so much for the environment!
Hundreds of thousands of cars, trucks, and buses idling on streets that have been intentionally slowed down, generating many times the emissions of vehicles traveling at a constant rate. Drivers starting and stopping, putting extra wear on their cars’ brakes and tires and more stress on their mechanical systems, all prime sources of pollution. Millions of extra gallons of gas burned, every single day. More wear and tear on roadways, another major source of particulate matter (PM) pollution. As we like to say at KeepLAMoving don’t take our word for it:
A study of a road diet in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan (above) found that overall emissions increased 19.8% during commute times. More Complete Streets mean more congestion and more motorists riding their brakes.
A 2020 study by the U.C. Riverside Department of Mechanical Engineering concluded that, “non-exhaust sources, including brake and tire wear PM, have become larger contributors to traffic-related emissions.”
Irony fail: As tailpipe emissions become cleaner and cleaner Complete Streets are causing spikes in non-tailpipe pollution!
Hopelessly congested traffic next to nearly empty bike lanes in Seattle.
Want more evidence?
(Click on the screenshots to read the studies)
“When traffic-calmed results were compared to a smooth non-calmed road, there were substantial increases in CO2 (90%), CO (117%), NOx (195%) and [total hydrocarbons] (148%).”
“Aggregated results have indicated the decrease of speed and the significant increase of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.”
“Average NO2 levels increased between 0.1% and 10% with respect to the base-case while changes in NOx emissions varied between 5% and 160%.”
Duchess County, New York Department of Transportation estimated as much as a 19.9% increase in afternoon peak emissions if a road diet were to be installed on a major thoroughfare in Poughkeepsie, noting, “higher emissions…are the result of more traffic delay and stop-and-go operations.”