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Beer?
[ 1 ] (33.3%)
Beer?
[ 2 ] (66.7%)

Total Members Voted: 2

Topic: Infrastructure (Read 64117 times)

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #275
Won't load for me.
Quote
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Request blocked. We can't connect to the server for this app or website at this time. There might be too much traffic or a configuration error. Try again later, or contact the app or website owner.
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Request ID: WutCcicy1VtN8hTZ2Rr7-a6nKV69TsgxEy7QNqvnE5Xscb0RVfvicA==

Clearly, the existing infrastructure is not adequate.
And very important, building more roads will generally just make things more annoying and expensive.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #276
Had the same issue, but got it via Google (after some built-in cookie delay). 

Much greater confidence for the LV HSR line than the Californian line. Too many benefit from the latter one failing, too few from it succeeding. 

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #277
403 ERROR
That's weird, they wouldn't have geographically restricted it to just inside the US or something? But here's the text of the article:

Quote
Las Vegas (KSNV) — Julie Coppin and her dog Betty know all about the weekend trip.

"I hate driving on this road," Coppin told me, as she was escorting Betty, a rambunctious and vocal 3-year-old pooch, around a gas station south of Las Vegas. Ask her about I-15, "I've been stuck on that thing for 8 hours," she says, recounting past trips.

She and the thousands of other Californians on I-15 all have their own horror stories, especially the trip back.

Jeff 5pm



"It's horrifying. It's horrifying. So not a good experience. You just want to get home. So getting on the train would be great," Coppin said at the prospect of an easier trip.

The train that could do it is the high-speed rail line Brightline, which already has a line running in Florida. The California-Nevada line, called Brightline West, has already made some progress.

This summer, it bought land south of the Strip for a station.

RELATED | Tourism officials say California, Nevada border traffic jams need to be addressed

This week, Brightline signed a memorandum of understanding with California transportation officials to use 48 miles on I-15 between Victorville and Rancho Cucamonga for a high-speed line. The "MOU" sets in motion work on right-of-way agreements and designing to make the extension happen.

Until now, Victorville was as far as proposed high-speed lines went. Brightline's California agreement would take the high-speed link into the LA region.

At Rancho Cucamonga, the line is planned to hook up with Metrolink, the commuter rail line in LA. Brightline says this will offer "seamless and straightforward" access in the region, offering a travel time between LA and Las Vegas of three hours and two hours between Rancho Cucamonga and Southern Nevada.

Brightline officials were not available for comment Friday. No timetable has been announced for construction to begin.

This is the latest step the rail line has taken to get the project moving. It is also working on financing the high-speed rail system, something that the pandemic had postponed.

Last week, officials at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said they're now asking Washington to put I-15 traffic on the radar, worried interstate traffic backups could keep our customers away.

Brightline's proposed Las Vegas station is in commissioner Michael Naft's District.

"We need to be looking at multimodal transportation options. Just adding a lane of pavement isn't gonna solve all the problems. It's gonna help; it's gonna help move freight. It's gonna help move people. But we need high-speed rail to Southern California," Naft told me last week.
In the video, it looks like the rail will be the median of the freeway, which it makes sense.
“What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.”
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #278
Won't load for me.
Always be ready for American newssites not loading for Europe. Change your IP to any other continent and it works. This has been a huge problem ever since the EU cookie directive/GDPR nonsense, many years now.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #279
Oh, because Channel 3 doesn't ask if you'll accept their stupid cookies :p
“What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.”
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #280
Why aren't we copying this awesome American street design?

[video]https://youtu.be/pL7qM7fBOmE?t=94[/video]

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #281
That's a scary combination of why is that even a thing and driver idiocy.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #282
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands:
Quote
Invented in Rotterdam and spreading across the country, the fietsvlonder is a “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for 8 bikes.

If successful, the curb is permanently adjusted, and it is moved to another location. The Hague Vice Mayor @RvanAsten
 explains.
https://twitter.com/Cycling_Embassy/status/1520780115277398016




Re: Infrastructure

Reply #285
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/das-neun-euro-ticket-kommt/
Quote
The Federal Cabinet approved the wording aid submitted by the Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) on April 27 for the parliamentary groups of the SPD (Social democrats), Bündnis90/Die Grünen (Green Party) and FDP (Liberal Democrats) for a draft of a Seventh Act to amend the Regionalisation Act to be introduced from the centre of the German Bundestag. With the amendment, which now enters parliamentary consultations, regionalisation funds are to be increased by a total of 3.7 billion euros in 2022. This is intended to finance both the implementation of the “9 for 90 ticket” and the federal government’s contribution to compensating the public transport companies for the loss of fare revenue due to the pandemic.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #286
Oslo has caught on, it's claimed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53JlxpXHs4

Note that at 8 minutes it shows painted gutters, not cycling infrastructure.

