Ian Sacs

<p> One of the many glorious perks of being an engineer is that we are so bad at thinking up clever names for programs and tools that there&#39;s been an unabashed, universal concession by the general public to accept our use of horribly convoluted acronyms.  My favorite transportation acronym sub-genre is the collection of traffic signal configurations that for no clear reason (other than because engineers are, deep down, fun people) have flown off on a winged tangent.  The original intersection signal control which included pedestrian push buttons was “PEdestrian LIght CONtrolled”, close enough to be named “Pelican”.  A “Pedestrian User-Friendly INtelligent crossing” alternative to the Pelican is named “Puffin”.  Since a combined pedestrian/bicycle signal means two (

 At a company presentation about environmental impact the other week a colleague included a historic photograph of Scollay Square in Boston.  You are pardoned if, even after visiting or living in that city, this doesn’t sound familiar because all prominent characteristics of the area were summarily obliterated in the mid-twentieth century to make way for a potpourri of brutalist-style administrative buildings and renamed Government Center.  Urban redevelopment arguments aside, the photograph reveals a particularly interesting detail about the function and use of streets virtually erased from our minds over the last century.  <p> <img src="/files/u20603/Scollay.jpg" width="432" height="336" align="bottom" name="graphics1" />  </p>

<p> <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana">An article posted <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/09/shipping-pollution"><span style="color: #800080">last week</span></a> by the Guardian and highlighted <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/cargo-ship-emissions-more-than-760-million-cars.php"><span style="color: #800080">yesterday</span></a> by Treehugger.com cites recent studies as well as data from maritime industry sources that the combination of quantity and quality of low-grade bunker fuel used in the massive engines of freight vessels may result in more emissions than all the cars in the world!  I don’t mean to wax sensationalist here, this is what is stated in the article.  If the truth is anywhere near the statement, then the idea of

<p> Once upon a time public rights-of-way were simpler; they made sense.  The mobile laws of society were black and white.  Streets were for cars and sidewalks were for, well, walking on the side of the street.  You know, out of the way?  At some point recently though things have started to blur, and it&#39;s starting to get just a little bit out of control.  It&#39;s hard to put one&#39;s finger on it, but lately there&#39;s been this funny notion that the street itself, long the gift to man-and-machine, is supposed to be shared with people who just can&#39;t seem to keep themselves on their side of the curb.  Woe is me, in some instances there isn&#39;t even a curb anymore!  What&#39;s worse, it seems apparent that our public officials, the very people we elect to represent us an

<p> Posted today on CNN, optimistically under “SPECIAL REPORT – Detroit’s Downfall”, was a <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/07/autos/gm_segway/index.htm">brief</a> about GM and personal transport company Segway collaborating on a project called “Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility” (P.U.M.A.).  Along with some future-thinking gush about vehicle interconnectivity are eye candy photos of the traditional Seqway chassis redesigned as a side-by-side two-seater with a degree of weather protection and other accommodations to make the vehicle a tad more practical than the original stand-up version.  For those who find the Smart car a tad dumb on the bang:buck ratio but are not about to don a helmet and go the scooter route, the P.U.M.A. may offer a new market segment.