Notices by The War on Cars (thewaroncars@mastodon.social), page 5

"For too long we’ve stood by and watched as historic parts of our beautiful city stood in the way of more and more parking spaces. Meanwhile, we have fewer than a dozen spots for every man, woman, and child in Houston. That is simply unacceptable."

https://www.theonion.com/new-houston-law-requires-10-parking-spaces-for-every-pa-1850387581

"The average downpayment for a new car is reportedly also at a record high of $6,956, up from $6,083 in Q1 2022."

https://jalopnik.com/nearly-17-percent-of-monthly-car-payments-are-over-1-0-1850298115

A reminder that we'll send you a free "Geometry Hates Cars" sticker with any other sticker order, now through while supplies last!

If you order a coffee mug, run hat, enamel pin, iron-on patch or water bottle we'll also send you one of these stickers.

Inspired by Cory Doctorow! @pluralistic

#TheWarOnCars #stickers

https://the-war-on-cars.myshopify.com/

"People living near road traffic noise were not only more likely to develop high blood pressure, but the risk of this outcome increased with the dose' of noise, even when researchers adjusted for fine particles and nitrogen dioxide."

#TheWarOnCars #noisepollution #traffic

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/22/health/road-noise-blood-pressure-intl-scli-scn-wellness

New episode: "CONSPIRACY!"

How did a mundane urban planning concept turn into the latest grist for the culture-war mill? Why does the idea of making it easier to walk for daily needs have some people afraid that they won't be able to leave their homes for more than 15 minutes? And why do some think this is all a plot by the World Economic Forum to force people to "own nothing and be happy"? We ask if we can ever get back to reality.

#15minutecities #TheWarOnCars

https://thewaroncars.org/2023/03/21/conspiracy/

Cars are freedom? This story features people who see friends less because weekday congestion is terrible, are chronically late to drop their kids off at school no matter how early they wake up, and who are rethinking where to spend retirement so as not to spend the rest of their lives "sitting in traffic."

#TheWarOnCars

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sunbelt-traffic-jams-are-frustrating-drivers-and-threatening-growth-223df06b

"We did not beat COVID. We just accepted the economy was more important than the deaths it caused. The same goes for the permitted lawlessness of cars. Their economic importance is way above the death and destruction they cause."

https://www.thestranger.com/transportation/2023/03/13/78900631/why-seattle-doesnt-give-a-fuck-about-pedestrians

"...Angelenos who drive more tend to be exposed to less air pollution — and Angelenos who drive less tend to be exposed to more pollution."

https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2023-03-09/white-drivers-are-polluting-the-air-breathed-by-l-a-s-people-of-color-boiling-point

#TheWarOnCars #losangeles #driving #pollution

"The United States has about two billion parking spots, according to some estimates — nearly seven for every car. In some cities, as much as 14 percent of land area is covered with the black asphalt that engulfs malls, apartment buildings and commercial strips."

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/business/fewer-parking-spots.html

#thewaroncars #parking

"As American cars have bulked up, the number of fatalities for the drivers and passengers inside these rolling fortresses has fallen by 22 per cent. But the number of pedestrians killed has risen by 57 per cent."

https://www.ft.com/content/a75a6623-67f4-41d1-a0ca-cedc9fda4f90

#SUV #SUVs #thewaroncars #bancars

"Accidents and violence are not so different if we look at them not as punishable acts made by bad people, but as preventable harms,” Singer said. “Through this lens, we can actually fix both problems at the same source. The solution to the mass shooting is also the solution to the accidental shooting. The solution to the traffic crash is also the solution to the vehicular terrorist attack.”

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2023/02/car-weapon-u-haul-new-york-city-accident/

"For example, in a 700-space garage, if each car is four inches wider than its predecessor, that is 233 additional feet in car width—from the goal line to the opponent’s 23 yard line on a football field—that needs to be accommodated."

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pyzx/american-cars-are-getting-too-big-for-parking-spaces?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

New episode!

"The High Cost of Free Parking with Donald Shoup."

We talk to the renowned professor about the growing movement to end parking minimums and how to win what he calls "the war on parking subsidies."

Available wherever you get your podcasts.

https://thewaroncars.org/2023/01/17/the-high-cost-of-free-parking-with-donald-shoup/

#shoup #Shoupistas #parking #podcast #TheWarOnCars

Great image from the Turnpike Trap group that's fighting the $10 -billion NJ turnpike widening project through Jersey City currently backed by Governor Murphy.

Even if highway widening worked to alleviate traffic congestion (it doesn't) what happens when all the cars get to the Holland Tunnel, which can't be widened?