Green Wave in Copenhagen
Green Wave in Copenhagen
Amsterdam
And on this side of the pond... progressive San Fran
Friday, September 14, 2012
Green Waves in Copenhagen and other increasingly Smart Cities
Had lunch with a good friend and colleague in the smart energy industry, Dr. Torben Riise of Green Air International, who had just returned from his native Denmark. We discussed how in Europe, so-called "green waves" are more prevalent and have been around for a couple of decades. Green waves encourage cyclists and motorists to maintain a certain speed range by continually meeting green lights when they keep to the range and red lights when they do not. This continual flow of vehicles cuts down wait time (time lost has it's economic impact) as well as reduced emissions from less acceleration and breaking action. Perhaps, this is one more reason why the Danes are surveyed as one of the happiest people on Earth.
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Well in Portugal (with all respect not among the most developed Europpean conutries) they are pretty advanced as they have in many cities (and EVEN Villages!) a speed controlling technology that if you drive the sudgested speed you will have a continues GREEN light while if you are speeding your will be awarded with a RED Light. The locals often get upset the foreigners unwated RED gifts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post, Tariq!
ReplyDeleteAs you can see from this post from a Portuguese blogger, indeed not everyone is a happy camper when it comes to speed-sensitive traffic lights, at least the way they are currently set up.
http://www.gostomaisdecarrosdoquechocolates.com/coisas-que-me-chateiam-semaforos-de-controlo-de-velocidade/
You can see a picture of solar and micro-wind turbine powered speed-controlled traffic light setup at the bottom of this report:
http://www.inir.pt/portal/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=VKS5sD1lyts%3D&tabid=111&mid=482&language=pt-PT
Article in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8521769/Smart-traffic-lights-to-stop-speeders.html
"It's Not About The Bike Or Car -- It's About Better Cities"
ReplyDeleteBrent Toderian, Toronto, Canada
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there is too much pitting of self-described "drivers" and "cyclists" against each other. Most North American families are actually multi-modal - they drive, walk, and probably take transit and bike in at least certain circumstances, if not routinely. Certainly many who cycle, also drive, and visa versa.
We need a more sophisticated discussion about how we get around in cities, and it starts with this -- it's not about loving your bike. It's about loving what biking does for cities. If more cars make cities worse, the opposite is true for bikes. Expanding urban biking is about making better, fiscally smarter, healthier, more flexible and resilient cities. Bikes are hardly a silver bullet, but they can be a big part of better city-making.
Canadian cities aren't alone in recognizing the opportunities urban biking provide. In fact, we're behind. Inspired by successful cycling mecca's like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bogota, cities like New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland in the U.S., Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Paris in Europe, and Montreal here in Canada are transforming themselves around urban cycling. They aren't doing half-measures. They're making big moves.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/brent-toderian/bike-lanes-car-commuting-vancouver-toronto_b_1940979.html?utm_hp_ref=smarter-ideas&just_reloaded=1