tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post2744269391867699811..comments2024-03-05T10:52:24.691+00:00Comments on Mark Wadsworth: Town planning - why long, narrow residential plots make sense.Mark Wadsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-39704560109024599622018-03-12T20:37:39.349+00:002018-03-12T20:37:39.349+00:00B, I'm so far behind the curve that to me it l...B, I'm so far behind the curve that to me it looks like a straight line.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-48714589874855844882018-03-12T20:03:54.278+00:002018-03-12T20:03:54.278+00:00Mark, series hybrid technology is pretty old hat; ...Mark, series hybrid technology is pretty old hat; the railways have been using it since the '50s. It's just a mystery that it took so long to transfer it to road vehicles. As far as being behind the curve, though, agreed, me too.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-32153589770372880762018-03-11T17:46:43.844+00:002018-03-11T17:46:43.844+00:00MW, yes, but most terraced houses and older semi d...MW, yes, but most terraced houses and older semi detached houses don't even have a garage. In fact even most of the detached houses on my street don't have garages. There's one block of flats with am underground car park, that is ideal for charging points.<br /><br />B, on a rational level, sure, you are right. But I like to lag well behind new technology to see if it catches on, to see if it works and because the longer I wait before buying, the cheaper it will be or I can buy second hand. My cars are hopefully good for another ten or twenty years if I look after them, so no hurry.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-12709533516464226762018-03-11T15:49:20.590+00:002018-03-11T15:49:20.590+00:00Mark, AFAICS, petrol-electric series hybrid gives ...Mark, AFAICS, petrol-electric series hybrid gives you the best of both worlds: the full-torque-from-standstill and the regenerative braking of the electric motor and the range of the IC engine.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-9459537656107637182018-03-11T13:48:01.230+00:002018-03-11T13:48:01.230+00:00'forcing the population to run electric cars a...'forcing the population to run electric cars and the pavements are covered with cables the diameter of a hosepipe. Assuming, of course, you can park near enough for your charging cable to reach :-) .<br /><br />The folks opposite us put an old bit of axminster carpet over the cable to their car - so no one even notices :)It works. Everyone blamess the carpet. But I do wonder if a coming 'trip' incident will be on their house or on a special clause on the car's insurance?<br /><br />Must put my hand up here. I was into the electric bike thing, perfect for local journeys shopping etc. If that is the model folks need not worry about the roads being full. My bike spent many happy hours, indeed most of its service life, just siiting in the garage charging.MikeWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15455583313857077618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-75055233534079021202018-03-11T11:20:00.158+00:002018-03-11T11:20:00.158+00:00FT, it's not a theoretical exercise at all, lo...FT, it's not a theoretical exercise at all, look at the world around you. This is why it is how it is.<br /><br />Good point about electrical cars, they really haven't thought this through have they? My other gripe is that the point of fuel duty is to make driving more expensive so that roads don't get congested. Without a similar charge on electric cars... hey ho gridlock.<br /><br />Nonetheless, you can't fault the Victorians for not having predicted cars. Even a very narrow plot (5 metres) is wide enough for a car, or two small cars if you're good at parking. <br /><br />The 'mistake' they made was having houses close to the road with tiny front gardens or none (done for good reasons, to make utility connections, coal deliveries easier), you are pretty much f-cked if households there want to own more than one car per home. <br /><br />Having the house further back to enable off street parking in front and a smaller back garden is a quick win.<br /><br />B, sounds like shit to me, I'll stick with petrol if that's OK.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-46620606782522801712018-03-11T11:04:13.737+00:002018-03-11T11:04:13.737+00:00"and the pavements are covered with cables th..."and the pavements are covered with cables the diameter of a hosepipe"<br /><br />There is nothing the government likes more than forcing other people to do things and pay for doing them, so either the electricity suppliers or the local authorities or both will be forced to put in kerbside charging points, probably with some sort of electronic key arrangement so that anyone can use any point. There will then be the same turf wars about charging points as there currently is about kerbside parking space.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-86013996415578493372018-03-11T07:24:43.415+00:002018-03-11T07:24:43.415+00:00Take your point entirely as a theoretical exercise...Take your point entirely as a theoretical exercise, but on a practical level it's a Victorian / Edwardian answer to housing - in this age where each house may have one, two, maybe even three cars to park. And the fun will really start when the dipshit Government (which is all of them, of any political stripe) succeeds in forcing the population to run electric cars and the pavements are covered with cables the diameter of a hosepipe. Assuming, of course, you can park near enough for your charging cable to reach :-) .<br /><br />formertoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787382608124662939noreply@blogger.com