“Dangerous roads are actually safer than the familiar ones in your neighborhood: building more highways tends to increase traffic congestion and most important, though you may think of your driving skills as above average, you’re not as great a driver as you think”.  Tom Vanderbilt: “Why We drive the way we do”, Alfred A. Knopf (July 2008)

Every week day, Americans take 34 million trips on public transportation systems to get to work. In Washington State, more and more Washingtonians are disgruntled about road safety, congestion, lack of massive transit. This recurrent theme invoked by Washingtonians is  all the more emphasized that one of the three “referendum-initiatives” on the November 4th 2008 ballot is devoted to this issue. There are many schemes and technologies in this field which we can propose, all of which innovate, renovate and incubate.

DECONGESTION OF THE ROADS AND THE LUNGS

MEASURE  1 :  NEW RULES ON CAR POOLING:   New rules on car pooling for the reserved high-way pooling lane. During off peak hours, all cars should be able to use the speed lanes. The  regulation light system would have to change. This would help to decongest the highways. Without making it mandatory, but cars who transport at least three persons to work should receive some form of bonus. The inter-cities and inter-state road system would need to be reviewed for safety in terms of rest areas and traffic security. Driver's license permit requirement would include training on car health maintenance and on how to avoid distraction, nefarious drug-interaction and sleepiness, the major causes of accidents.


MEASURE 2 :  LEGISLATION TO FACILITATE WORK-AT-HOME POLICIES:  Fiscal and bonus incentives for workers to labor  at the home would significantly de-congesting urban roads while reducing the level of stress and diseases (urban centers are more and more major sources of respiratory diseases and cancer). To this end,  it would be necessary to request a Task Force on this question so as to see how this could be done. First, we would need to organize a survey to see who can and who desires to work at the home site. Thenceforth, with the State Legislature's cooperation, we could work out a plan to assist those employees who prefer to work at home. An estimated 10 percent of congested cities employees would significantly de-congest traffic and reduce urban pollution, while helping the employer and the State to save money, including, but not limited to medical costs which would necessarily diminish. Progress is not more mega urban concentration. It is less.

MEASURE 3.  A FOUR DAY WORK-WEEK. Still in the perspective of de-congestion, a four day work week proposal needs to be discussed with the People and the State Legislature. There could be either a 32 hours week or a 40 hours a week, in which case the work day would be longer. Flexibility would have to be the rule.

MEASURE 4:   FLEXIBILITY IN HOUR SHIFTS: In this perspective, city workers could also leave the work place at different hours. For example, we could propose two shifts: a Work-day from 6 a.m to 2 pm with car pools thereafter. And the normal work hours. This would also decongest significantly the State's roads while rendering them safer.

MEASURE 5:  PROMOTING GEOGRANPHIC TRANSITIONS: A fiscally encouraged  “congested urban to de-congested rural setting” for ecologically and health sensitive city workers would also alleviate both traffic congestion and lung congestion, that which would help to save on financial resources. Once more Washingtonians are educated in the well-beingness of eco sustainable communities, it is likely that in two years, over 5 percent of Washingtonians living in the congested areas of the State would  become pioneers and move to less stressed and polluted area of Washington State. This result would also reduce chronic stress and respiratory diseases like asthma, whose incidence follows the upward curve of mega-urbanization.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES

Regarding infrastructure issues and the clogging of Washington's high-ways and cities, the following proposals will be submitted to the State Legislature and to the People.

MEASURE 6: MORE BICYCLE SLOW-WAYS AND AIR FILTERS: The building of "slow-ways" via more bicycle lanes in congested cities. In this framework, the state should encourage air filters for bikers. Because the State should care about the People's lungs.

MEASURE  7:  LIGHT RAIL, BUSES, SHUTTLE AND TAXIS IN CITIES:  In dense mega polis' like Seattle, a light rail, especially more buses, clean energy van shuttle and taxi transportation system should be favored. For the mass transit, a collective public-private mass transportation system based on solar equipped trolleys, buses, vans in association with taxis would be favored. Alternative energies would be better introduced via tax-incentive. Cars would be restricted in dense cities, except for homeowners, workers and transporters.

