French “Black Saturday” worst in history

by Scott Carmichael on

Black Saturday is the name given to the the Saturday in France that marks the busiest summer traffic day of the year. Despite history, millions of French drivers pick the last Saturday in July to start their vacation, and head south.

In addition to departing vacationers, the weekend is also the switchover for the French, when half the country returns home, while the other half head out on their own vacation.

This year was the worst ever – the French roads were clogged with just under 550 miles of traffic jams. This means that all major highways from the north of France to the south were one big traffic jam. This isn’t your average traffic jam either – there is no slow moving traffic here, just a complete standstill for hours at a time.

The main access roads into (and through) Paris were filled with 80 miles of traffic jams, and the wait for many of the major European tunnels was over 7 hours.

Combine this with weather in the 90’s, and you’ve got yourself one pretty ugly situation. It comes as no surprise that most drivers simply turn off their vehicle and step out of the car to socialize with others in an attempt to make the best of the bad situation.

Times Square becomes a pedestrian zone

by Sean McLachlan on

New York City’s famous Times Square became free of cars this Monday.

This is the latest in two decades of radical changes to what used to be a dirty, dangerous, but uniquely vibrant part of one of the world’s greatest cities. City officials have blocked traffic from 42nd to 47th Streets at Times Square and between 33rd and 35th Streets at Herald Square in a much-anticipated move we first reported on back in February.

The traffic jams are being replaced by pedestrian plazas and more shops. The hope is to attract even more visitors to New York City’s iconic square by getting rid of noise, pollution, and frequent accidents. New Yorkers celebrated Monday with a big block party and setting up lawn chairs in the middle of the road. The city plans to have various events and street performers every night in the coming weeks to attract more people to Times Square.

Old-time New Yorkers like yours truly have fond memories of the old Times Square, full of seedy bars, seedier adult shops, and crumbling movie houses where you could watch a double feature of martial arts films for two bucks. I saw my first Jackie Chan film in Times Square, my first zombie picture, not to mention countless Z-list action flicks. Ah, the Eighties!

But not everyone liked Times Square at its decadent best. It was too close to Broadway, where accountants from Omaha wanted to see musicals without being reminded that the world isn’t like it is in A Chorus Line.

First to go were the movie theaters, replaced one by one by adult video centers, as if the area didn’t have enough of those already. No more blaxplotation or ninja flicks, just hard core. Then the porn shops got shut down. Times Square began to look like Disneyland. Now the squalling, bumper-to-bumper traffic has gone the way of the dodo. The armpit of New York has been replaced with the outdoor equivalent of a shopping mall. Progress? Well, it’s certainly safer (how I survived my teen-aged trips to the old Times Square still amazes me) but I can’t help but think that by killing Times Square, New York City has lost something.

Every city has its grotty area. Amsterdam has its red light district, London has Elephant and Castle, and New York had Times Square. The thing is, these neighborhoods are often really interesting and alive. The red light district in Amsterdam has some of the city’s best architecture. Elephant and Castle has an amazing variety of African shops and restaurants. Times Square has. . .well, had. . .an exciting street life and a variety of movie houses for every taste. And no, I’m not talking about the adult stuff. Back in the day, all sorts of people went to Times Square, everyone from well-heeled businessmen up to no good, to curious teenagers like I was, all the way down to street hustlers and petty thieves. That’s what I liked about it. Now it’s tourists and the middle class. Aren’t there enough places like that?

Any other old-time New Yorkers out there have any thoughts on this?

Memorial Day travel surge to be followed by silence

by Tom Johansmeyer on

So, there are two visions of the near future: one immediate, the other a bit further out. For Memorial Day, expect to see plenty of traffic, thanks to a drop in gas prices, according to AAA. More than 10 percent of the country’s population – north of 32 million people – is expected to ht the road (though some will take planes). This stands in stark contrast to last year, when it cost $4 to put a gallon of gas in your car.

But, the fun will end when the summer starts.

An estimated 20 million fewer trips will be taken this summer compared to last year – which translates to $43 billion less in travel spending. According to a recent poll by AP-GfK, a third of Americans have already canceled at least one trip this year as a result of the ongoing financial calamity. Only 42 percent of us are going to take a leisure trip this year, down from 49 percent in a similar poll conducted in May 2005.

Apparently … brace yourself … income is a factor. Two-thirds of people making more than $100,000 a year are expected to take some kind of recreational trip this summer. If you make $50,000 to $100,000, the chances are around 50-50. Only a third of people making less than $50,000 a year are likely to hit the road (all incomes based on family, rather than individual).

Grim? It gets worse.

Twelve percent of those traveling are staying in their home states, with 67 percent venturing across state lines and only 19 percent leaving the country. Twenty percent are staying close to home for financial reasons, and 23 percent will save a few bucks by staying with friends or family.

Zombies invade Texas town

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Hackers delivered a warning to played a prank on Austin, TX commuters this morning, according to local television station KXAN. Near the intersection of Lamar Blvd. and Martin Luther King Blvd., an electronic traffic sign cautioned: “ZOMBIES IN AREA! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

To make matters worse, they are NAZI zombies, as you’ll see from the video below.

Local motorists appear to have taken it in the intended spirit. Jane Shin, a University of Texas sophomore, “thought it was pretty funny.” But, the authorities did not share her sense of humor. Sarah Hartley, spokesperson for the city, called the hack “really serious” and reminded us all that “it is a crime.” Breaking a padlock and bypassing the password to an electronic street sign is a class C misdemeanor in Texas.

And, I understand why. When zombies really are in the area, we need to be able to take the NAZI zombie threat seriously.

[Thanks, Christine. Photo by Wyscan, licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.]

Daily deal – Navigon 2200T car GPS unit with free lifetime traffic – $130

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for the Navigon 2200T traffic enabled GPS unit.

This device has a 3.5″ display and features text to speech, with street name pronunciation, the Navigon “reality view” highway direction system and auto day/night mode for adjusting the screen brightness.

Inside the Navigon 2200T is an FM traffic receiver, and you’ll receive free traffic updates for the life of the unit.

The package includes a windshield mount and a car charger cord.

The Navigon 2200T is on sale for $130 at Amazon.com, but the deal is part of their “lightning deals”, which means it’ll be over in about 3 hours (or if inventory runs out sooner). If Amazon sells out, you’ll also find it on sale at jr.com, who are actually the ones providing Amazon with their deal.