87 comments on Urban Renewal: Getting Cars Out of the City Center
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
| Show without comments | PDF version
87 comments on Urban Renewal: Getting Cars Out of the City Center
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
| Show without comments | PDF version
User login
Personnel
Classic posts
Archives
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
The Oil Drum: New York City archives
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
GAIA Host Collective
Even where there is good rail connections, the service stinks...
I think the key for the Northeast will be revitalizing the old city centers and linking them to each other with good rail. Connecticut is a good example of a state with good serviceable rail system that it can fall back on. New Jersey is quickly catching up with some of their light rail projects. The NYC, Boston and Philly metro areas are very well connected to their suburbs.
Buses can be a short term fix until rail can be restored.
The only thing that gives me pause about trains is that the infrastructure is so vulnerable. As it is, metal theft is an increasing problem. It's often treated as a joke. Three miles of train track dug up and stolen in Germany. Police in Canada ordered to guard recycling bins because so many cans are stolen. Aluminum goal posts stolen and sold for scrap.
The crack epidemic was raging when I worked in NYC. Someone peeled the aluminum trim off a car while I was sleeping in it. He could get $2 a pound for it. People would occasionally fall through the street, because some crackhead had stolen a cast iron manhole cover. Grand Central was shut down one Friday afternoon, leaving 300,000 people stranded, because someone stole 100 feet of copper signalling cable.
Just another reason why I think it's going to be hard to maintain our infrastructure in the post-carbon age.
Rail can be protected by placing fences on both sides of the rail line, but I guess the problem has not risen yet to an extent that it would be worthed the effort.
BTW I know for example that in Bulgaria sabotaging rail lines is a heavy felony. Think that could help a bit if implemented everywhere.
I suspect most people don't even know where the oil and gas pipelines are. (If they ever find out, perhaps oil "bunkering" will catch on here, too...) But everyone knows where the train tracks are.
We had several such cases in Bulgaria even though there in not that much pipeline network. Not to mention about the electricity being stolen by people, mostly from the poor minorities - the amount is in the range of tens of millions kwth yearly. You would think it is dangareous and you would be right, but the thiefs get better and also better-equipped with time.
It is amazing what people do when energy is scarce or they can not afford it.
"
Theft or attempted theft from pipelines has been a
consistent feature of operations, particulary in
Eastern Europe, over a number of years and a major
cause of incidents. A recent case in Italy unfortunately
led to the death of the perpetrator. One
presentation described the measures being taken in
Hungary to address this problem. Between 1992
and 1999, the Hungarian system was attacked more
than 100 times. Although not all of these attempts
were successful, the value of fuel lost was substantial.
Even more expensive was the cost of clearing
up the spilt oil. To counter this threat, a sophisticated
leak detection system has been installed. This
not only detects leaks, but also pin-points the position
of the leak which facilitates rapid intervention.
As a result, the number of attempted thefts has now
decreased dramatically.
"
Day bin robin dat gas wid hot taps down sa Na'orlens town na on 100 yera.
There's too many pipeline qualified welders and too much wild swamps to keep an eye on every foot of pipeline. Those guys get out there and make hot taps (welding on the pipeline while under pressure) to run a 1 inch line over to the house. Fortunately, that's gotten harder to get away with since the advent of leak detection. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
Down in Colombia they just used explosives. If they didn't have that, they would unbolt the flanges. Not very discrete and makes a BIG mess.
You can also run a parallel wire under a Hi V electrical transmission line and induct power off of it without ever touching it, but also illegal.
It's really amazing what you can get away with if you're wearing a coverall or a hardhat. People just ignore you, assuming you're on some kind of official business.
Someone stole the soda vending machine from my office. He just dressed in a coverall and brought a handtruck. Not only did we not stop him. We helped him load it in his truck.
Take out 3 or 4 high power electrical towers and poof most places have to re-route. I have only written in Fiction, I am wondering If I should even try to publish that story. "Sucidial mailman car bombs city" But the Mailman save the day.
Almost all of our inplace day to day living is in a map somewhere and is up for public veiwing.
If they really wanted to hurt us, we could not stop them.
There is a guy who drives a beat up Toyota pick-up and is always here on tuesday and wednesay to pick of anything metal, to sell. Keeps himself in spare parts for his Toyota.
I pull apart old computer parts for the items inside.
But I am like you, once we go to far down a road, we are never going to get back up it. Just hiking a round trip make sure you can travel all the way back the way you came. OOpps Oil is gone joe,, what do we do now??
For all I care, WTSHTF, you can eat me, I just want to make sure the two of you get along. As long as you keep me laughing before that.
The largest place I lived was Long Beach in Califormia. The smallest, The USGS did not include a spot on the map for it, though it had been a house at some time before cars, Ozark mountains. The wild reclaims thing very fast.
As to Crack dealers, or other drugs. They sell it openly on my street. Until mid-May or At the latest late-May I live in Huntsville Alabama, Relocating to Colorado. I doubt they are bold everywhere. But the cop traffic goes down when the complaints reduce or stop.
I learned to drive in a town so small there weren't even any traffic lights.