MEASURE 8:  MORE PUBLIC PARKING OUTSIDE CITIES: Where the urban congestion is dense, tourist and visitors would be required to park their cars in newly built mass parking areas at the outskirts of large cities, areas well irrigated with mass transit.

MEASURE 9:  HORSES AND DONKEYS: Where cities are blessed with parks, horse and donkey buggies would be encouraged, if only because this would create horse and donkey manure for the trees and garden flowers, extra jobs and additional bio-energy (animal dung can make methane cooking gas via bio-digestors).

MEASURE 10: FUNDS FOR THE AIRPORT MONO-RAIL :  Finding funds to finish the airport mono-rail project and other needed roads.  Some selective toll fees could be useful.

MEASURE 11:  HIGHWAY 520 AND ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT. On these two issues, we favor Governor Grégoire’s assessment and money appropriation.

ROAD SAFETY

MEASURE 12:  NEW RULES ON REST AREAS AND TRAFFIC SECURITY:   The inter-cities and inter-state road system would need to be reviewed for safety in terms of rest areas and traffic security. Driver's license permit requirement would include training on car health maintenance and on how to avoid distraction, nefarious drug-interaction and sleepiness, the major causes of accidents.


MEASURE 13 :  BETTER SIGNALING SIGNS.  Despite the gps technology, good lights on the road and more signs to better indicate directions are still useful for those who can not afford gps systems.

MEASURE 14:  EYEs AND HEALTH EXAMINATION OF DRIVERS ONCE EACH YEAR.  Too many traffic accidents are due to mental and general health and visual incidents. For example, over 300,000 Americans die from DVT (deep vein thrombosis) each year and over 500,000 from a cardio-vascular event. If a health catastrophe of this nature occurs in the car, then there is loss of control and accident.  Today, the law obliges each Washingtonian  car owner once a year get a tab and every two years an emission inspection. But a health inspection does not exist and eyes inspection once every ten years. This is not responsible.


MASS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION & SAFETY

 

MEASURE 15:   NO MASSIVE SUBWAY SYSTEM:  On the issue of the Seattle subway project, the candidate's position is not favorable. Increasing a regressive sales tax for all for a project that will take many billions of dollars and many years to complete in an area that is prone to earthquakes and terrorism and for a temporary benefit in favor of one minority, (part of the King county minority - one of 39 counties) is not a reasonable policy. The clogging of our roads and highways must be treated like the clogging of our circulatory arteries. Less via drugs and bypass surgery than via a naturopathic and holistic approach, thanks to creative intelligence.

MEASURE  16:  YES TO THE DEVELOPMENT ON AMTRAK: On the other hand, favoring the development of Amtrak would be beneficial for both the environment (i.e. less carbon emissions from cars and buses) and the People.

MEASURE 17:  FERRIES. Many ferries also need to be renovated.  A proposed hybrid natural gas, bio-diesel and Cousteau like wind-generating ferries built in part with bio-material  could would also be the pride of the State for tourists and users alike.


MEASURE 18:  AIRPORTS AND INTENSE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:  Where there are lots of people using public transportation, there should be enough security officers and health practitioners.  The police agents should be trained in emergency medicine and panic control. The health practitioners should organize massage breaks,  soft music  and juice bars in areas of stress. Art would be welcome, as well as civic exchange areas and open markets.

CONCLUSION

The general philosophy of the candidate's transportation system would favor the unclogging and decongestion of road arteries by traffic reduction and people organization rather than spending more money to build expensive roads, although this does not exclude doing so when more roads are  needed. This system would cost way less and be more sustainable than the proposed multi- billion dollars subway system project, that which would be all the more dangerous that we still have not solved the subway terrorist and subway crunch via earthquakes issues. Moreover, a collective alternative mass transit system based on what was outlined has additional advantages in terms of People socialization, employment and artistic empowerment.

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H2 level heading

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