Q: In every single place I flip, there’s a brand new report on the excessive price of gasoline. However watching the horrific photos of Ukrainians struggling underneath the Russian invasion, I’m prepared to pay that and extra if it will probably assist strain Russia to cease this assault.
Are you able to remind us how a lot we will save on gasoline if we simply decelerate a bit of on the freeways?
Smita Patel, San José
A: Others actually agree with you, and your e-mail touched my coronary heart. It’s exhausting to gripe about hovering gasoline costs when missiles and rockets are killing civilians and forcing thousands and thousands extra to flee for his or her lives within the Russian invasion into Ukraine. So many kids are in danger.
To reply your query, driving at 65 mph somewhat than 75 mph would use 20% much less gas per gallon. Going 55 mph somewhat than 65 mph would use 10% much less gas. There are different issues you are able to do to avoid wasting gasoline, comparable to braking and accelerating slowly, and avoiding extreme idling. Additionally maintain your oil modified and tires correctly inflated.
Q: Whereas I'm now out of the world, I needed to cope with Los Gatos site visitors for 30 years. Has the city ever thought-about setting the sunshine up at Most important Avenue and Santa Cruz Avenue for pedestrians solely in all instructions, for a part of the day? It appears this may make the move extra environment friendly there. On the pedestrian sign, vehicular site visitors can be stopped in all instructions with no proper turns permitted, and pedestrians might cross in all instructions, together with diagonally.
Ideally, this may very well be programmed to be in impact throughout peak hours and returned to the present mode at different occasions. Simply my two cents.
Peter Gallagher, Marina
A: Your thought is being thought-about by Los Gatos officers. When the world is subsequent repaved, they could do what you recommend. However the present choice to carry again all site visitors doesn’t sit properly with everybody.
Q: Significantly? Let’s decelerate all site visitors at Los Gatos and Santa Cruz Avenue so somebody doesn’t should push a pedestrian button? And to suggest that is someway a security situation? I actually hope this wasn’t an precise engineer who fed you this line.
It wasn’t even a good suggestion within the top of COVID, however persevering with this follow is definitely a security situation. Something that impedes site visitors and causes backups is a security situation. Additional attempting to suggest that not having to hit a button to cross the road someway improves pedestrian security is ridiculous.
Alan Arndt, San Jose
A: City engineers disagree. And say this coverage to sluggish everybody down is the right technique.
Search for Gary Richards at Fb.com/mr.roadshow, or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.