Heya friends, happy Friday!
Shocking myself, I have no preamble this week! So without further adieu… ze news.
America’s depressing traffic fatality stats
This week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released fatality numbers for 2022 and preliminary estimates for 2023. Both reports show a modest decline in overall traffic deaths on U.S. roads (1.7% and 3.6%, respectively). In total, more than 42 thousand people were killed in 2022, and an estimated 40 thousand people last year (although those are just the preliminary numbers). It’s an uncomfortable comparison, but transportation planners frequently reference that ~3 thousand people died during 9/11, meaning he amount of people who die preventable deaths from traffic violence every year in America is the equivalent of 9/11 happening 13 times every year. And yet we continue to do so little to prevent this unnecessary loss of life.
Meanwhile South Korea plans rail lines to increase their birth rate
We all know nothing gets transit nerds’ gears going quite like the news of more high-speed rail lines. It makes perfect sense to me that South Korea is investing in rail to get its birth rate up. The official statement is “South Korea is launching a high-speed train service that will reduce the travel time between central Seoul and its outskirts, a project officials hope will encourage more youth to consider homes outside the city, and start having babies.” Bow-chica-wow-wow.
As NYC begins to permit AVs, everybody’s writing about it:
The Gothamist (a local NYC outlet—with a great name)
Uber Eats + Waymo launch in Phoenix
Next time somebody orders their fav takeout in Phoenix, it may just be delivered by an AV. There are approx. five participating restaurants in the region, and when a customer orders from them, they will receive a notification that their order may be delivered by an autonomous vehicle. Customers have an opportunity to opt out, but those who go for it, will pick up their food directly from the vehicle after using their phones to unlock the vehicle’s trunk to grab their meal.
Waymo starts tests in Washington, DC
Waymo is continuing its cross-country training program, this time taking to the streets of AVs. According to Waymo: “In D.C., if you see one of our cars being driven around, it’s either being entirely (manually) driven or it’s in autonomous mode with a driver ready to hit the button and say, no, that’s not what you should do. And then we take that data back and we use it to make our software better.”
This paper looks at how permitting processes can impede the development of sustainable infrastructure and proposes alternative benefits. Permitting is often slow, and infrastructure expensive—and refining how mass infrastructure projects are permitted may be the key to getting essential infrastructure built quickly.
Increasing Affordability of Transit Systems through Donations
Filed under: why can’t we just have our taxes pay for this?
“This study relies on an experimental design framework to identify the behavioral nudges and incentives that can facilitate altruism for a transportation-related cause of the members of a university community. Our findings reveal the overall willingness to support transportation options for low-income community members either through financial contributions or, in the case of some of the students, donating their infrequently used student transit passes. We also found the positive effect of recognition on donating for students and male car commuters, as well as higher chances for a sunk cost of a contribution to increase the likelihood of a donation.”
How will AVs handle jaywalkers*?
*Reminder that jaywalking is a term invented by automobile companies to criminalize pedestrians and people outside of cars (link here if ya didn’t know)
This article questions how AVs will handle New York City’s tighter streets, with connectivity canyons and millions of pedestrians that traverse America’s most densely populated city every day. I can’t say it comes to any useful conclusions. But I do have one: if we want less people hit by cars, maybe we should have less cars?
How the small car died in America
“Ultimately, the history and future of small cars in America is very, very complicated. I like to think of the U.S. car market like a forest; it’s healthiest when it’s filled with a wide variety of different creatures, and any time one goes extinct, it’s a loss for all of us. I hope the automakers learn that there is still a market for affordable small cars in the U.S., regardless of gas prices or fickle consumers.”
Given Coco (pictured amply each week) is not my dog, I thought I’d clarify that I have the absolute honour to hang out with her highness three days a week. We go on lil walks that I call “coco bops” and she rides the train with me to work. All of this is to say Coco is not mine, but she obviously makes for wonderful updates in bits and bops each week.
I made my favourite chocolate chip cookies this weekend, and sharing the recipe here. It’s a beloved recipe from a Vancouver pastry chef and writer, Jackie Kai Ellis—and truly always a hit. My friend Tookie came over and proceeded to consume a healthy amount of raw cookie dough. I found the recipe in her memoir, which remains one of my favourite pieces of writing (a combination of recipes and some pretty raw personal stories).
I’ve been re-watching the first season of Grey’s Anatomy after they had their autonomous vehicle episode a few weeks back. It reminds me of being a teenager given it’s been out for twenty years, and spending Thursday evenings in my family living room with my mom and best friend Caitlin. The three of us used to be locked in. All that to say, the nostalgia is real and Dr. Bailey will always be a hero.
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
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