LET THE BENEFICIARY BEAR THE BURDEN?

Streetsblog's Kea Wilson notes a surprising unintended consequence of people working from home and limiting their shopping trips.  "[T]he Real Cure For Freight Truck Congestion is Fewer Cars."  It's not that the trucks have suddenly become more nimble, rather it's that in the absence of traffic jams, the gear-jammers are able to maintain their cruising speeds and carry out their 62-overtaking-61 maneuvers without multitudes of in-a-hurry commuters being inconvenienced.

Then she gets off into the weeds of Utopian Wonkery^(TM).  "Even some #BanCars advocates acknowledge that the world would probably be better off if our highways were the domain of more fast-moving freight trucks rather than a slow-moving mix of trucks and cars — at least until we build a greener option, like a comprehensive national freight rail network." Unlikely. The railroads got out of the retail freight business, particularly in urban areas, years ago.  All those package trucks making delivery on Manhattan?  The infrastructure of car-floats, warehouses, and drayage terminals by which the small stuff used to get there is long gone.  It might be that Union Pacific's Global One, which Chicago and North Western built on an old potato yard, lifted more than a few refrigerated containers of produce and frozen food until it closed.  In Milwaukee, the rail yards that used to service Commission Row offered the builders of expressways space that could be taken without inconveniencing as many employees and congregations.

All those horse-drawn wagons and hand carts were the way we used to do break-bulk delivery.

And it should be noted, of course, that when it comes time for trucks to exit the highway and venture into our cities, high truck speeds are a disaster — because fast-moving freight is deadly for walkers. That’s why many safe streets advocates have long argued for a safer urban delivery model that requires large trucks to stop at distribution centers outside the city, to split their loads among smaller vehicles. (And yes: those “smaller vehicles” should include bike couriers.)

But until we have a true revolution in freight delivery, we can at least celebrate the fact that there are fewer private cars on the highway — and that trucks are getting respirators to hospitals a little faster because of it. And while Rebecca Brewster isn’t sure that the trucking industry is likely to become an ally of the [vehicle miles travelled]-reduction movement anytime soon, she says the industry is enjoying the plunge in traffic while it lasts.

I submit: it might be more productive for highway departments and local authorities to prohibit the movement of forty-foot or longer trailers in urban areas. The speed and mass are one safety challenge, the reality that those things don't fit the streets very well, and jump curbs even when the driver properly executes a right turn well into oncoming traffic.

But it appears to be business as usual: in Wisconsin the authorities are issuing overweight permits to haulers of foodstuffs and toilet paper, look for additional pet projects in the next round of borrowing for infrastructure.  As far as that retail railroading: perhaps once the highway departments understand the roads are assets.