Pollution Free Cities

Friday, April 11, 2014

2012 Update on Global Impact of Air Pollution

Burden of disease from Household Air Pollution for 2012 (17 page pdf, World Health Organization, Mar. 24, 2014)

Also discussed here: An Integrated Risk Function for Estimating the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposure (7 pages, Richard T. Burnett, C. Arden Pope III, Majid Ezzati, Casey Olives, Stephen S. Lim, Sumi Mehta, Hwashin H. Shin, Gitanjali Singh, Bryan Hubbell, Michael Brauer, H. Ross Anderson, Kirk R. Smith, John R. Balmes, Nigel G. Bruce, Haidong Kan, Francine Laden, Annette Prüss-Ustün, Michelle C.Turner, Susan M. Gapstur, W. Ryan Diver, and Aaron Cohen, Environmental Health Perspectives, Feb 7, 2014)

And here: 7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution (Press Release, World Health Organization, Mar. 25, 2014)

And here: Air pollution 'kills 7 million people a year' (The Guardian, Mar. 25, 2014)

Today we review the annual report from the World Health Organization on the global impact of indoor and outdoor air pollution which is estimated as 4.3 and 3.7 million deaths, respectively, each year. While outdoor air pollution has been somewhat more controlled and reduced in recent years, indoor air pollution continues to increase the number of deaths especially among women in developing countries because of their greater exposure to emissions from cooking on wood stoves. More than 60% of deaths from indoor air pollution are attributed to strokes and Ischaemic heart disease with most of the remaining deaths (34%) from COPD and acute lower respiratory disease. The smallest cause (6%), unlike tobacco smoking is lung cancer. By contrast, 80% of deaths from outdoor air pollution were Ischaemic heart disease and from strokes.

Key Quotes:

“Air pollution kills about 7 million people worldwide every year, with more than half of the fatalities due to fumes from indoor stoves”

“WHO estimated that there were about 4.3 million deaths in 2012 caused by indoor air pollution, mostly people cooking inside using wood and coal stoves in Asia. WHO said there were about 3.7 million deaths from outdoor air pollution in 2012”

“Regionally, low- and middle-income countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions had the largest air pollution-related burden in 2012, with a total of 3.3 million deaths linked to indoor air pollution and 2.6 million deaths related to outdoor air pollution.”

"Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood stoves,"

“Outdoor air pollution-caused deaths – breakdown by disease:

40% – ischaemic heart disease;
40% – stroke;
11% – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
6% - lung cancer; and
3% – acute lower respiratory infections in children.”

“Indoor air pollution-caused deaths – breakdown by disease:

34% - stroke;
26% - ischaemic heart disease;
22% - COPD;
12% - acute lower respiratory infections in children; and
6% - lung cancer.”

“The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes…Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution; the evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe.”

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Polling the Public about Air Pollution

Air Quality in London Survey(Transport for London, Mar. 2014)

Today we review a dozen questions that the Mayor Johnston has posed to his citizens about the state of air pollution London which recently reached record levels, comparable to those in the capital of China. Action to improve air quality (or other environmental issues such as climate change) from the public purse has to be based on how tax payers perceive the problem and its sources, as well as which options they might accept or hopefully endorse. Londoners are lucky to have Mayors who care enough about the environment to take significant steps to improve it, as we have seen in the implementation of the Low Emissions Zone, using a congestion charging system in the core of London over 10 years ago. What comes next? We’ll see after the poll closes in mid-April.

Key Quotes:

“What do you think are the causes of air pollution in London? (please tick as many as you feel appropriate)

	Yes	No	Don't know
Road traffic	Yes	No	Don't know
River traffic	Yes	No	Don't know
Aviation	Yes	No	Don't know
Trains	Yes	No	Don't know
Construction (e.g. building sites)	Yes	No	Don't know
Industry (e.g. manufacturing)	Yes	No	Don't know
Domestic (home heating)	Yes	No	Don't know
Weather	Yes	No	Don't know

“ Do you agree to reduce pollution from traffic we should:

	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage people to walk and cycle more	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage people to reduce their private car use	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage people to reduce their use of all vehicles (including taxis and buses)	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage people to travel at different times of the day to reduce congestion	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage more people to work from home	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage people to use cleaner fuelled vehicles	Yes	No	Don't know
Encourage people to use vehicles powered by alternative fuels and / or alternative technologies	Yes	No	Don't know

Monday, April 7, 2014

Will New York City Finally get Congestion Charging?

