The Price of Traffic

A friend of mine pointed me to a PBS series called e squared. I highly suggest that you watch the episode called “London: The Price of Traffic”. The episode talks about the London congestion charge and how it allowed for the removal of vehicle lanes for widened sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus lanes. It also talks about how the revenue from the charge is used only for public transport. In London, they are actual seeing a modal shift to transit. This is NOT happening in metro Vancouver. What was also interesting was how London is trying to charge their roads to shared spaces to “tame the auto.” They used the example of how removing dividers from one of their streets reduced congestion and traffic fatalities. Also, they have seen a reduction in emissions that are harmful to our health. Anyway, I hope you get the chance to check out the show.