Road user charges in Washington, e-bike battery fires and slower driving in Chicago

Regular Talking Michigan Transportation podcast contributor Lloyd Brown joins this week’s conversation to talk about a number of topics in the news. Brown is formerly the director of communications for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and now a Phoenix-based senior strategic communications consultant for HDR, Inc.

 Among topics discussed:

 ·       Road user charges.
 A simulation in the state of Washington featured 70 percent of 1,000 drivers participating saying they were satisfied with the process. Not surprisingly, some drivers expressed privacy concerns.

·       E-bikes.
 As they grow in popularity, there are increasingly unnerving reports of electric bike battery fires. Are cheaper batteries to blame? Could higher production quality bikes be the answer? A TechCrunch story explains the issue and some of the root causes. Brown talks about a future where electric vehicle repair and battery replacement become commonplace. 

·       Slower driving in Chicago.
 A recent report from Streetlight Data ranked large U.S. cities by speeds driven on major pedestrian roadways. More than 60 percent of Chicago’s major pedestrian roadways have average vehicle speeds under 25 mph. The national average is 36 percent.

 Also discussed, an inspiring story from Alaska where students in the community of Angoon built and launched a dugout canoe to honor their forebearers, recalling the havoc wreaked on the Tlingit peoples by the U.S. Navy in 1882; and an Axios story about how AI grabbed the South Park director’s chair.