to transmit and receive warnings about […]
Self-driving, self-parking Volvos trialled in Sweden
Volvo has launched its pilot program of driverless cars in Sweden. As reported in The Guardian, the project, called “Drive Me”, is the world’s first large-scale autonomous driving pilot project. The 100 self-driving Volvo cars will be tested on public roads in everyday driving conditions around the city of Gothenburg. “Volvo’s analysis on traffic safety […]
Melbourne cyclists face parking shortages
Melbourne cyclists are growing in number, but the facilities to accommodate them have not kept pace. As reported in the The Age last month, the City of Melbourne has estimated that cyclists currently make up 15% of morning peak commuter traffic, a significant increase since 2006, when estimated at only 4%. Bicycle Network Victoria spokesperson, […]
Weekend clearways address Sydney’s constant congestion
In a bid to solve weekend traffic congestion around Sydney, the Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, has recently implemented weekend clearways on Victoria Road, with another four major stretches around the city earmarked for the same (Lane Cove Road, Mona Vale Road, Princes Highway and King Georges/Roberts Road). In an editorial piece in the SMH (second […]
Paris smog triggers emergency traffic ban
In a dramatic attempt to alleviate the choking smog that enveloped Paris last week, the Federal Government imposed an emergency ban on half of the expected traffic by implementing an odd-even license plate system for alternate days, commencing on March 17th. That day, 700 police manned the city issuing spot fines to any cars or […]
Congestion to cost economy $15bn per year by 2030
According to an article last week in the Australian Financial Review, the Abbott government was unmoved by the arguments of the Tourism and Transport Forum, whose members are urging the government to reconsider its position not to invest in public transport. The Tourism Transport forum is an industry group of the CEOs of 200 companies […]
UK play streets making a comeback
Parts of Britain are reinvigorating their neighbourhoods by bringing back “play streets”. As reported in the UK Telegraph, dozens of streets are being closed off to traffic for three hours a week so that children can play safely in them after school. Play streets are not a new concept – they were first introduced in […]
Audi’s Intelligent Assist predicts parking availability
A recent story from Wired has showcased the latest in intelligent technology from Audi. By using “big data”, wireless connectivity and the car’s on-board navigation system, an Audi-developed phone app will not only find parking, but also uses “intelligence” to predict when other spots might open up! Branded as Audi’s Urban Intelligent Assist, the project […]
Rome enlists Twitter to combat illegal parkers
We all know that Rome is synonymous with chaos when it comes to traffic and parking. For the most part, Romans and visitors have just accepted this as “the way it is”, because historically, enforcement has been seen as non-existent to intermittent at best. According to last week’s story on Mashable, the local polizia have […]
Exquisite beauty of the humble traffic light
We couldn’t resist sharing this post from My Modern Met which recently featured the work of German photographer, Lucas Zimmerman. Using long exposures on a foggy night in Weimar, Zimmerman has managed to turn the humble traffic light into an ethereal masterpiece. Beauty is an experience, nothing else. It is not a fixed pattern or […]
2013 from the rear-vision mirror
Hard as it is to accept it, another year is about to end. When we ask ourselves “Where did it go?”, we realise that we have been too busy working to notice the passing of time! Appreciating Our Regular and New Clients 2013 has been a very successful year for us at Parking & Traffic Consultants. […]
Game theory used to create Smart traffic lights
University of Toronto civil engineering graduate, Samah El-Tantawy, has used game theory to create “intelligent” traffic lights and is now receiving global recognition for her work. The system uses artificial intelligence allowing the signals to “talk” to one another, and make real-time decisions in order to keep traffic flowing. In a Uni of Toronto media […]
Reclaiming your city – lessons from the transformation of NYC
Here’s an inspiring and interesting TED talk from Janette Sadik-Khan, the Transportation Commissioner of New York City, sharing her strategy for transforming urban areas into a place for people. In the space of five years, New York has been reclaimed by the people thanks to some bold moves in the area of transport and planning. […]
(Un) expected fallout from UK workplace parking levy
The introduction of Britain’s first workplace parking levy has been causing a spot of bother in the UK. The City of Nottingham was the first in the UK to introduce the levy in 2012 in an attempt to reduce congestion in the city. Employers are being charged £334 for each parking space offered to employees, […]
Double yellow lines under review in UK
It seems that many metropolitan town centres around the globe are facing the same dilemmas—trying to support local businesses and residents with the availability of short term parking, while managing the impact on traffic flows and the public purse. A complex issue, to be sure, to be sure… Reported this week in the UK Telegraph, […]
Traffic ban to protect the Colosseum
Rome’s new mayor, Ignazio Marino, is making an early impact with the introduction of a traffic ban around the iconic Colosseum. Met with both celebrations and protests, the mayor has started by banning private vehicles and trucks from a portion of one of Rome’s busiest roads, Via dei Fori Imperiali. For the moment, buses, taxis, […]
Traffic fumes identified as cancer risk factor
Every week cities around the world bemoan their traffic problems and look for ways to solve them. Reports abound on the knock-on effects that traffic chaos has on our stress levels and the health and wealth of our economies. The typical debate surrounding investment in public transport vs new roads tends to focus largely on […]
Auckland tolls to fund infrastructure crisis
Auckland is easily New Zealand’s largest city, and like many big cities it is suffering from a dearth of roads and transport infrastructure. Conservatively, traffic congestion is costing the city more than $1B in productivity per annum, a figure that is growing. In a high level report released recently “Funding Auckland’s Transport Future”, we’re told […]
The impact of driverless cars on our cities
As we posted in last week’s Wayfinding Forum, auto companies are now striving beyond the development of self-parking cars. They are building self-DRIVING cars. Whilst the technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, public acceptance and understanding is still in its infancy. This week, an interesting perspective was offered by The New York Times. The […]