Showing only Notes + Links tagged transportation
United States Postal Service - Sorting and Delivery Process
Every time I go to the post office (which is a lot, for work) I am amazed that sending a piece of paper from one coast to another for 44 cents is something that can happen…and then I get a logistical headache.
JFK Airport, New York, 1964
(found by Charles Phoenix and via brocatus none00 simonbeckerman retrozone awoade theswingingsixties)
To help prevent flooding in the subway system, the MTA has installed higher subway grates in flood-prone areas. The grates also serve as innovative street furniture, such as the one above that provides both seating and a place to lock up a bike.
Very interesting! I was wondering about these when I saw them because the design and construction is quite beautiful. The only problem I can think of is: who wants to sit above a subway grate? Gross!
Everybody knows what a cloverleaf looks like — but could you identify a volleyball, a double trumpet, or a “spooey” if you drove on one in the course of your highway travels? These are among the distinctive designs that transportation engineers have conjured up to keep traffic flowing and motorists headed in the right direction when major roads intersect.
Above: The Braid - This Maryland interchange is a stack design, but what’s unique about it is that the north and southbound segments of I-95 and east- and westbound segments of I-695 are actually braided over each other briefly in the middle of the interchange.
(via What’s A ‘Spooey’? A Field Guide To Freeway Interchanges, Part 1 » INFRASTRUCTURIST)
NYC Subway Ridership, by Sha Hwang
A less grokkable, but more colorful and interactive version of this sparkline subway ridership infographic by Mike Frumin. Very nicely done!
(via maniacalrage)
Soma wanted to know what was half an hour from his house, so he made Triptrop. Put in an address and you get a map of how far everything is away from it. 15 minutes, forty minutes, two hours - all set up with nice little colors. Very cool!
(via swissmiss)
Map of potholes in Greater Boston - Boston.com
Boston.com has created an interactive map of potholes in the Boston area. Anyone can click to add to the map with text and photos. Excellent!
The annual Buckminster Fuller Design Challenge awards $100,000 to a visionary design project, one that can be inserted into a failing system to do no less than accelerate the transition to an equitable and sustainable future. The Fuller challenge’s winning designs, presented here, meet an impressive set of criteria: They solve multiple problems without creating new ones; anticipate future trends, needs, and the long-term impact of implementation; are ecologically responsible; and are feasible, verifiable, and replicable. They are regionally specific yet globally applicable and have a plan in place to quickly move the solution forward. These are the revolutionary ideas that within a few years time will change the way we approach solutions to environmental and social problems, en route to solving them.
The Winner: Sustainable Personal Mobility and Mobility-On-Demand Systems by MIT
The Challenge: To transform personal transportation so that it better serves urban spaces and the needs of city-dwellers.
The Solution: The CityCar, RoboScooter, and GreenWheel electric bicycle — a fleet of light weight, foldable battery-electric vehicles for use on demand in urban areas.
Why It Could Work: The team has closely examined existing personal on-demand mobility systems to avoid pitfalls, such as the restraint of two-way systems that demand users return vehicles to an original pickup point.
When We’ll See Results: Prototypes for the RoboScooter and the Green Wheel bicycle are complete, as well as the prototype for the CityCar’s chassis. The team is pursing venture capital funding, after which they plan to implement a pilot program on the MIT and Harvard campuses, followed by a city-scale deployment within three years.
Much, much more extensive information, a runner-up, and an honorable metion at The Dymaxion Tomorrow on SeedMagazine.com
The history of subway ridership tells a story about the history of a neighborhood that is much richer than the overall trend. An example, [above], shows the wild comeback of inner Williamsburg, and how the growth decays at each successive stop away from Manhattan on the L train.
Not only is this interesting to look at, but it’s interactive! Mike Frumin’s explains more about the map on his blog.
(via Kottke)
In a car crash involving a modern vehicle, everything happens before the occupant is even aware of the collision.
1 ms - The car’s door pressure sensor detects a pressure wave.
5 ms - Car’s crash computer checks for insignificant crash events, such as a shopping trolley impact or incidental contact. It is still working out the severity of the crash. Door intrusion structure begins to absorb energy.
20 ms - Door and B-pillar begin to push on front seat. Airbag begins to push occupant’s chest away from the impact.
70 ms - Airbag continues to deflate. Occupant moves back towards middle of car.
Engineers classify crash as “complete”.
150-300 ms - Occupant becomes aware of collision.
(via (Kottke)
(via ecar)
Design vs. bicycle parts harvesters - Core77
Something you see a lot of in the city are parts of a bicycle, shackled forever to handrails and signposts. (Broken Bike Blog is dedicated to photos of this phenomenon in NYC alone.) After thieves have taken what they can, the dispirited original owners often abandon what’s left. Still, companies continue to make conventional bike locks, even though they are clearly no solution to bicycle part theft.
Slugging (Kottke)Slugging is a self-organized carpooling system in the Washington D.C. area that developed in the early 70s.
The system of slugging is quite simple. A car needing additional passengers to meet the required 3-person high occupancy vehicle (HOV) minimum pulls up to one of the known slug lines. The driver usually positions the car so that the slugs are on the passenger side. The driver either displays a sign with the destination or simply lowers the passenger window, to call out the destination, such as “Pentagon,” “L’Enfant Plaza,” or “14th & New York.” The slugs first in line for that particular destination then hop into the car, normally confirming the destination, and off they go.
No money changes hands and an implicit rule of silence is followed, unless conversation is initiated by the driver.