Nice to see my old home turf again. The broad street in the beginning, Dronning Eufemias gate, is recently built and in reality a bridge camouflaging as a boulevard. Lived there decades ago "before it got cool" (that is, when it was industrial/harbour area by a motorway, not like now among the most expensive pieces of real estate in Oslo). It is constructed and owned by the national road autority, not the city, and almost immediately was criticised for its subpar cycling solutions. To drive that home a bicyclist was run over by a truck in the street and killed in 2018. Another bicyclist killing happened in Oslo less than a month ago when a truck turned to the right.  Of course, compared with the bad old days, there are huge improvements. Now there are only about three fatal traffic accidents a year, while back in 1975 with a population 2/3 of today, there were 41.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #287
Between cyclists (motored and not) and oblivious Jaywalkers and rude discourteous drivers — I wonder that actual war hasn't broken out... :) (Who wrote that short story...? @jax, you're my go-to guy for SciFi arcanalia! Remember? :)
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #288
The Bicycle Wars? No, on this I draw a blank. 

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #289
I draw a blank.
Hm. Gotta dig deep in my closet (and cob-webbed memories... I can narrow it down to some few authors... I'll get back to you.)
My brain supplies what should be a helpful hint (to me, if not to you): Think Peds vs ...; Wheels?
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)


Re: Infrastructure

Reply #291
Tallinn tried to ban cars in old town in the 90s. The decision was short-lived, lasted less than a year. Not only are many foreign consulates and embassies located in old town, but also many so-called high net worth individuals who can purchase laws, regulations and verdicts for themselves.

It is impossible to ban car traffic from ambassadors, but really the old town would win much from banning all other traffic besides service transports. The old town is the medieval part of Tallinn. Cars do not belong to medieval streets.

 

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #292
Electricity is now 20 times more expensive in Norway than in Sweden.[1] You can see for yourself in Nordpool's market data https://www.nordpoolgroup.com/en/Market-data1/Dayahead/Area-Prices/ALL1/Hourly/?view=table

But in Lithuania it is a 100 times more expensive than in Sweden.

“In Sweden, electricity prices are almost 100 times lower on the electricity exchange than in the Lithuanian zone. And in our zone, electricity prices
are actually breaking records, reaching more than 400 euros per megawatt-hour, or about 40 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is a more usual
measure for households,” says Tomas Janeliūnas, political analyst and head of the Energy Research Institute.

The discrepancy, he says, is down to differences in infrastructure. Unlike Sweden, Lithuania imports most of its electricity, but the capacity of
electricity connections is limited and not enough to meet the demand.


Re: Infrastructure

Reply #294
Oh dear, painful is indeed the word.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #295
Lithuania is leaving the Russian/CIS synchronised grid in favour of the Continental Synchronous Area, just like Ukraine did last year. So far only a test, but next year Lithuania will leave Latvia and Estonia behind with the Russians.






Lithuania Disconnects From Russian Power Grid In First Test



Re: Infrastructure

Reply #296
As far as I understood, the disconnection required Russia's cooperation. A joint test in all Baltic countries was planned in the beginning of last year, but postponed because of the war.

Anyway, if it can indeed be done regardless of Russia's cooperation, then Estonia and Latvia are not far behind. It's just that Lithuania needs to succeed first. Because geography.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #297
It is more a practical than political, it was going to happen anyway, but it will have consequences both practical and political. The lag for Latvia and Estonia will probably be 1–2 years.

Kaliningrad has an interconnector to Lithuania, so either they will have to change as well, add some conversion equipment or break contact. For this test Lithuania did the latter.



Estonian connections to Finland and Lithuanian to Sweden are HVDC, so there aren't synchronisation issues as such.

Finland, Sweden, Norway and half Denmark is in a different zone anyway.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #298
Paris banned rental e-scooters https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230828-paris-bids-adieu-to-love-or-hate-electric-scooters

Berlin is rolling back bike infrastructure https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-bikes-cycling-backlash-berlin-germany-cycling-cars-emissions/

So the progress of urban infrastructure has reached a dead end.  In my opinion, the way forward (towards walkable streets) is by regression: Less cars. Not more electric cars or some dystopian "pods" or misguided non-solutions to traffic, but simply less cars. Less, not more. Back to the way it was in 1920's or, even better, 1910's.

Re: Infrastructure

Reply #299
It's been that way since the 1970s, that's why making cities more liveable is slow progress. Almost every pedestrian street has been fought nail and tooth, including parts of the local business community. Then, in most cases, they realise afterwards that they make more money and get a better neighbourhood. In some cases the project is badly planned or premature. Then after a decade or so, a better or more timely project comes along, and it sticks.

Suburbia is never happy in this process. They are used to drive through the city, and leave nothing but exhaust and desolate parking spaces. But eventually suburbs too become more walkable.