The Oil Drum

Having had to take an unanticipated flight to Europe this week, I thought I would pass on a couple of comments about changes in flying conditions after the recent change in security levels, as well as other observations. There really was not a whole lot of change in flying, provided you packed away all your "bathroom cabinet" types of products in your checked luggage. I did and, apart from a question about taking laptops on the plane (I could) had no problems with the flight. The gentleman in front of me, however, had all the domestic products he used set out in front of us, and (at his choice) relegated to a waste bin. The flight from the US to London was as full as usual at this time of year, and London as hectic, it seemed, as the airport always is.

What a concept: Smart Streets. Streets that perform more than serve as a conduit for polluting, oversized, noisy, and dangerous automobile traffic. Streets that are pleasant and friendly. Streets that truly serve the bustling commerce where people find goods they desire. Streets that can be destinations for people, instead of something to be feared, traversed with extreme caution or avoided altogether.

Congestion pricing is an idea that has been around for over 50 years, but there it sits on the dusty shelf of unimplemented good ideas. But there is a renewed effort by a broad coalition of environmental, business groups, public health and urban advocates to turn a good idea into public policy. Throw in a growing energy crisis that is reaching a breaking point, and enter the NY Times Regional Opinion Page:

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken some steps to address traffic flow problems, the larger issue of actually containing or reducing traffic seems to be on the back burner...The mayor could start by taking a harder look at the success of London's congestion pricing program...The result has been a drop of nearly one-third in vehicle traffic.