The History of Transportation
CULTURE
Values & Norms
TECHNOLOGY
i.e. Transportation
Coast Miwok Tribe
Coast Miwok Tribe
Coast Miwok Tribe
CULTURE
•Contact with env.
• Walking
• Fishing
• Canoes
• Carry bigger-heavier loads
• Horses
• The arrival of the white man
• ???
Values & Norms
Transportation
Welcome of Francis Drake by Coast Miwok in 1579
Engraving by Theodor de Bry in 1599
Value: The freedom to explore and expand
CULTURE
American Values:
Freedom to expand and
explore the • Landscape
• Scientific realm
• Self
Values & Norms
???
Transportation
Agrarian Period
Up to the mid – 1800s
•95% of population (mostly farmers) live in rural areas.
•Cities are small: 4-5 miles end to end
•People walk or ride horses
Cultural influences during this time:
•Industrial Revolution
•New scientific inventions
•Exploring the “New World”
18th-19th century
Printing press
Soft drink
Refrigerator
Revolver
Dishwasher
Inventions
Cement
Safety pin
Refrigerator
Steam engine
Steam ship
Machine gun
Vaccinations
Submarine
Fax
Calculator
Hot dogs
Stapler
Hot air balloon
Tin can
Bicycle
Sewing machine
Dynamite
Tires
Steam locomotive
Matches
Flush toilet
Traffic lights
Parachute
Paper
Rubber
Ambulance
Plastic
Battery
Camera
Industrial Period
Late 1800s to mid 1900s
Industrial revolution
Massive migration to US
Movement to cities close to
manufacturing jobs
Population growth
Cities size grow
Transportation needs change
50% pop. Lives in the city
Horses
Trolley cars
Response to Congestion:
Elevating streetcars (Chicago)
and bellow street (NY)
Trains
In 20 years US railroad system
grows from 2,818 mi. of track to
more than 30,000 mi.
Buses
Intracity and continental lines
Cars
1920: 3.5 million vehicles in US
1994: 195.5 million vehicles in US
469.5 million in the world
45,500 miles of interstate HWY
authorized to be developed
Industrial Period in Marin
A county emerges…
•
•
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1850 California became a
state with Marin as one
of the original counties.
1880’s and 1890’s,
steam-ships and ferries
introduced.
1896 a rail-line built to
ascend Mt. Tam and
extended to reach dairy
farms in West Marin.
Industrial Period in Marin
Arrival of the motor age…
•
•
•
October 1908, Ford
Motor Company
introduced the Model T
automobile.
In 19 years of
production, nearly 15.5
million were sold in the
United States alone.
May 1937, the Golden
Gate Bridge opened to
vehicular traffic.
CULTURE
American Values:
Freedom, expand and
explore :
• Landscape
• Scientific realm
• Self
Values & Norms
•More train tracks
• More & bigger roads
• More & bigger vehicles
• More people on the road
• Longer trips
Transportation
Service/Information Period
Mid 1900s to the present
Moving from the city to the suburbs.
1980:
2007:
Typical family had 1 car
Typical family has 2.5 cars
Europe 2007: 45% trips by walking, biking
10% Public Transportation
USA 2007: 87% trips by car
3% Public transportation
Service/Information Period in Marin
The Development of Highway 101 and the Formation of Golden Gate Transit
•
•
•
1941 – initial 2 mile stretch
of 4 lane highway built
Today – 8 lane highway
from Sausalito through
Novato
Currently – Carpool lanes
run along entire stretch
with gap between Corte
Madera and San Rafael
•
•
1969 – State Legislature
mandated development of
public transportation
system from SF through
Marin
Today – Golden Gate Bus
and Ferry system runs 24
commute bus routes and
16 ferry feeder service
routes plus ferry service
from Larkspur and
Sausalito to San Francisco
CULTURE
• Know new places
• Better & faster communication
• More independent
• Traffic congestions, delays
• Stress and health problems
• Safety hazards
•More train tracks
• More & bigger roads
• More & bigger vehicles
• More people on the road
• Longer trips
• Sedentary culture
Values & Norms
Transportation
The Shadow Side of the Motor Age
Congestion
Delays, frustration, stress
Obesity
and health problems
Safety hazards
CULTURE
• Get
to distant places
• Better & faster communication
• More independent
• Traffic congestions, delays
• Stress and health problems
• Safety hazards
• Sedentary culture
•More train tracks
• More & bigger roads
• More & bigger vehicles
• More people on the road
• Longer trips
Higher use of energy
Values & Norms
Transportation
Demand
Supply
Supply
Demand
CULTURE
Higher use of energy
•More train tracks
• High use of fossil fuels
• Pollution
• Large emissions of Co2
(Global Climate Change)
• Bigger & toxic landfills
•Use of more land
• More & bigger roads
• More & bigger vehicles
• More people on the road
• Longer trips
Relationship with environment?
