Transportation as if people mattered

The world’s car population is booming. Cars are polluting the world cities, dumping increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and other climate-altering greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and consuming vast quantities of petroleum. “The North American dream of a car – or two or three of them – in every garage is beginning to look like a nightmare for our planet,” warns the former president of the World Resources Institute. Is this true? Will our thirst for automobile mobility inevitably lead to environmental and economic cataclysm? Many believe so, and with some justification.

The alarming reality is that the automobile population is growing at a much faster rate than the human population, with saturation nowhere in sight. In 1950, there were approximately 50 million vehicles on earth, roughly 2 for every 100 persons. By 1994 the vehicle population had soared to almost 600 million, roughly 10 per 100 people. If present trends continue, over 3 billion vehicles could be in operation by the year 2050 exceeding 20 per 100. Even then, world car ownership rates would fall far short of current (2009) U.S. rates of 70 per 100 people.

A sobering assessment of the future? Yes. Is disaster inevitable? Not necessarily. The future needs not to be a simple extrapolation of the past; public policy can be changed and private investment altered. We can shift to a more environmentally friendly transportation system without unduly restricting freedom of movement. I envision a future only a few decades distant in which petroleum consumption, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions by new motor vehicles are reduced to near zero – at little or no additional cost.

Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) are good for running errands or commuting to work. For short city/urban travel, NEVs make perfect sense. Replacing the 2nd or 3rd vehicle in household with a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) is an appealing option.

The Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) will not only change the way that you drive, but the way you live. It’s not a car, it’s a cause.

WERA supports 30 km/h speed limits for the West End

The City of Vancouver has announced a proposal to implement 40 km/h speed limits on residential streets. WERA welcomes this overdue initiative, however instead would like 30 km/hr speed limits. You can find out more on the City’s website at

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/transport/40kph/index.htm

Lower speed limits will significantly improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The website http://whatstherush.ca/ shows that a child has an 80% chance to die when hit by a motorist traveling 50 km/h. This reduces to 40% when hit at 40 km/h and only 5% at 30 km/h.

This proposal dates back to the 1997 Transportation Plan and is subject to the Province changing the Motor Vehicle Act to give the City the authority to change speed limits. WERA is disappointed that it has taken the City over 10 years to action this initiative and is disappointed that the original recommendation of 40 km/h is not being reviewed.

Each year there are typically between 10 and 20 pedestrian motor vehicle fatalities in Vancouver. The City is suggesting 40 km/h limits as “a compromise” between safety and the rights of motorists. WERA believes the City needs to adopt a “Zero Pedestrian Fatality” policy as is common in some European cities and that pedestrian and cyclist safety should never be compromised.

WERA is encouraging people that support reduced speed limits on residential streets to reply to the City e-mail address set up for this initiative at 40kph@vancouver.ca Please also make a comment “Why not 30 kp/h?”. To ensure this initiative moves ahead please also copy the Mayor and Council at mayorandcouncil@city.vancouver.bc.ca, and Kevin Falcon, the Provincial Minster of Transportation and Infrastructure who is responsible for the Motor Vehicle Act at kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca