Autonomous Cars : Tension Between Occupant Experience And Intersection Capacity

The town of Halton Hill’s population includes the areas of Georgetown and Acton and other communities such as Erin, Oakville, Burlington and Milton regions. This is what is considered to be my community because these are the many places that I am visiting most often and they are always referred to together as “Halton Hills Region” (p.5, 2011). With the substantial increase in population in the Halton Hills region, more specifically Georgetown, there should be a strong demand for a public transit system to counteract all of the environmental disturbances that are being caused due to this increase. One of the things that is happening is that there are so many trees they are cutting down in order to expand and grow the population with houses being built. Statistics are showing that the population of Halton Hill’s region will expand by 54% over the next 20 years (p.5, 2011). By the year 2031, employment rates will increase by 75%, leaving Halton with 42,100 jobs being offered (p.5, 2011). With this rapid influx of citizens, this will only increase the demands of travel to get to these work places as well as other destinations (p.5, 2011). Over the past couple of year’s the traffic congestion on the major roads in Halton Hills such as Trafalgar Road and Regional Road 25 with individuals trying to get to and from work. There used to be very little traffic in these areas, however since Halton Hill’s has continued to expand, the utilization of automobiles has significantly increased due to the fact there is no public transit system. The Transportation Demand Management in Halton Hill’s is noticing the increase in automobiles stating that there needs to be a major shift in more efficient ways of transportation, yet there still has been nothing improvised (p.7, 2011). The Transportation Demand

Richardson, Glaeser places certain focus on the importance of sanitation and the provision of clean water as fundamental components in reducing disease in cities. While this issue is highly relevant to the wellbeing of citizens in urban concentrations, Glaeser seems less concerned with it as most present-day cities have overcome these issues through provision of sufficient infrastructure. Of greater interest to the economically fixated Glaeser is the proposal and implementation of urban planning reforms aiming to reduce traffic congestion in metropolitan areas. He points out that congestion encumbers productivity in cities, and is adamant in his view that every driver should be charged for the external cost that their use of the road deposits on other drivers. From an economic perspective, it makes great sense to charge people for their bearing on congested roads to make up for lost time and productivity. Though the author fails to consider other solutions to the congestion problem, such as increasing public transport opportunities and investing in pedestrian and bicycle facilities, his favoured solution would still work well as part of a larger scheme to reduce traffic

In the article, “Will Self-Driving Cars be Good for America” (March 10, 2016), Robert Peterson argues that America is ready for self-driving cars to take over the streets. The author first reports the statistics of car related accidents in America, and how much the damages have cost in all; he then presents all the benefits of autnomous cars by discussing how it will benefit people of all ages by limiting expenses, and being able to reach a destination without the need for a license; and to conclude, he then finishes his article by alerting the audience that they need to get ready for what’s about to happen to the automotive industry in America. His purpose is to inform the reader in order to convince them that autonomous cars are the only

Evidence: A study presented by the white house on its website reported that 65% of roads rated in less than good condition. 25% of bridges require significant repair or cannot handle today's traffic. Also because certain roads cannot be used there is more traffic. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that American commuters in urban areas collectively lost 5.5 billion hours stuck in traffic in 2011, meaning the average commuter lost nearly a week to traffic. their calculations further suggest that traffic congestion caused American commuters to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel, costing them more than $120 billion in added fuel costs and wasted time.

The effect of the built environment on transportation and travel behavior is confirmed by more than 200 empirical studies. This literature is summarized in recent reviews by Cao et al. (2009), Heath et al. (2006), Pont et al. (2009), Graham-Rowe et al. (2011), and Salon et al. (2012), and in meta-analyses by Leck (2006) and Ewing and Cervero (2010). If sprawl has any consistently recognized outcome, it is automobile dependence. I would expect to find that, after controlling for other relevant influences, compact urbanized areas have relatively high transit and walking commute mode shares and short drive times to

Urban sprawl increases traffic on our neighborhood streets and highways. It lengthens trips and forces us to drive everywhere. The average American driver spends 443 hours per year behind the wheel. Residents of sprawling communities drive three to four times as much as those living in compact, well-planned areas. Adding new lanes and building new roads can only makes the problem worse or even create bigger problems. An escalation in road capacity can only lead to more cars on the road, more sprawl, and more traffic. Also as sprawl boosts our dependence on cars and driving, it give rise to grimier air and makes it unhealthy to breath.

Traffic flow will be greatly increased during commuting hours especially. Going from two to three lanes is a 50% increase. This combined with the other promoted alternative forms of transportation such as buses, bicycling, and walking will all help to reduce congestion and extend the lifespan of the current transportation infrastructure.

