2005 Roma Street
TALL BUILIDNG ANALYSIS phil Tilotson
2005 Roma Street
FIGURE GROUND Jade Meyers
2005 Roma Street
TOPOGRAPHY danny Mathis
1 Site sections 2 Railways going underground 3 Railway going over road/river
2005 Roma Street
ROMA STREET STATION PANORAMICS brad Cornish
near to an object. Finland is said to have one of the lowest casualty rates because irresponsible and drunk drivers automatically face jail. Cars consume great amounts of space. That is certainly true, whether they are moving or stationary. It is extremely rare to see five passengers in a five-seat automobile. Families tend to acquire larger vehicles than they actually need. This is not just a matter of prestige and perceived safety; one never knows when a load of supplies will have to be brought home or the extended family will go on a picnic. If the average car could be cut in half, at least 30% new roadway space would be found. But just to say that is wishful thinking. Repeated experience shows that in areas of high demand, any free space will be quickly used up (latent demand), and prosperous people are very reluctant to buy small cars. Here is an area where deliberate controls and inducements are necessary. It takes considerable skill to operate a car. Not so any more. Since the invention of the self-starter, power steering, puncture-proof tires, and a few other devices that simplify operations, the contemporary automobile can be driven by almost anybody who has no significant handicaps (that includes a sense of responsibility). If driving speed does not exceed the reaction time capability of a driver, there should be few problems. Completely user-friendly and fool-proof vehicles are not available (and never will be), but progress is being made, particularly because such programs are now seen by automobile manufacturers as good marketing points. Golf carts are already widely used means of transportation in retirement communities.
1
3
SITE DOCUMENTATION UQ 121
It is expensive to own and operate an automobile. It certainly is, compared with other available transportation modes (except taxis and chauffeur-driven limousines). It is estimated that it costs about $10,280 per year (2005, APTA estimates for an annual use of 20,000 miles) to own and operate a motor vehicle in North America. Yet the convenience that it promises and usually provides outweighs these cost considerations in household budgets. Even in the poorest societies a car will be acquired (after the TV set) as soon as the funds can be accumulated, before they are spent on other large purchases. This year (2007) has recorded the first instances, after gasoline price started to exceed $3.00 per gallon, when Americans seem to have become aware of the costs of driving, but not always in a rational way. For example, a number of families, in order to save on fuel, have added a fuel-efficient vehicle to their fleets, which makes no economic sense whatsoever. There is one basic lesson in all this: automobile-
2