Could Charlotte's streets use some foreign flair?

Let's examine how other countries handle traffic, parking, scooters and pedestrian safety

You’re reading Transit Time, a weekly newsletter for Charlotte people who leave the house. Cars, buses, light rail, bikes, scooters … if you use it to get around the city, we write about it. Transit Time is produced in partnership between The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE.

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Ideas from elsewhere: From reflective pendants to drag racing-style traffic lights, other counties have different approaches to transportation. See what you think.

by Tony Mecia

When most people travel to foreign countries, they soak in the historic buildings, the rich culture, the exotic foods.

I do all that, too. But on an international trip last month, I also examined my surroundings through another lens: transportation and transit.

It’s true that we Americans have invented some pretty cool stuff: the internet. Lasers. Dental floss. Chocolate chip cookies. Traffic signals.

As awesome as those things are, though, we don’t have a monopoly on good ideas. Our society improves by taking ideas from elsewhere and incorporating them into our lives.

For instance, the U.S. didn’t invent pizza, sushi or tacos. But today, we have incorporated those foods into our American diets, and they are widely available here.

Can the same thing happen when it comes to improving how we get around cities like Charlotte? Has another country created the pizza of parking solutions, or the tacos of transit planning? We won’t know unless we look around.

In today’s issue of Transit Time, we’re going to examine some of these transportation ideas I observed last month, as I traveled through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for a week. Of course, this wasn’t the main purpose of the trip. My wife and I took our 18-year-old son to these former Soviet countries to visit our daughter, a junior in college who is spending the semester studying in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — were part of the Soviet Union between World War II and 1991, when they achieved their independence.

Between touring medieval castles and historic downtowns, we observed ways to organize electric scooters, improve parking technology, create pedestrian-friendly experiences and more. This is not a comprehensive list, as there are many differences. It’s a fun list and a thought exercise, with ideas that might be importable. Maybe some of them would be good for Charlotte. You can be the judge.

Let’s dive in:

1. Scooter parking zones

Idea: Create spots for electric scooters to park

Bolt scooters in Vilnius, Lithuania, park in designated zones indicated by painted markings on sidewalks and other areas.

Description: In our first full day walking around Vilnius, Lithuania, I was struck by the markings on the ground indicating scooter parking zones — and that people actually used them. In Charlotte, although there are rules for where scooters can be left, they tend to be haphazardly strewn all over the place.

Pros: Could bring order to scooter-parking chaos

Cons: For the geography of where scooters are used in Charlotte — South End, uptown, NoDa — there would need to be a lot of parking zones, and there are probably questions about property ownership.

Discussion: The location technology on scooters also could help. Scooter company Bird notes on its website: “In order to comply with local municipalities, it is required in some European and Middle Eastern markets to end your ride in a preferred parking zone.”

2.  Pay-for-what-you-use street parking app

Idea: Create a parking app that charges you for the time you actually park, not your estimated parking time.

The uniPark app in Vilnius, Lithuania, charges you for parking until you hit “stop” and drive away, which means you pay for the actual time parked.

Description: Does this ever happen to you? You park on the street, and the ParkMobile app asks you if you want 1 hour or 2 hours. You could be penalized if you guess wrong: If you choose 1 hour but you wind up needing more time, you risk a ticket. If you choose 2 hours but wind up needing less, you overpay.

In Vilnius, Lithuania, the uniPark app takes your license plate and payment information. You hit “start” when you leave your car. When you return to your car and depart, you hit “stop,” and you are charged only for the time you actually park.

Pros: You’re charged based on your actual parking time. Seems fair.

Cons: You might forget to turn it off and be charged for more hours than you use (though the app can tell if you’re no longer in the parking space and prompts you to turn it off).

Analysis: It’s probably not a huge money-saver. But it seems like a parker-friendly approach that should be an easy technological fix.

3.  Walkable open spaces

Idea: Close streets to cars, either permanently or temporarily

In Vilnius, Lithuania, (left) officials put up temporary traffic barriers, or bollards, to close a road to traffic on a Saturday morning, which encourages biking and walking. In Jūrmala, Latvia, the main drag, Jomas Street, is a pedestrian promenade closed to traffic and lined with shops and restaurants.

