Romancing the road

jules kay | Feb 14, 2013 | Comments 0

Many historians claim Valentines' Day originated in ancient Rome, inspired by an archaic rite known as the Lupercalia that saw "the city's noble youths and magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter, striking those they met with shaggy thongs." William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar actually begins during the Lupercalia, when Mark Antony is instructed by his emperor to strike his wife Calpurnia in the hope that she will be able to conceive.

One reason the ancient Roman's could indulge in such fertile frivolities may have been a law actually passed under the great Caesar himself which was still in force well after his death. It stated that carriages were forbidden to be used in the city streets by day, since it was believed that there was not room both for wheeled vehicles and pedestrians.

Of course, such frisky public displays would at best be frowned upon, and in most cases made illegal in today's cities. And even if they were allowed, practical considerations such as traffic choked public thoroughfares would make any attempt at high velocity thong-slapping nigh on impossible.

What stands out from the legend, however, is that urban planners actually had the sense to legislate against gridlock as long as ago as 50 BC. Yet more than 2000 years later, many of our cities have become so clogged that the only real solution is to create new ones. Rome is now the third most-congested city in Europe according to a report by traffic navigator TomTom. While in Asia, Beijing, which was once known for its bicycles, is now one of the most traffic addled cities on the planet.

When it comes to fighting gridlock, London probably has the best-known congestion charge system in the western world. The UK capital has enjoyed significant levels of success in reducing traffic in its central business districts by utilising a complex series of cameras. Singapore has gone one set further. The city state actually introduced its first congestion charge back in 1975, which it has since converted into a digital system to considerable effect. Today, some 65 percent of the commuters in Singapore use public transport and public initiatives to reduce traffic congestion are ongoing.

Unfortunately, with little to stop the increase in automobile ownership globally (in many cases even active policies and promotions to encourage more car purchases), recent solutions such as Bangkok's already packed sky train system may not be enough to ease the rising urban pressure. Even the considerable funds generated by road tolls and congestion charges are most often used to build new roads, rather than to develop initiatives to reduce the number of cars that use them.

The world's love affair with private transport will doubtless continue, but without a concerted effort to restrict car use, our cities may soon face suffocating heartbreak.

 

Filed Under: Blog

Tags: blog • cities • congestion • editorial • traffic

Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/02/15/romancing-the-road/