Look Both Ways with David & Wes

Bike Stress - David & Wes talk about bike route stress and a major blind spot in the existing Level of Traffic Stress method: intersections. The current approach does a good job rating street segments, but it largely ignores exactly where a route can become far more stressful in real life. David & Wes discuss a new survey designed to help fix that gap by bringing intersections into the mix, and why better bike safety analysis depends on measuring the full route, not just the links between intersections.

Other topics:
🔹 The bike tours we wish we could take (or not)
🔹 Bike lane cameras & whether automated enforcement could/should keep bike lanes clear
🔹 Some fun mailbag questions from listeners

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation!

Links to the survey:
Bicyclist Intersection Stress Survey
https://ucdenver.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3ZS9DLyszX7GnYO?Q_CHL=qr

Additional resources:
Another Year of Devastating and Preventable Bicyclist Deaths

A New Tool in the Battle to Keep the Bike Lane Clear (David’s article in Bloomberg)

Don’t Park in the Bike Lane! Santa Monica Started Issuing Automated Bike Lane Tickets Today 

Pittsburgh Stationary Automated Curb Enforcement

Music by Charlie Van Stee
(courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org

Crash Data Blind Spots - David & Wes dig into crash data and why Americans may know less about road deaths than we think. Everyone says they want data-driven safety policy, but the data we rely on often miss major categories of harm, including crashes on private property, parking lots, driveways, and behind gates. They talk through what gets counted, what gets left out, and why police-collected crash data can turn a partial record into something that looks more complete than it really is. It’s a conversation about why better road safety depends not just on having data, but on understanding where that data comes from, who collects it, and what it fails to see.

Other topics:
🔹 Our first jobs
🔹 The implications of a city turning public streets into a gated community
🔹 Fabio

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Additional resources:
Bow Mar’s plan to install a gate to reduce traffic has Denver, Littleton ready to retaliate

Waze Hijacked L.A. in the Name of Convenience. Can Anyone Put the Genie Back in the Bottle? 

Gordon S. Wood, Pioneering Historian of Early America, Dies at 92 

NHTSA's Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) 

Music by Charlie Van Stee
(courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org

The World Cup - David & Wes mark the start of the World Cup by talking about the transportation culture shock many international visitors may experience in the United States. From stadium access to transit service to the everyday assumptions baked into how we move people around big events, they discuss why hosting a global event can expose the gaps in our transportation system. It’s a conversation about what happens when the world arrives expecting world-class mobility and instead encounters the very American mix of cars, parking, costs, confusion, and workarounds.

Other topics:
🔹 Stadiums that fit well into the urban fabric
🔹 School buses stopping at railroad crossings & when safety rituals stop making sense
🔹 And we answer some mailbag questions such as how to talk about car-centric systems without losing people

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation!

Additional resources:
No Train, No Stop? FMCSA Considers Rule Change for School Buses

Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of? (David's article in Bloomberg) 

Is Finland's new car-free bridge the longest of its kind in the world?

Music by Charlie Van Stee
(courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org

Gas Tax Holiday - David & Wes take on gas tax holidays and why cutting a few cents from the price of gas is usually better politics than transportation policy. The federal gas tax has been stuck at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993, and suspending it would barely make a dent in a fill-up while weakening a transportation funding system that is already running on fumes. They talk through who actually benefits, whether the savings ever reach drivers, and why a real price-stabilization policy would have to move both ways, cutting the tax when prices spike and raising it when prices fall.

Other topics:
🔹 Singapore’s congestion pricing history & some transportation details that caught David’s eye
🔹 Fargo’s downtown parking rules can make “free” parking annoying (at least according to Wes)
🔹 David’s shirt!

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation!

Additional resources:
How did Singapore restrict cars on its island? | With Paul Barter (Urban Mobility Explained) 

Trump Proposes Suspending Federal Gas Tax Until Prices Fall (The New York Times) 

Labor cuts fuel excise for three months, saving Australians 26c a litre on petrol and diesel (The Guardian) 

Governor says Indiana may have ‘flexibility’ to extend gas tax suspension again (Indiana Capital Chronicle) 

Music by Charlie Van Stee
(courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org

The Car Industry - David & Wes drive straight into the changing car industry and what today’s vehicles reveal about identity, status, and the future of transportation. From cheap Chinese EVs showing up near the U.S. border to the pressure they could place on Detroit, they explore whether companies like BYD and Geely could bring back the affordable car in America and why U.S. automakers may struggle to compete. It’s also a conversation about how transportation has become deeply tied to culture and identity in the United States, why so many people buy vehicles they barely use for their intended purpose, and what all of that could mean for the future adoption of autonomous vehicles.

Other topics:
🔹 Our favorite “buy low” city in America
🔹 Cheap Chinese EVs & whether Detroit can keep them out
🔹 Pickup trucks & the role of identity in vehicle choice
🔹 Rivian’s e-bike spinout

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation!

Additional resources:
The U.S. Wants to Ban China’s High-Tech Cars, but They’re Already Here in El Paso (Wall Street Journal) 

Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World by Eduardo Galeano

You Don’t Need A Full-Size Pickup Truck, You Need a Cowboy Costume (The Drive) 

This Rivian spinoff is reinventing e-bikes in California with screens, software and swappable seats (LA Times)

 

Music by Charlie Van Stee
(courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org