As Alameda, California is celebrating its water shuttle service milestone and considering expanding its services, Roger Dick points to the underground tunnel in Lyon, France, offering another solution to shut down people across cars and difficult terrain.
In Lyon, two sides of the city are connected by two tunnels. One is for vehicles built in the 1950s, and the other is for transport, bicycles and pedestrians built in 2013. The bike/ped side of the tunnel is a “bright art decoration passageway” that crosses people safely. Compared to the Bay Area, Ruddick points out that California transport engineers insist on dedicating both Oakland and Alameda, Posey Tube and Webster Tubes to the car.
For a small portion of what taxpayers step into to spread and reposition lamps in the tunnel, Lyon’s solution can be adapted and the Posey Tube can be returned to two-way vehicle traffic, as originally designed. Webster tubes may then be reused for bikes and buses (or vice versa). It will move far more people with far less money.
Rudick stops telling US policymakers that “we are not Europe” and begins to see the possibilities of projects like the Croix Rousse tunnel in Lyon. “Let’s start with an open street event to see what people think with one of our tubes over the weekend.”
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