Description: Even in cities not that much smaller than Charlotte, there were abundant streets and plazas that didn’t have cars, which made walking and biking more attractive.

Pros: Safer and more enjoyable for pedestrians and people on bikes

Cons: There would be concerns about the effect on traffic, and residents and retailers might worry about access

Analysis: This isn’t a novel observation — European cities, compared with U.S. cities, are known for having more and grander public spaces. Some of that probably has to do with how they developed historically. The U.S. also has a far higher rate of car ownership than Europe.

Charlotte closes streets occasionally for festivals and other special occasions.

4.  Digital signs that update bus arrivals

Idea: At bus stops on the street, have signs that display in real time when the next bus is arriving — like you might find at a subway stop or train station

Bus stops on the streets in Tallinn, Estonia, display the buses that are on the way and when they will arrive. That comes in handy if you, say, want to know how much longer you’ll have to wait in the snow while you’re on vacation.

Description: In downtown Tallinn, Estonia, signs at bus stops displayed which buses were coming and how long they would take to arrive. That’s handy information if you’re waiting for a bus.

Pros: It’s rider-friendly

Cons: It’s probably expensive

Analysis: The Charlotte Area Transit System has more pressing concerns than installing up-to-the-minute digital signs at bus stops, and it already has an app called CATS-Pass that provides real-time bus locations and schedules.

5. Reflectors for walking at night

Idea: To be visible to drivers, mandate that pedestrians wear reflective plastic or fabric when it is dark

Reflective pendants and stickers are sold in shops in Estonia (left). They can be affixed to jackets (right), which makes pedestrians more visible in the dark winter months.

Description: In the winter months, the sun is out for as little as six hours in Estonia. The country passed a law in 2011 requiring reflectors when it’s dark out or visibility is poor. Virtually all children and 2/3 of adults in Estonia wear reflectors, according to the county’s tourism bureau, and officials say pedestrian fatalities have dropped since the rules took effect. The reflectors are sold in shops and are marketed as a fashion accessory. Other countries in Scandinavia and Eastern and Central Europe also require them.

Pros: Makes pedestrians more visible to drivers

Cons: Might be difficult to achieve compliance. There would likely be questions about cost and equity, as well as whether pedestrians should shoulder the burden of avoiding being struck.

Analysis: Charlotte has focused on reducing or eliminating traffic-related deaths, in a program called Vision Zero. It calls for building safer roads, improving traffic signals and adding street lighting. City Council members also occasionally discuss the role of traffic enforcement. National figures show that 76% of pedestrian fatalities occur at night. It seems like reflectors wouldn’t hurt, but it’s hard to imagine a pro-reflector campaign in the U.S.

6. Traffic signals that alert you when light is about to turn green

Idea: During a red light, let drivers know the light is about to turn green by also illuminating the yellow light

A traffic light in Jūrmala, Latvia: Stop, get ready to go, go.

Description: Apparently somebody thought if you’re going to tell drivers that the light is about to turn red by showing a yellow light, why not tell them the light is about to turn green by also showing the yellow light, so motorists can prepare to hit the gas?

Pros: Give drivers a heads up to put down their phones and get ready to drive again (I guess?). Would make you feel cooler when heading to Target to pick up socks, like you’re actually a race car driver.

Cons: Some people might start moving prematurely when given a red and yellow light at the same time

Analysis: This one seems like a solution in search of a problem. It reminded me of the start of a drag race. On traffic lights, maybe it is best to stick with American ingenuity.

Tony Mecia is executive editor of The Charlotte Ledger. Reach him at tony@cltledger.com.

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What ideas from elsewhere have caught your eye?

If you’ve seen any transit or transportation ideas from other places that Charlotte should use, add them in the comments or send us an email. We might incorporate the idea in a future issue.

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Update from NCDOT: The latest cost of adding lanes to I-77 South is $4.2 billion

After last week’s article on the rising cost of adding lanes to I-77 south of uptown, we heard from the N.C. Department of Transportation, who told us:

• The unsolicited offer from Cintra to add express toll lanes on that section of I-77 was actually a “proposal,” not a bid.

• The latest cost estimate for I-77 South is now $4.2 billion, up from the $3 billion that we reported — a figure that was correct but was from a few weeks ago. —Steve Harrison

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