Road to Safer Transportation.

Road to Safer Transportation

By: Michael Carr

In the early 1900’s, when Henry Ford released his Model-T, it changed the way Americans traveled, lived, and even how we viewed urban development as a whole. Before; everyday Americans used the street as a market and social hub according to this Smithsonian Magazine article By Clive Thompson who spoke with the historian, Peter D. Norton, author of the book; Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City, “Boys of 10, 12 or 14 would be selling newspapers, delivering telegrams and running errands.” Thompson quotes. After the release of the Model-T though, middle class Americans were able to afford a car that could reach speeds up to 45mph. The resulting deaths that accompanied such a dangerous vehicle soon sky-rocketed into the ten of thousands, in New York state alone, the estimated death toll caused by automobiles rose to around 94,000 in 1925 (66% of the total estimated mortality count for the state in 1925). This in turn led to legislation that forbid pedestrians from using the street and mandated crosswalks and traffic lights in all major US cities.

95 years later and the average deaths per year between 2017 and 2019 in New York state is around 1,098 people killed in automobile accidents, this is a 98% decrease in the state of New York. Nationally the average is around 34,000 deaths, In short, Humans make mistakes, with all the education and money that we can throw at it, human error is not something we can feasibly overcome. So one thing that the city of barcelona has done is re-organize their urban development strategy around Super Blocks. An idea that takes up to 9 square city blocks and transforms them into a “Super Block”, or localized city block that only allows small vehicles to go up to 6 mph or are just labeled “car-free” all together. The benefits of such an ambitious plan range from increased business and economic growth, reductions in pollutants and even improved public health conditions this Bloomberg Businessweek article goes into further depth of the creator of the superblock and what challenges it could face. The point of the idea is that with this implementation:

1. Less people are driving which inherently lowers the chance an accident will happen.

2. It promotes physical exercise and lowers the cost of living due to not needing a vehicle.

3. It promotes the use of public transportation which drastically lowers Carbon Dioxide Emissions.

4. Allows for the combination of residential and commercial areas for thighs like public gatherings, festivals, and other community building activities.

ALthough america has been structured historically around the automobile, I believe that this is an indication of a larger systemic problem of american culture. An american milestone has always been to buy a car. The idea of not having a vehicle in America is almost taboo with how centred we are around the material ownership of such things. We must look to our culture ask if we willing to make the leap and adjustment that would come with this type of project.