Values & Norms
Transportation
True Costs of Automobile Usage
•
•
•
•
Personal Costs
Social Costs
Governmental Costs
Environmental Costs
Sounds of modern transportation
The Birth of a Model Public Transit System
Los Angeles Electric
Rail System
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Safe, clean, quiet, fast,
frequent, on-time, and
relatively cheap
1,000 miles of track
80 million passengers
served in a single year
The Death of a Model Public Transit System
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In 1939, a consortium of
auto-related companies set
up holding company in
order to:
Buy up trolley lines
Dismantle tracks / Destroy
trolleys
Replace with diesel-burning
buses
Steer people away from
public transit and into private
cars
Bay Area Electric Rail Suffers Same Fate
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1903 – Key Electric Rail
System commences in East
Bay
1924 – 800 Trains a day
brought passengers to ferry
boats
1939 – Trains run across Bay
Bridge
1903 to 1941 – Northwestern
Pacific Electric Trains serve
Marin County
1905 to 1941 – trains ran 180
miles from Oakland to Chico,
the longest electric inter-urban
run in the country
Robber Barons
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Late 1800s it was the railroads
that were considered the
powerbrokers
Huge kickbacks and political
influence
Government Land Grants
Labor intimidation and use of
immigrant labor
Rise of Corporations
Economic collapse
Some International Comparisons
•Europeans make
•US
40 – 50% of all trips by walking or biking
Americans make 87% of all trips by private car
Percentage of commuters biking to work:
Japan
Netherlands
China
USA
15%
50%
77%
1.6%
Good Models
•
•
•
Bike Parking
Yellow (loaner) bike
programs
Bicycle friendly streets for all
sorts of biking
Car Free Zones
Multi-Modal
Measure A
November 2004, Marin residents approved Measure
A, a landmark sales tax measure dedicating funds
for local transportation projects.
Measure A provides for:
Expanded bus service
• Highway 101 HOV (carpool) lane completion
• Roadway improvements
•
(for cars, bikes and pedestrians)
• Safer routes to schools
Marin in the 21st century
•
•
•
May 2001 – County
Bicycle Pedestrian
Master Plan adopted
Ten cities have adopted
Bicycle Plans or
Bicycle/Pedestrian plans
$40 Million in grants
have come to Marin
since adoption of these
plans
Marin Granted $25 Million As Model Bike and
Pedestrian Community
•
2005 – Marin was selected as
one of 4 US communities to
serve as a model NonMotorized Transportation
Program to demonstrate that
investment in safe, integrated
and complete bicycle and
pedestrian infrastructure will
result in reducing congestion
and pollution, improving
mobility and the
environment and enhancing
the health and livability of
communities.
Marin County’s Bicycle and Pedestrian
Master Plan
•
•
•
•
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System of flat NorthSouth and East-West
separated bike paths
Details for safer routes
to schools
Adequate bicycle parking
Educational programs
Swift street connections
in and between Marin’s
11 towns
The Art of Biking in Marin
New values
&
norms?
New modes
Of
Transportation?