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air pollution in US subway systems stuns researchers | Environment | The Guardian

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‘People should be alarmed’: air pollution in US subway systems stuns researchers | Environment | The Guardian

People traveling on subway systems in major US cities are being exposed to unsafe amounts of air pollution, with commuters in New York and New Jersey subjected to the highest levels of pollution, research has found.

Tiny airborne particles, probably thrown up by train brakes or the friction between train wheels and rails, are rife in the 71 underground stations sampled by researchers during morning and evening rush hours in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC, the cities that contain the bulk of subway systems in the US.

What Your Car Might Say About How You’ll Vote – Forbes Wheels

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Vehicles And Voting: What Your Car Might Say About How You’ll Vote – Forbes Wheels

Democrats also are less likely to be new-vehicle buyers because they skew younger and are more likely to get a used car, according to Edwards. They also are open to foregoing car ownership in favor of public transportation or ride sharing, and if they do own their own vehicles, it’s for a longer period of time, he said. “Republicans are more likely to own a vehicle for only three to six years,” Edwards said. The average car on the road is nearly 12 years old, according to industry research firm IHS Markit.

Remembering the ugliest thing San Francisco ever built

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‘A monstrous mistake’: Remembering the ugliest thing San Francisco ever built

 

The plan was simple: Connect the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge via a freeway. It was the 1950s and everyone loved freeways. What could go wrong? Nearly everything.

The Embarcadero Freeway is widely considered one of the biggest mistakes the city ever made. For 32 years, a concrete monstrosity barricaded San Franciscans from the bay waters, shrouded the iconic Ferry Building in smog and made lots of residents very mad. Photographs of it now look like a very different, unsightly city. And while (nearly) everyone hated it, it took an earthquake to tear it down.

The real story behind the demise of America’s once-mighty streetcars – Vox

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The real story behind the demise of America’s once-mighty streetcars – Vox

The decline of the streetcar after World War I — when cars began to arrive on city streets — is often cast as a simple choice made by consumers. As a Smithsonian exhibition puts it, "Americans chose another alternative — the automobile. The car became the commuter option of choice for those who could afford it, and more people could do so."

But the reality is more complicated. "People weren't choosing to ride or not ride in some perfect universe — they were making it in a messy, real-world environment," Norton says.

The real problem was that once cars appeared on the road, they could drive on streetcar tracks — and the streetcars could no longer operate efficiently. "Once just 10 percent or so of people were driving, the tracks were so crowded that [the streetcars] weren't making their schedules," Norton says.

Stacked Mechanical Parking Lots in NYC – Untapped New York

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Cities 101: Stacked Mechanical Parking Lots in NYC – Untapped New York

Parking your car in New York City can be a herculean task, particularly in the densest borough, Manhattan. Since the early 20th century, inventors have been bent on finding a way to maximize space in parking lots. In 1941, patent filed by O. A. Light, made it possible to stack three cars on top of each other. It was based on the schematic of an earlier patent filed in New York City by Max Miller which used hydraulic lifts to raise cars, leaving a roadway unobstructed. With the automobile boom of the middle of the last century came a boom in creative and automated ways to park them. But is it safe to park your car there?