Friday Reads – 31 January 2020

London’s canal waterbus (Londonist)

Manchester Ship Canal line map from 1923 (TransitMap)

We need to talk about noise in cities (Curbed)

NYC subway exhibit of subway station graphic design (UntappedCities)

Removing drivers disrupts social civility (Vox)

Why trains are making a comeback – the decade of rail (Forbes)

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3 comments

  1. The tirade against self-driving vehicles is… very strange. I don’t quite understand what the author’s priors are such that the article makes sense.

    Would the DLR be a better system if the staff onboard had to sit at the front of the train? Does their not-driving reduce their moral authority over the passengers? Are the people movers at airports substantially harmed by not having a driver? Are lifts harmed by not having an elevator operator?

    Yes, there are potential problems with self-driving cars and their behaviour on roads (vis-a-vis parking, for instance). However… “what?” remains my overall reaction.

  2. “We need to talk about Noise in Cities” … well.
    Actually under-ground UndergrounD platforms … with all their various “noise” sources, yes?

    [ I wonder how long it will be before serious hearing loss officially shows up in LUL platform staff? ]

  3. On the basis of the arguments in the Vox article, it was clearly a serious social mistake to get rid of gas lamp lighters. They were well trained, did a useful job and were also an official presence on the streets. Our cities are obviously worse off without them.

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