The Plan That Could Finally Free New York City From Traffic Congestion (Eric Jaffe, The Atlantic Cities, Mar. 20, 2014)

Also discussed here: East River tolls, Midtown traffic charges proposed for $1.5 billion boost to roads, transit system - Transportation advocates are ramping up efforts to sell the public on a revised version of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's defeated traffic plan. The 'fair tolling' proposal would charge drivers more in transit-rich areas like Midtown, while tolls at some bridges would be reduced. (NY Daily News, Pete Donohue, New York Daily News, Mar. 21, 2014)

Today we read about a second attempt to put congestion pricing into effect in downtown New York City, after the first one proposed by Mayor Bloomberg in 2008 was rejected. Although supported by the city, the plan was rejected by the state government and this set back plans in several other cities in the US and Canada to follow suit. What makes Manhattan well-suited for a tolling is that it is surrounded by bridges and tunnels, a characteristic common to the downtowns of other major cities that use congestion charging such as Stockholm, Sweden and London, England. While many want to reduce congestion and speed up commuting times, a key argument against putting a price on congestion is the lack of trust concerning the revenue it generates. The new plan for NYC takes this into account with firm plans to use most of the projected $1.5B to go to public transit.

Key Quotes:

“There's a reason for New York City's ongoing flirtation with road pricing: .. It has a clear core business area (Manhattan) accessible by limited entryways (bridges and tunnels) that would be easy to price for traffic reductions (via tolls or cordons). Its overwhelming traffic oozes into and out of town each morning from all sides at the speed of … ooze. Its expansive transit system is in perpetual need of revenue and further expansion.”

“If New York buys into this new plan, some experts believe the path to road pricing could open for congested American cities to follow.”

“The Move NY plan .. first goal will be to distribute bridge and tunnel traffic more evenly and dissuade bridge shopping on the East River. … all the eastern crossings, including the currently free bridges, will cost the same price: $10.66 round-trip for E-Z Pass users, $15 cash. Those increases will be counter-balanced with toll reductions on the outer bridges of as much as 50 percent.”

“All told the plan could generate up $1.5 billion in net revenue every year….most of it (roughly a billion) is earmarked for transit: maintaining current service and expanding into transit deserts, with anything extra stowed away for long-term capital projects.”

“Move NY want traffic flows in the cordon area to improve by 20 percent. Right now the tolls are fixed, but Schwartz says they'll be adjusted on a quarterly basis to make sure that mark is being met. If traffic is flowing above expectations, it could be lowered. If it's still oozing like ooze, the tolls might go up.”

"One of the things we really try to emphasize over and over is this is about fairness..This isn't about sticking people with new tolls. Everybody's paying their fair share, and everybody's getting something in return."

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Why Do We Subsidize Parking for Public Transit Users?

The Dirty Truth Behind Park & Rides (Matt Steele, StreetsMM, Mar. 18, 2014)

Today we review some suggestions from Minneapolis where the proposal to expand their park and ride facilities is assessed in terms of what it costs to give the parking away free (when it costs $10 per user) compared to other more cost effective options, such as doing away with higher express fares at peak use times or producing more revenue from the lot areas than giving away parking. Bottom line is that the number of extra riders and revenue produced by free parking is less than improvements to the transit system itself which would make the latter more efficient and double the net revenue. A good question whether this arguments holds for cities such as Ottawa that are sprawled out over more than 2,800 km2 where some suburban and rural areas are poorly or expensively served by public transit. But it is always useful to consider impacts on ridership and the costs of subsidies in running very expensive public transit systems.

Key Quotes:

“For less than the cost of two Maplewood park & rides serving up to (2×580=) 1160 parked cars, we’re building a full Arterial BRT line on Snelling Avenue scheduled to open next year. Those improvements will serve an estimated ridership of 8,700. And, unlike additional parking spaces, these amenities serve all riders (not just the 3,000 new ones). This is 7.5 times more productive than the same investment in parking.”

