Transportation Statistics
Not-So-Random Info2833 S Fourth St - 635 2900
2132 Frankfort Ave - 259 9000
107 W Market St - 583 2232
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Transportation StatisticsNot-So-Random Info2833 S Fourth St - 635 2900 2132 Frankfort Ave - 259 9000 107 W Market St - 583 2232 |
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CAR OWNERSHIPFifty percent (50%) of the traditionaly underserved (minority, handicapped or low income) households from Central Louisville do not have a vehicle. Forty-nine percent (49%) in West Louisville do not. KIPDA Household Travel Survey, June 2001, Table 5-25, Page 5-32 In 1920, the #
of people in the US for every car was 13. Since 1970 the number of US households with two or more vehicles has climbed from 29% to 62%. US News & World Report, 21 Feb 2000, p 39 Compared with their parents in 1960, Americans in 1995, on average, own almost twice as many cars & drive over 2.5 times as far. Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics: Summary to 1995 From 1983 to 1987, the US population increased by 9.2 million people. The # of cars & trucks increased by 20.1 million. Blueprints for Successful Communities, The Georgia Conservancy CAR COSTSIn 2009 the University of Louisville dedicated a new parking garage downtown at $21,176/parking spot (the debt service payments will be $1,260/space for 12 years plus maintenance and security costs). In at least 7 American metro areas, residents spend more on transportation than they do on housing, and the rest of the country is close behind. The New York Times, 28 April 2002 Twenty percent (20%) of a middle-income household's budget is devoted to ownership & maintenance of cars. Blueprint for Successful Communities, Georgia Conservancy The average annual cost to operate an auto in Louisville is $6,758.00. Courier-Journal, 4 Sept 2000 What are the police, fire & EMS costs of automotive accidents & incidents? The IRS estimates automotive travel to cost 34.5 cents per mile. Sixty percent (60%) of the automotive industry's expenses are in advertising. CO2Carbon dioxide, the gas largely blamed for global warming, has reached record-high levels in the atmosphere after growing at an accelerated pace in the past year...Carbon dioxide, mostly from burning of coal, gasoline & other fossil fuels, traps heat that otherwise would radiate into space. Mauna Loa Observatory, Courier-Journal, 21 March 2004 The average car releases more than its own weight in CO2 every year. Cities for Climate Protection, Sustainable Transportation Program An SUV generates 70 tons of CO2 over its lifetime. One gallon of gas burned generates 19 pounds of CO2. The refining process of 1 gallon of gas creates 7 pounds of CO2. Sierra Club FUEL CONSUMPTIONThe bicycle is the most elegant transportation device of all. It is even more energy efficient than walking! A bicyclist traveling at 10 mph uses about 100 BTUs per passenger-mile...the energy equivalent of a 1,000 mpg car. Guide to Planet Repair, Earth Day - 2000, p 70 Bicycling
Speed mph Calories burned/minute The E.P.A. reports that the average fuel economy for 2003 cars and passenger trucks has slipped below 2002 levels. Courier-Journal, 1 Nov 2002 The MPG average of the cars sold in the US in 2001 was 20.4. NPR, 24 April 2002 US gas consumption, 1990 vs 2000, increased by 25%. Half the increase is due to escalating total driving (vehicle miles traveled). Half is due to SUV and other "light truck" exemptions from car fuel-economy standards. Charles Komanoff and Michael Smith, "Refueling OPEC," Washington Post, Feb. 23, 2000 Annually driving Americans burn more than 150 billion gallons of fuel. Cities for Climate Protection, Sustainable Transportation Program The US alone (5% of world's population) uses more than 1/3 of the world's transport energy. International Energy Agency, Energy Balances of OECD Countries, 1999, State of the World - 2001 (275 pages, 55 of which document the primary sources used in the previous pages) GLOBAL CLIMATIC INSTABILITYNorthern latitudes are getting greener. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center If the world stays on the present fossil fuel path, atmospheric CO2 concentrations are expected to bring more extreme climate events, including more destructive storms & flooding, as well as melting ice caps & rising sea levels, reductions in food production & (an increase in) deserts. State of the World, 1999, p 14 In recent years scientists have documented trends - receding glaciers, rising sea levels, dying coral reefs, spreading infectious diseases, (unusual migration of) plants & animals....The extraordinary heat of 1998 & extreme weather events, including droughts & rare fires in tropical & subtropical forests from Indonesia to Mexico; historic floods in China & Bangladesh; severe storms & epidemics in Africa & North, Central & South America; & deadly heat waves in southern Europe & India (foreshadow the potential of an abrupt shift in climate equilibrium). State of the World, 1999, p 25,26 Universities,...NASA & the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, have concluded that the 1990s has been the warmest decade of the millennium, with 1998 the warmest year so far. Time Magazine Almanac 2000, p 589 (Even) in light of all this (data), a new survey by the American Geophysical Union found that Americans are less concerned than ever about combating global warming. More than $13 million has been spent on ads to block ratification of the (Kyoto) treaty by the US Senate. The purpose of the ads was to convince most Americans there isn't a problem. Time Magazine Almanac 2000, p 569 Current CO2 levels may be at their highest point in 20 million yearsUS Dept of Energy, "Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change", "Historical CO2 Record from the Vostok Ice Core", JM Barnola, 1999 - State of the World - 2001 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-designated body of more than 2,000 scientists, has projected a wide range of adverse impacts resulting from a doubling of pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentrations, including sea level rise & coastal inundation, more frequent & intense weather extremes, stresses on water & agricultural systems, changing migration patterns & loss of biodiversity, & greater prevalence of infectious diseases. State of the World - 2001, World Watch Institute, p 87 Arctic ice thickness has declined by 42% since the 1950s. Geophysical Research Letters, Thinning of the Arctic Sea-Ice Cover, D.A. Rotchrock, Y. Yu, G.A. Maykut, 1999 - State of the World - 2001 (275 pages, 55 of which document the primary sources used in the previous pages) The UN reported that the world's temperatures could rise by as much as 10.5 degrees over the next century, triggering droughts, floods & other disasters. Evidence shows more clearly than ever that rising temperatures are the fault of pollution, not changes in the sun or from other natural causes. The US is the biggest producer of greenhouse gases, accounting for a quarter of the world total. Courier-Journal, 23 January 2001 HEALTHAmerican's sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits are poised to overtake cigarette smoking as the nation's leading cause of preventable deaths. Center for Disease Control, Journal of the American Medical Association, March 2004 The % of young people who are overweight has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Center for Disease Control, 1999 The number of obese Americans - those at least 30% over ideal weight - rose from 12% in 1991 to 19.8% in 2000. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention INTERSTATE PLANS - LOCALKentuckiana's 20 year plans call for the continued widening of I-65, the widening of I-64 to 6 lanes, the widening of I-71 to 8 lanes, more lanes on both 264 & 265, a new 6 lane downtown bridge, the relocation of a bigger Spaghetti Junction southward into Butchertown, a new 6 lane east end bridge, new highways linking the bridges, numerous attending exits & ramps on highways old & new, & the widening of local roads to feed that system. 8664 and the supporters of only the downtown bridge are both, "just another automotive infrastructure plan" with no benefits to public transit, pedestrians or cyclists. LAND USEThe total space needed for moving & parking a car at work is about 90 times that needed for moving a pedestrian using public transport. Pierre Laconte, Metro author & European transit expert, Surface Transportation Policy Project Half of all urban space is devoted to roadways & parking. Cities for Climate Protection, Sustainable Transportation Program Sprawling cities have about eight parking spaces per car in the United States. Peter Newman & Jeffrey Kenworthy, Sustainability & Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, 1999, p 41 LIFESTYLEThe precautions required to prevent us endangering the future of life on earth would result in a change in our lifestyle. Most people are not prepared to give up the search for an ever-increasing standard of living. Hugh Montefiore, Anglican Bishop, "Transformation: A Quarterly International Evangelical Dialogue on Mission & Ethics" Restoring sustainability will be comparably complex - more than a matter of inventing cheap solar panels or recycling household trash, it will be a thoroughgoing process involving every sector of society. Jared Diamond - "Guns, Germs & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, 1997 With large world population, the western economic model - the fossil-fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy - is simply not possible. State of the World, 1999, p 4 OIL - SUPPLIESOil and natural gas are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. US Dept of Energy - Office of Fossil Energy website, 28 March 2004 Global supplies of crude oil will peak as early as 2010, then decline ushering in soaring energy prices and economic upheaval. Americans could suffer a harsh impact on their lifestyle. Courier-Journal, Business, 28 May 2002 OPEC plans to cut production by 1 million barrels a day effective April 1 (2004). Associated Press, 17 March 2004 OIL - TRADE DEFICITToday, imports (of crude oil) are bridging a 750,000 barrel-a-day gap between (US) domestic supply and demand. Associated Press, 17 March 2004 America spends $56 billion a year to buy Arabian oil and another $25 billion a year on our military and CIA efforts to keep the Arabian oil monarchies on their corrupt thrones - and this was before adding in the tab for George W.'s present crusade. Jim Hightower, Jan 2002 The May 2000 US trade gap with oil-producing nations reached its 2nd highest point ever. 20 July 2000, Associated Press The US trade deficit widened to a record $30.6 billion in June as the nation's appetite increased for foreign crude oil at the highest prices in nearly 10 years. 19 August 2000, Courier-Journal The United States imports as much oil from Africa as from the Persian Gulf, & US energy imports from Africa are expected to increase substantially over the next decade. Mora McLean, President of the Africa-America Institute, 29 August 2000, Courier-Journal Kentuckiana produces no crude oil. OIL - WARChechnya Chechnya is 50 miles from the Caspian. Both Russian & US businesses have interests in pipelines through the area. Colombia Colombian indigenous tribe (U'wa)...will not give in to a US company's plans to drill for oil. Courier-Journal, 14 Feb 2000 Colombia's first listed natural resource is crude oil. The Universal Almanac, 1996 Congo Natural
resources: petroleum, timber, potash Indonesia Natural resources:
crude oil, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber. Nigeria The chutzpah of corporate image-makers can be stunning. Take Shell Oil's recent ad: The Shell logo is superimposed over the face of an African woman; above her the copy asks, "None of our business? Or the heart of our business?" The ad tells us that human rights aren't the "usual business priority for a multinational, but Shell is "committed to support fundamental human rights." Meanwhile, in oil-rich Nigeria, where Shell and other oil companies have substantial investments, unrest over land and oil rights in the Niger Delta has expanded. Four years after the November 1995 execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria's environment minister accused Shell and other multinationals of heinous environmental crimes" and alleged that their activities ultimately caused Saro-Wiwa's death. Sierra: March/April 2000 Sudan Venezuela ROAD FUNDINGLocal
government (county, city) funds 26.4% of highway funding. In 1945 an amendment to the KY State Constitution was ratified. The amendment decreed that revenue derived from motor fuel taxes & vehicle registrations is to be used only for highways & enforcement of motor vehicle laws. State leadership has yet to notice that the world has changed since 1945. KTC fund receipts probably will fall $85 million short of original projections, on top of a $53 million shortfall last year. Courier-Journal, 5 Sept 2001 In the past 20 years Kentuckiana programmed transportation funds as follows: Annually the automotive industry spends more on advertising than the nation spends annually on transit. 2002 Congressional Budget: $33 billion - highways$27 billion - air $ 6 billion - transit $ 1 billion - Amtrak SAFETYThis data is cited, not to discourage cycling in or walking along our streets, but to encourage that we slow traffic & reduce drunk driving. We're still losing 115 people a day on the highways. Jeffrey Runge, head of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - New York Times, 16 March 2004 There were 41,821 highway deaths in 2000. Forty percent (40%) of those fatalities involved alcohol. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of those fatalities, almost 16,000, took place in 50 metro areas. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics compiled by The Road Information Program, Courier-Journal, 20 Dec 2001 In 1999 over 15,000 US teenagers were killed in auto accidents. Most of those killed as passengers were in cars driven by other teenagers. Ron Crouch, Director, KY State Data Center The number of older Americans involved in fatal auto crashes has jumped by 33% in a decade. Courier-Journal, 30 Sept 2000 In 1999 1,300 children under age 8 died in highway crashes. Courier-Journal, 30 Nov 2000 America's highways are the most dangerous place that children go every day. Jim Hall, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, Courier-Journal, 30 Nov 2000 During the 1990's more than 90,000 children - infants to teenagers were killed in motor vehicle crashes on US roads. Courier-Journal, 30 Nov 2000 Measured by collision deaths per mile traveled, it is 36 times more dangerous to walk than to be in a car. Surface Transportation Policy Project, "Pedestrian Deaths" - New Republic Article, Street Sign by Gregg Easterbrook, 26 March 2001 The Surface Transportation Policy Project, a nonpartisan group, estimates that the government spends roughly 150 times as much on highways as on pedestrian safety. Pedestrian Deaths - New Republic Article, Street Sign by Gregg Easterbrook, 26 March 2001 Twenty-one percent (21%) of those who died in urban traffic accidents were pedestrians. Three percent (3%) of those who died in urban traffic accidents were cyclists. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - C-J, 20 Dec 2001 Nearly a million people are killed on the world's roads each year, most of them are pedestrians. World Health Organization, The World Health Report 1995 - State of the World - 2001 In 1999, the year of the Columbine massacre, 28 students nationwide were killed in schools, while 840 kids under age 20 were killed when struck by cars as they walked. Pedestrian Deaths - New Republic Article, Street Sign by Gregg Easterbrook, 26 March 2001 Nationally, cars and trucks kill about 5,000 American pedestrians per year. Pedestrian Deaths - New Republic Article, Street Sign by Gregg Easterbrook, 26 March 2001 According to a Department of Transportation study, raising average traffic speed limits from 35 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour doubled the pedestrian death rate. Pedestrian Deaths - New Republic Article, Street Sign by Gregg Easterbrook, 26 March 2001 Road traffic crashes of all types are an enormous, largely overlooked world health problem, second only to childhood infections and AIDS as the killers of people between the ages of 5 and 30, according to a major report released today. Each year, about 1.2 million drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians of all ages are killed on the roads, according to the study prepared by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. That is about one in every 50 deaths worldwide, and about the same as the mortality from malaria. David Brown, Washington Post Apr. 7, 2004 WWI US battle
deaths 53,402 The Universal Almanac, 1996 SAFETY FACTORS
SUBSIDIES - ENERGY COMPANIESEthanol producers such as Archer Daniels Midland are offered subsidies of $7.5 million per company. SUBSIDIES - ROADUS Congress' Office of Technology Assessment found that in 1990 motor vehicle users only paid 62% of public expenditures for highway infrastructure. Add to that subsidy police, fire, & EMS. People often think that public transport is the only transport good that is subsidized. Road transport is perhaps even more heavily subsidized - at least $2,300.00 per car per year - despite the license fees, gasoline taxes, & any other user fees that are paid.""The North American City", Maurice Yeates, 1998, [Indiana University Urban Geography text book] p 475 In April 2001 the Board of Directors of the American Road and Transportation Builder Association (ARTBA) recommended that requirements for fiscally constrained planning at the state and regional levels be abolished. Local elected officials are planning to widen:
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