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PRISM Engineering NEWS

Traffic Engineering is evolving around the world




Video location:  ChongQING CHINA, 2018 BY GRANT JOHNSON, TE

This is Much Safer than a Human can do.

5/25/2018

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Some behind the scenes tech at how a Waymo computer system can process the world around it in full 360 degrees.  With so many eyes on the road, and each item's location and speed being tracked and predicted, how could there be any doubt that this is not just almost equivalent to what a human could do, but is actually two or three orders of magnitude more than a human could accomplish.  This tech knows how fast all the cars and peds are moving, simultaneously, on a very busy street!  It even knows if a car is about to run a red light and slows down to just miss it, and then continue.  This will save lives.  AV will save lives and should be embraced sooner, not later.  PRISM Engineering is supportive of a full adoption of implementing AV tech in Smart Cities that can take advantage of Vision AV0, where autonomous vehicles and grade separations are the answer to reducing vehicle fatalities.  We need this sooner than later.
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Rental Bikes Popping up En Masse in Cities All Over the World in 2018

4/27/2018

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Encourage, Don't Hamper, Green Solutions

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It's Green! It's Electric! Part of an Active Lifestyle.

But San Francisco is basically banning E-Scooters after complaints by some pedestrians who think the riders are "very rude." With all the transportation challenges SF has, does this seem like the right focus??   It is more or less being shut down because SF is impounding most of these scooters.

This has already been tried in China with varying success, but bad actor renters among the many who have rented are causing some grief, where those riders leave the scooter in the wrong places after using it. If that could be solved... but this is like trying to solve bad human behavior by going after a company who can't control the behavior of the users/renters. It would be akin to going after AVIS car rentals when their customers park in the wrong places, speed, or block a bike lane, etc.   We have a law enforcement solution for that: called getting a ticket.  Scooter riders could get a ticket. It could be part of the rental agreement too.




I think punishing companies is the wrong approach. Cities need to PLAN BETTER FACILITIES for parking bikes or scooters, if they are going to actively encourage people to get out of their cars!  This is exactly what many involved with Transportation policy and planning are trying to do, get people out of their cars to make it more safe, more green... I believe it would be more helpful to find ways to accommodate and encourage entrepreneurs thinking outside of that box... not punishing them because of a few loose ends.

If e scooters are deemed a safety issue, there are surely more important safety issues that need to be solved first, like truly doing things to eliminate the 37,000+ fatalities with vehicles every single year in the USA.


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www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-s-scooter-skirmish-City-escalates-battle-12849499.php#photo-15423376

The SOLUTION seems easy enough:

Many cities are impatiently shutting down bike sharing companies, confiscating their bikes and impounding them, because of bike or scooter clutter after some users leave them in undesirable areas.  And some residents have an aversion to something new that is left around like clutter.

The solution seems easy.  The Bike Rental Companies can have these renters return the bikes to an appropriate area or face a steep surcharge (like 50 bucks on their credit card).  Then the company can have their staff come pick up the rental bike immediately after the $50 charge, and get it relocated to an appropriate parking area. EASY!

NEXT!!!

Here's a video of a NEW YORKER sharing his experience comparing

New York's' citibike program to riding a taxi,
or having your own bike...

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SOLAR ROADS

6/21/2016

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Solar Roads is an idea whose time has come

No more ice and snow on roads.  Its heated. Lit up signage, in roads and crosswalks, etc.
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When I watched these videos about solar roads, it made sense to me.  Its common sense.  This is a solution for the future. It places solar panels in a place / position that is NON-intrusive to our current world. When I drive by and see solar panels on acres of land, well, that's an environmental impact.   If I saw these same solar panels engineered to be placed in a roadway and vehicles can travel on top of these, that would not be an environmental impact, but a benefit.  Imagine the electricity that such a roadway or freeway could generate.  
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It has been estimated that if all roads in the USA were covered in solar panels with only 15% efficiency, it would generate more than three times the annual USA electrical usage.

So I give this idea a hearty thumbs up.  Instead of the petroleum-based asphalt as an overlay, use these.    Then it may even be possible to run the electric vehicles we all dream of using someday, and put the gasoline engine to rest.  If the sun can power all this, why not?
 Federal Government gives them $750,000:
www.deseretnews.com/article/700164568/N-Idaho-company-gets-750K-for-solar-parking-lot.html?nm=1

Indiegogo raises over $2.2 M for their Idaho company: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways#/


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    Grant Johnson, registered Traffic Engineer, shares insights and experiences from around the world.

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  • Home
  • SERVICES
    • SERVICES
    • EXPERT WITNESS
    • EXPERIENCE
    • Complete Streets EVOLVED >
      • Complete Streets
    • PROJECTS >
      • TRAFFIC ENGINEERING >
        • SAFETY FIRST focus at PRISM Engineering
        • Autonomous Road Design
    • TRANSPORTATION PLANNING >
      • Autonomous Transportation Planning
    • HSR Construction Inspection Experience
  • Contact
    • About
  • TRAFFIC FACTS
    • INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC FACTS
    • CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL TRAIN TO NOWHERE?
    • SAFETY FIRST Examples
    • PED DANGERS: Death by Subway and Death by UBER
    • Modern Roundabout Examples by PRISM Engineering
    • Death by NYC Subway: PED DANGERS
    • AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES in Traffic >
      • AUTONOMOUS CAR DISRUPTION
      • Autonomous UBER Fatal Accident
    • How About That BIKE COMMUTE?
    • NEWS
  • CHINA TRAFFIC 2018
    • CHINA TRAFFIC 2018
    • HSR High Speed Rail
    • CHINA BLOG
  • STUDIES
    • Watsonville CEIBA School Traffic and Safety Investigation
    • Pasadena 253 S Los Robles v2