“If the new Maplewood Mall ramp capital is amortized over a 20 year period, we’re spending roughly $1200 per space per year to have the capacity for 580 new park & riders. At 240 workdays a year, a $5 parking fee would be necessary just to pay off the investment. $5 per person in addition to the transit fare to operate the bus. A $5 parking fee which wouldn’t even pay for maintenance, snow removal, and lighting – so let’s bump that up to $7.”

“Modern technology allows us to decouple parking costs from other costs, which is the first step. The near-ubiquity of GoTo cards (especially on commuter routes) allows for us to have a fast way to account for parking transactions, possibly with an RFID-equipped entry gate or a validation match to a parking space.”

“The second step is to eliminate the express fare for those who do not consume parking spaces.” “Suburban park & riders are clearly not paying $9.50 to park before paying an additional fare to get on the bus. Someone else is paying to subsidize their car storage habits. And you’re it.”

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Do Cities Cater to Car Drivers or to Pedestrians? At what cost?

Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time [Kindle Edition] (321 pages, Jeff Speck, Nov. 13, 2012)

Also discussed here: The walkable city (17 min. video, TED, Sep 2013)

And here: Canada's Most Walkable Cities 2010 (WestJet Up magazine, Apr. 9, 2010)

And here: Parking (Paul Fritz, smalltownurbanism, Feb. 28, 2014)

Today we review a book by Jeff Speck called the Walkable City which surveys the design of cities when to comes to walkability and the trend toward driving and away from walking in many cities. He points out that among other things, that large surface areas dedicated to parking spaces and taken away from pedestrian malls and urban parks is a prime obstacle to a city’s walkability. There are reasons why cities such as New York, Boston and Portland in the USA or Vancouver or Victoria in Canada are seen as more pedestrian friendly than Dallas or Winnipeg. The measurable impacts are clear as well: obesity and the risk of diabetes is directly related to lack of walkability; the number of car crash deaths is around 12 deaths per 100,000 in the USA compared to 3 in Japan and in walkable cities such as New York and San Francisco (both of which have made great strides in promoting cycling and car free and by pricing parking by demand).

areas

resised_Shopping_in_GastownTourism Vancouver and John Sinal

Key Quotes:

" In Walkable City, he persuasively explains how to create rational urban spaces and improve quality of life by containing the number one vector of global environmental catastrophe: the automobile." (David Owen, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Green Metropolis)

“When creating a walkable urban environment, it is extremely important to ‘get the parking right’, and many of our communities have been getting it wrong for decades at the expense of the pedestrian.”

“Parking is expensive to construct, especially when it is structured parking, and maintain. A space in a surface parking lot on inexpensive land costs about $4,000 and parking space in a structured parking garage can cost over $15,000 per space”

“Parking, they suggest, should be priced such that the cost of parking should be set at a level such that an occupancy rate of 80% is established. This would allow that 1 or 2 spaces per block would be available at all times which would reduce the amount of time (and gas) people spend looking for parking.”

“in the '70s, one in 10 Americans was obese.Now one out of three Americans is obese,and a second third of the population is overweight.Twenty-five percent of young men and 40 percent of young women are too heavy to enlist in our own military forces…fully one third of all children born after 2000 will get diabetes.We have the first generation of children in America who are predicted to live shorter lives than their parents”

“If you lived in a more walkable neighborhood,you were 35 percent likely to be overweight.If you lived in a less walkable neighborhood,you were 60 percent likely to be overweight”

“in America, 12 people out of every 100,000die every year from car crashes…in England, it's seven per 100,000.It's Japan, it's four per 100,000.Do you know where it's three per 100,000?New York City.San Francisco, the same thing. Portland, the same thing… if your city is designed around cars,it's really good at smashing them into each other”

“the average Manhattanite is consuming gasoline at the rate the rest of the nation hasn't seen since the '20s,consuming half of the electricity of Dallas…Canadian cities, they consume half the gasoline of American cities.European cities consume half as much again”

“Canada's Most Walkable Cities 2010: