Full refunds, apologies after toll charges for trips never taken

Canberra drivers to be refunded after toll operators charge for trips made by motorists with duplicate number plates.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-14/toll-refunds-for-canberra-drivers-wrongly-charged/105655598

Cars wreck lives, roads and the planet

" Motor vehicles are a major cause of air pollution. Air pollution is causally linked to six diseases:

coronary heart disease
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
stroke
type 2 diabetes
lung cancer
lower respiratory infections.

Estimates of the deaths associated with air pollution in Australia range from 3,200 to more than 4,200 a year.

Even the lower end of that range is far more than the roughly 1,200 lives lost in car crashes annually.

University of Melbourne analysis in 2023 landed at an even higher figure. It suggested vehicle emissions alone may be responsible for more than 11,000 premature deaths in adults in Australia a year. "

"Payment (for the constant rebuilding of roads) should be based on a combination of vehicle mass and distance travelled. That’s because damage to roads is overwhelmingly caused by heavy vehicles. "

https://theconversation.com/stop-the-free-ride-all-motorists-should-pay-their-way-whatever-vehicle-they-drive-262950
#cars #pollution #MobilityDesign #roads #killzone #Bellingen #Suvs #trucks #fossilfuel #externalities

Iconic water towers seen in the summer of 2025

While traveling by road this summer, we came across a number of fascinating water towers. Here is a gallery of some of those we saw along the way. Enjoy and peace!

The extinction of experience
The Human-Nature Relationships from 1800 to 2020

There is a "disappearance of natural words from books between 1800 and 2020, which peaked at a 60.6% decline in 1990...The modelling predicts an ongoing “extinction of experience” with future generations continuing to lose an awareness of nature because it is not present in increasingly built-up neighbourhoods, while parents no longer pass on an “orientation” towards the natural world."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/09/human-connection-to-nature-has-declined-60-in-200-years-study-finds
#nature #metabolism #language #experience #culture #decline #IntergenerationalTransmission #children #parenting #ScreenWarehousing #sprawl #SUVs #roads #biodiversity #habitat #books

I was saddened to read this story headlining the #RNZ website this morning about the death of 19-year old Fyfa Dawson, killed while riding her bike through roadworks. Christchurch has a car problem and it should be a *much* safer place to commute by bike.

We’ve got a few separated cycleways, which are great. Everywhere else now is a dangerous double cab ute parade and our roadworks are still managing traffic by blocking off the road verges with traffic cones and forcing bikes into the flow of traffic. We’re even building new road intersections that ask commuter cyclists to get off the road and become pedestrians just to cross the intersection.

“the coroner found errors in the "vehicle-centric" design and implementation of the temporary traffic management plan largely caused the crash”

Things could be so much better.

I hope this verdict by the coroner means that changes are made and we don’t lose another Fyfa.

My deepest sympathies for Fyfa’s family.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/569219/19-year-old-cyclist-fyfa-dawson-s-death-largely-due-to-flawed-traffic-management-coroner

Prioritising life over cars

VisionZero - Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death

"Helsinki, like Oslo and Stockholm, have all but eliminated traffic fatalities. Lower road speeds, automated cameras, and clever city design all helped; but it’s the over-arching vision that made it all possible. More than half of Helsinki’s streets have a speed limit of 30 km/h (approximately 20 mph). Smarter street design also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure was prioritized for upgrades in recent years. More and more people started using public transit or bikes, or just walking."
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/helsinki-went-a-full-year-without-a-traffic-death-how-did-they-do-it/

In 2024, Australia experienced its worst road toll in over a decade, with 1,300 fatalities.
https://datahub.roadsafety.gov.au/progress-reporting/monthly-road-deaths

Can Australia cut road deaths to zero by 2050? Current trends say no. What’s going wrong?
https://theconversation.com/can-we-cut-road-deaths-to-zero-by-2050-current-trends-say-no-whats-going-wrong-220289
#VisionZero #MobilityDesign #cars #speed #RecklessDriving #motorists #CarDominance #TrafficDeaths #pedestrians #PublicTransport #cycling #RoadToll #SacrificeZone #roads #climate

