PRT Public Transportation Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger

Dear Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,

I would like to know your position on the new Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) public transportation systems that have been raising a lot of discussion lately. London was the first city to utilize subways and now they are starting to implement PRT into their airport network among other cities around the world. I have looked into them on the website http://prtstrategies.com and they have some amazing advantages.

I have found the top reasons why our state would be interested in them.

1. Create an entire new industry based around localized distribution hubs for potentially thousands of neighborhoods. Whether this would be FedEx/UPS/USPS hubs or independently operated, they can find better use for electrically driven short range compact cars.

2. There cost is almost 1/30 the cost of subways and can be erected much faster than subway construction. This is due to their extremely light dead load and the need for only one way loops. The most recent Fee proposal that I am aware of came in at $14.5 Million / mile where subways in Los Angeles are estimated at $450 Million / mile.

3. No operator or user error that can cause damage or injury because the entire system is computer optimized which can also allow it to run 24 hours a day. In off-peak hours it can be used for silent, emission-free cargo system to minimize the need for truck transport within the city. When this becomes mainstream it could ultimately eliminate the need for car expenses and insurance all together for those who use it.

4. Probably the most critical factor of all is the usability by the public. This will cause the system to explode in demand as soon as the system begins to be utilized. For one the ease of use and operation by simply entering your destination and not having to stop until your destination or share your transporter pod with strangers would open up the opportunity for many elderly and wealthier class of public transportation riders.

5. As a implementation incentive the system could easily be supported by third party investment by car companies because the technology and mechanisms are so simple to create. Audi/Mercedes/BMW/etc./etc. could sponsor their own stations that would have dedicated cars that could automatically return back to their network of compact stations. In addition, private investors, such as Malls and high density housing developments could now afford to incorporate the network into their projects because the cost is so much more attainable than a cost prohibitive subway system. This is without mentioning the flexibility of the system to take very sharp turns and rise up into multi level buildings to provide second or third level integrated stations for office buildings or public events like concerts or sport games.

6. Alternatives implementation which could brand the system as a futuristic green city would be to put solar panels on the elevated tracks simultaneously with miniature wind turbines by our local http://pacwind.net.

I am sure our state would want to be the first to implement this new technology and lead the country and the world in the direction we are all dreaming about. Although there are several cities around the world that have already begun to invest into this technology such as Heathrow Airport in London, Sweden and the Masdar Eco City in the UAE, we area  long way from improving our way of life and making PRTs the standard.

This technology is a no brainer, the flexibility and ease of implementation will allow a minimal investment to test the system out and once that happens, the city that begins this global trend will be seen as a leader towards environmental progress.

I personally think this is the solution to many of our national challenges that we face today, including our dependence on oil, cost of our continuously more valuable time spent in traffic, stress of driving and the secondary effects on our social and family life, cost of gas which inevitably will go back up to above $4 / gallon, fatalities from traffic accidents, and many more.

I am not affiliated with the company PRT Strategies, but they seem to be one of the most comprehensive and knowledgeable sources on PRT systems and will provide free presentations at your request.

Regards,
Edward Anastas
Urban and Architectural Design
R204 DESIGN

Variable Traffic Signs

In Reference to this article The Science of Traffic Jams which I encountered through completerss.com > sustainabilityzone.com: The Science of Traffic and Congestion Mitigation Strategies

I previously sent a suggestion to Los Angeles’ city transportation department, but as most government employment systems go… there was not much response to the idea.

I think the suggestion that I have come up with over the years of driving in LA is a similar solution that is achievable in a more reasonable time frame. It produces the same effect as an “Adaptive Cruise Control” system but without the need for retrofitting all cars with the technology. In fact since I first envisioned the idea it has been implemented around Lancaster California (for weather safety reasons), around Washington DC and I’m sure in other areas. It essentially turns each individual into “adaptive cruise controllers”, but requires a strict enforcement system (photo enforced speed sensors for example) to become effective.

The idea is to add “Variable Speed Limit Signs” throughout the inner urban freeway systems. What it will do from a technical point of view, is monitor the average traffic speed on the freeway within a certain span of freeway before and after the “Variable Speed Limit Sign” (approximately 3-10 miles). After sensors in the road (or other methods of speed sensing such as video motion detection) determine the average traffic speed. An average speed will be displayed on the “Variable Speed Limit Sign” which becomes the new speed limit (legally enforced). This will prevent the stop and go redundancy in freeway traffic which waists gas and increases traffic and driver stress, among other things mentioned in the article.

In order to implement this system, a strict regulation on the variable speed limits would need to be enforced. If the variable speed limits cannot be enforced, obviously the system cannot be effective. One advantage to this system is that it does not require a great deal of engineering of new freeway systems, it just makes the current system more efficient.

This system will not solve the Freeway Traffic problems entirely (that’s what removing corrupt lobbied politicians and adding public transportation is for!), but it will definitely make the current and future systems run more smoothly.