A recent UK study has looked at the transformative implications of self-driving vehicles on cities. The authors found that shared autonomous vehicles could increase available urban space by 15 to 20 percent, largely through the elimination of parking spaces. Today central London has about 6.8 million parking spaces and a parking coverage of around 16%! Many large cities have even larger coverage ratios for parking space of up to 30%. Freeing up this space would make our cities greener, increase quality of life and also create the potential for additional housing.

This is a contested question. The project is predicting a surge in population growth and a diverse transit options. Sorauf argued that planning for the ‘majority interest’ is an ethical standard that “encompasses the long-range goals of society.” The plan has the potential to serve long-range goals. Metro Council studies indicate that the Southwest Corridor will add “56,000 residents and 73,000 new jobs by 2030.” Building for a growing population, the project stands to lower car dependency, which has positive spillover effects for everyone. Less cars on the road means decreased carbon emissions, and less wear-and-tear on our City’s aging

“Our generation grew up knowing all about the effects on the environment that cars can have, so we’ve grown up with an attitude of wanting to do our part for the earth – something that we can easily do with public transit and not with cars.” (Millennials and Mobility. p34) The role of public transportation from being a social service provided to persons who have limited transportation options to being the transportation mode of choice. With this come high expectation that public transportation will transform to meet the lifestyle needs of the riding public including access to information and options. “We are well-connected when it comes to searching and finding information we need to plan our transportation ahead of time.” (Millennials and Mobility.

Highway Administration, the average American driver drives almost 40 miles every day (FHA, 2011). Given how heavily vehicles are used today, especially in the United States, their replacement with autonomous vehicles could easily have far-reaching implications.

Imagine yourself sitting in traffic, you are just in your car and the engine is just going and gas is being wasted and the fumes coming out which pollute our environment. You look out and see that it is still bumper to bumper on I-680 going to work, you are stressing out because you might be late for work. Then when you go back home, it’s the same bumper to bumper traffic. All this time you could have just been with your family, helping your kids with their homework, or work on something for your job. Traffic is a major issue for 21st-century cities, it is hurting our economy and our environment. One solution to this is a major issue is to invest in public transportation and encourage more people to ride public transportation. I am calling for the Federal Transportation Administration, state, and local governments to invest more in public transportation and spread the awareness of public transportation.

The development of every nation hinges on the effectiveness of their transportation systems. Movement of goods, services and people to and from work is made possible by transportation systems. The importance of effective transportation systems cannot be over-emphasized. A lot of countries are facing Transportation problems and my country Ghana is no exception. A trip of about 30 minutes can take about an hour or more due to traffic jams. This is seriously impacting productivity and has been a topical issue in the country. The situation is the same in Uganda where I currently work. To this end, Transportation Engineers are needed to design roads/ highways that will stand the test of time, plan effective traffic management systems to reduce travel

Being lazy is a great thing because so much time is saved. Time may be saved, but in exchange, the environment gets destroyed instead. Driving a car to work may be faster, but it also destroys the environment so much faster. Biking to the store serves the same purpose and it saves the environment greatly. Cars are a huge contributor to global warming. Cars and trucks combined are responsible for one-fifth of all US emissions. They release about 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global warming gases for every gallon of gas used (Union of Concerned Scientists). About five pounds of those gases come from production, extraction, and delivery of gasoline. More than 19 pounds are released per gallon from a car's tailpipe (Union of Concerned Scientists). 1.2 billion cubic yards of polluted air is from manufacture. Painting and coating cars produces 40 million pounds of air releases and 24 million pounds of hazardous waste a year. A car's lifetime produces 1.3 billion cubic yard of polluted air and scatters 40 pounds of worn tire particles, brake debris, and worn road surface into the atmosphere (Bike to Work Day). Pollutants released a year add up to over 12,140 lbs for cars and 17,000 for light trucks. Some of those pollutants are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides (Bike to Work Day). By choosing to bike or walk instead of drive, the amount of gases and waste contributing to global warming, drops drastically. Choosing to drive instead of taking a greener form of transportation is a great threat to the environment.

Wilson argues that without cars, we would have to live very close together in apartments and row houses so that we could walk to public transportation depots. He also says that we would miss seeing the beaches and the countryside except for an occasional glimpse from a bus or train window. We would have city upon city. Still, the car haters tell us that with the use of bikes and public transportation we will have less pollution, noise and our energy is used more efficiently. Well what about the benefits? Wilson states "The automobile is more flexible, more punctual, supplies greater comfort, provides for carrying more parcels, creates more privacy, enables one to select fellow passengers, and, for distances over a mile or more, requires less travel time" (308). So to those that reject the notion of an automobile, Wilson says, "The car does exist, and has powerfully affected the living, working, and social spaces of America" (304).