Brussels scrambles to defend US trade deal with details up in the air  – POLITICO

“All I can tell you is that we’ve avoided the worst case, we’ve landed on 15 percent, and…
#Europe #Aluminum #Digital #DigitalMarkets #DonaldTrump #imports #markets #regulatory #rights #roads #space #steel #tariffs #trade #UnitedStates #UrsulavonderLeyen
https://www.europesays.com/2285149/

https://www.europesays.com/2285149/ Brussels scrambles to defend US trade deal with details up in the air  – POLITICO #Aluminum #Digital #DigitalMarkets #DonaldTrump #Europe #imports #markets #regulatory #rights #roads #space #steel #tariffs #trade #UnitedStates #UrsulaVonDerLeyen

When East Alligator River habitats in Kakadu National Park become roads
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-29/nt-video-shows-crocodile-stuck-under-vehicle-cahills-crossing/105585016
#rivers #biodiversity #cars #roads #reptile #habitat #roadkill

#Congress has passed hundreds of #laws protecting federal #PublicLands over the past century….

Now, the #Trump admin & #Republicans in Congress are pushing policies & #legislation that upend the protections. Plans to open nearly 59 MILLION acres of national #forest land for constructing #roads & mandate lease sales for #drilling in #Alaska’s #Arctic National #Wildlife Refuge prioritize #energy extraction over #conservation.

#law
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-TRUMP/PUBLIC-LANDS/zdpxkxdwnvx/

MobiLiteNet enables real-time, scalable and accurate roadside problem detection for mobile deployment on smartphones and mixed reality systems #roads

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59516-5

Habitat for coastal wetland birds

New South Wales coastal roads from the Mid North Coast to the Northern Rivers have giant traffic roundabouts. Most have a lot of masked lapwings and some white-faced herons huddled in the middle looking lost. Some are hanging out in the road drains that used to be small creeks.
#Birds #habitat #NSW #wetland #coast #roads #cars #sprawl #values

"Governor Tina Kotek delays ODOT layoffs and announces August special session" by Oregon Public Broadcasting OPB (PBS Portland) - Layoffs postponed at ODOT (Oregon Dept of Transportation) as special legislative session is set to begin Aug 29 to work on a state transportation funding bill. Lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on that before the regular session ended in June. https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/22/oregon-governor-tina-kotek-special-session-politics-august/ #Oregon #roads #highways #politics #PNW

https://www.europesays.com/2260301/ OPINION: ‘I’m sick of Ireland’s drink-driving attitude – bring back this old ad’ #ireland #RoadSafetyAuthority #roads

5 people killed per day on UK roads!

"Why we need the media to join the dots on road danger"

https://www.eta.co.uk/news/why-we-need-the-media-to-join-the-dots-on-road-danger

"But it missed something crucial. Harry’s death, while particularly high-profile, was not an isolated incident. On average, five people die on Britain’s roads every day. Families up and down the country are dealing with similar losses, often without the media attention or political outrage."

"Mercedes has announced it’s bringing Microsoft Teams video calls into the driver’s seat."

https://www.eta.co.uk/news/office-catchups-at-70mph-the-latest-threat-to-road-safety

'nothing says “road safety” like live-streaming your face while piloting two tonnes of steel through city streets.' .. 'you can beam your image into the boardroom, dashboard glow lighting your cheekbones just-so as you pass the local school at drop off.'

Artist Transforms Potholes Into Colorful Mosaic Art via My Modern Met [Shared]

Next time you're looking for great art, try watching your step. One artist is taking it upon himself to beautify cracks and holes in the pavement with colorful mosaic art. Based in Chicago, Jim Bachor transforms unsightly potholes into beautiful renditions of famous paintings.

https://welchwrite.com/blog/2025/07/17/artist-transforms-potholes-into-colorful-mosaic-art-via-my-modern-met-shared/

Ten things you might not know about the Mont Blanc Road Tunnel. #Tunnels #Roads

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2025/07/16-july-mont-blanc-road-tunnel.html?m=0