So maybe they could also vote on the pollution the oilstacks in Pasadena give off as well... Panel votes today on speed limit 55-mph signs could show up in the area starting next month By RAD SALLEE Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle When President Clinton lifted the 55-mph nationwide speed limit in 1995, the legal speed on some Houston highways soared to 70 mph. Now get ready to put on the brakes. If the Texas Transportation Commission votes today in Austin to implement its part of a new air-quality plan for Harris County and seven adjoining counties, maximum posted speeds throughout the area will return to 55 mph early next year. With commission approval, the reduced speed limits would become law on a given stretch of road as soon as the signs were changed to reflect them, said Janelle Gbur, local spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation. With commission approval, Gbur said, the highway department plans to start replacing signs in late January and complete the project by May 1 -- a deadline in Texas' clean-air plan to address the Houston area's smog problem, one of the most severe in the nation. In October, the federal Environmental Protection Agency approved the plan, which also calls for cutting some industrial emissions 90 percent by 2007, among other measures. Gbur said sign replacement would be coordinated to prevent frequent changes in speed limits along a route. The eight affected counties where ozone levels exceed federal air-quality standards are Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery, Waller, Chambers and Liberty. The last two lie in the Transportation Department's Beaumont district. The commission today will also consider: · Authorizing state transportation officials to talk with those of Galveston County and the Harris County Toll Road Authority about a proposed bridge between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula. Gbur said tolls would be needed to finance such a bridge, since studies indicate traffic would be too light to justify making it a high-priority contender for the state's limited transportation dollars. The current Bolivar ferries, which the bridge would replace, are free. Gbur also said a bridge would not necessarily be located at the current ferry site, near the northeast end of Galveston Island. · Authorizing a series of public hearings in January, including one in Houston on Jan. 18, on the commission's new policy to cut back sharply on building freeway frontage roads. The idea is to reduce the number of ramps where traffic entering or leaving the freeway causes weaving and congestion in the main freeway lanes. The three-member panel voted in June to build most future freeways without the usual frontage roads, an institution in Texas but few other states. Instead, the state would help local governments improve nearby streets. Existing frontage roads, and those now planned -- in the Katy Freeway widening project, for instance -- would not be affected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Texas Transportation Commission today will also consider: · Authorizing state transportation officials to talk with those of Galveston County and the Harris County Toll Road Authority about a proposed bridge between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula. · Authorizing a series of public hearings in January, including one in Houston on Jan. 18, on the commission's new policy to cut back sharply on the building of freeway frontage roads.
they can change the speed limit all they want...it's not necessarily going to impact how fast people actually drive on Houston freeways, though. nobody drives anywhere near 55 on freeways in this town...when they do, traffic piles up behind. i'm curious...are we sure this is better for the environment...it seems slower speed limits might make for longer commutes...longer periods of time that more cars are on the roadways, and thus, more pollution.
Like it matters. I've been driving 80 from Austin to Waco every weekend for the past year, and have barely seen any cops, much less pulled over by one. I'm guessing enforcement in Houston won't be any better. (knock on wood)
WTF? Do these people live in these states w/out frontage roads? These are the greatest things since slice bread. I wish other states would grasp this idea (city wise). Without frontage roads, you are liable to back up the freeway from the intersection during rush hour traffic. Then the would-be frontage roads would turn into businesses. Instead of having these frontage roads running next to the freeways, you would basically have the buildings lining the freeways, which would be accessable only through an immediate backstreet. Not a bad idea, except these aren't small business usually. These are your Walmart, Targets, larger resterants, so you are going to be pushing heavy traffic down that immediate street. This all leads to the intersection (usually) one block from the intersection of the freeways. Instead of dispursing this heavy traffic onto a frontage road from business to business, it all ends up at this already piled up intersection, congested by traffic lights. Hope that makes sense.
Madmax asked The short answer is that the time of commute is not the governing factor on emission levels. The main factor, not counting traffic gridlock, is trip distance. You burn less gasoline going slower to your destination than when you burn fuel speeding to the same destination. I have the equations researchers have formulated that are used by the EPA in enforcing cleaner air. They are nasty and confusing.
THOSE "OILSTACKS" PAY MY SALARY, BUDDY! Actually, this rain is reeking havoc on my steam lines....that "extra" puff or two of smoke you see over Deer Park is me!
Max: Oily is right. The faster you drive, the greater the emissions. Emissions apparently rise exponentially for every mph over 45mph. At 60 or 70, it can be as much as 10 times the amount at 45. However, speeds from 45 to zero do not effect emissions nearly as much. A mile at 70mph can be like driving 15 or 20 miles at 35mph.
Why not work harder to get those cars that blow visible smoke out their exhaust? How the h*ll do they pass inspection? Have you ever heard of one of them getting a ticket? They must pollute as much as 50 normal cars.
How about allowing cars with minimal emissions to use HOV lanes? I bet that a car that has California emissions pollutes less at 70 than many others at 35.
It's not the "smoke", but the NOx being produced when gasoline is burned at a high temperature. NOx gets into the atmosphere and produces ozone, which is what causes the haze you see and the breathing problems.
