We all know about it, we all hate it. Yet not much has changed when it comes to high traffic volume in Hamburg (or in any big city, right?). When you wanna take the car around 5 o clock to get from a to b quick and efficient, good luck: it’s not going to happen.
So how do we solve this stuff?
Build another lane? Well, in most areas of the city thats not an easy thing to do, I mean there are buildings. And even if there aren’t, just look at Los Angeles. They started with a couple lanes and added additional ones over time. The success of this approach is … at least questionable:
We live in a 3D world. We go into offices that have multiple storeys and fit a large amount of people in one place. But when our workday is over and we leave the building, we enter a 2D street system. With roads usually going in one direction until they cross another one. So it really makes sense that all those people eventually cause traffic. There is just not enough space.
So how to we make our transportation system 3D as well?
Up in the air!
Sure thats one way to do it. In fact, there are a lot of startups with big money checks from investors who try to figure something out with flying cars.
But personally, I am not the biggest fan of flying cars in cities. Cars are usually pretty heavy things and have to blow lots of air in order to lift off. Blowing that much air equals noise. I mean, I own a couple of these DJI toy drones which weight about 300 grams. And man, I can not bring this thing up in the air without my neighbours noticing it. Just imagine all this noise when its not 300 grams but 1.5 tons. “Really, if you want flying cars, just put wheels on a helicopter.” (Elon Musk)
Also, when you enjoy your Sunday afternoon in the garden and there are a bunch of flying cars in the air, it will probably not contribute to make you feel calmer.
If going up in the air in order to achieve a 3D transportation environment isn’t an option, whats the alternative?
Going doooown 😀
The Boring Company
This is a real company based in Los Angeles who came up with the following concept. To save both of us some time, I just let you watch their short clip. Again, this is a real thing they work on:
Yes, this looks like 2050 future kind of stuff. But honestly, in order to have that in 2050, you have to eventually start. It’s not all of the sudden gonna appear one day.
What you’re about to read now, is my (slightly adjusted) version for my hometown Hamburg in Germany. The purpose of it is to lay the ground work and spread the idea in the hope for someone to pick it up. I actually sent an email to the city mayor and city senator of Hamburg early this year. But they didn’t reply. Soo, if you wanna start this – you have my very permission to copy everything you’re about to read including my designs.
Oh and by the way: the name boring Hamburg is just my (at least I think) funny pun of boring into something. I truly love Hamburg and actually don’t find it boring.
Also wanna emphasise that most of the stuff is made up by the Boring Company guys in Los Angeles. And I just copy/repackage it here. 😀
Why Tunnels
Unlimited capacity: There is no practical limit to how many layers of tunnels can be built, so any current or future capacity outcome can be achieved. This flexibility contrasts with a surface system, where adding a lane to the road is often difficult.
Minimal land use: Tunnels minimize the use of valuable surface land. Tunnels also do not conflict with currently operating transportation systems, such as roads and sidewalks.
Minimal surface impact: Tunnel construction and operation do not create any discernible surface noise or vibration. Tunnel construction and operation are invisible, silent, and undetectable.
Weatherproof operation: Rain, snow, wind, and surface temperatures do not affect system operation.
Flexible architecture: Architecture can flexibly support different types of transportation (public transportation, moving sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, and freight).
Future expansion: For the reasons listed above, it is much simpler to extend a tunnel-based system than a surface-based system.
Why hasn’t this been done before?
Currently, tunnels are really expensive to dig, with many projects costing between $100 million and $1 billion per mile. In order to make vast tunnel networks feasible, tunneling costs must be reduced by a factor of more than 10, with The Boring Company Loop tunnels currently priced at approximately $10 million per mile.
Applying it to Hamburg
We have to start somewhere. Because we won’t have that super futuristic great transportation system just appearing all of the sudden.
So here is what I would propose:
Let's start by making one route. Going from Heiligengeistfeld (St. Pauli) to Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld (HSV). With two tunnels, one for each direction.
This is what you can see when you wanna go in the city:
A screen with the current calculation for how long it takes right now – from that second to the moment you are ready to go at your destination.
You enter this area:
On the right side for the ones going into the tunnel system. The left lane is for the ones coming out of the tunnel.
Important thing to mention: This system is made for autonomous and electric vehicles. The moment you enter the “Port”, you can not drive manually. This is what will make the tunnel system more safe. One thing you don’t want in a tunnel are a lot of collisions. And the probability is much (much!) lower when you let computers operate.
So again: The moment you enter the Port until the moment you leave the Port on the other end, you run on auto pilot. Just grab a snack or something. Seriously, this won’t be an issue at all because you will be used to auto pilot everywhere on the surface.
Ok, so you pressed “Tunnel mode” on your screen. It now takes you to one of the lifts.
You’ll go with high speed underground until it automatically slows down when you reach your destination. High speed will not be a big safety issue because as I said, there are no people who can manually mess things up and cause accidents. It all runs through one big system (operated by the city or something).
The reason for this route “Boring 1” are mainly:
People who have jobs in the city but live in the west of Hamburg get a quick exit (without having to take the annoying Stresemannstraße).
Congestion after big sport events (HSV, St. Pauli) can be dissolved quicker
Little overlap with current public transport lines – this area is really only covered with the Bus 3 (which I took several times and since this guy drives on the same street as every other car – man, I spent up to 1 hour 10 mins to get from Feldstraße to Trabrennbahn)
Final thoughts
Yes, this is gonna be expensive. But the city builds a lot of expensive stuff. Elbphilharmonie, A7-Deckel. This all costs a lot of money. And how many Hamburg citizens really feel great about these projects every day? Less than 1% for sure. Because most of the time, it doesn’t really affect them. Yeah, its cool to have a nice building to look at. But if I tell you that I can safe you 2 hours every day, one in the morning, one in the evening – that point is just in another league.
Those tunnels would let the city breathe. Make space on the roads for people who live in central areas.
I am planning to move away from Germany soon and also, I lack the technical skillset to lead such thing. But I would love to see somebody to pick it up.
Boring Hamburg would really be something cool. Something that lets you wake up in the morning and be excited.
FAQ
What happens in case of fire or collisions?
Those tunnels have emergency exits and ventilation systems. But remember, there are no gasoline cars in those tunnels, all electric. Also, risk of accidents is much lower due to autonomy. From the moment you enter the port, you drive on auto pilot. The tunnels are tubes with only one lane. So not much space to the side which can cause lots of trouble in terms of crashes. People literally can not drive against stuff.
Does this annoy people who have tunnels under their houses?
At a certain depth (approximately 5m and more) you don’t notice that kinda stuff at all.
Other than in the US, we have cables underground. What about them?
Sure, but boring tunnels are under those.
Only one tunnel?
As mentioned in the blog post, this system can be repeated many layers deep. Lift spots could potentially be just 2 regular car parking spots in the city. Would be cool to get rid of all the traffic pain points. Sitting in traffic just sucks so bad.
Fees
Rides can be purchased through the car touchscreen interface. Or if thats a cheap car, just use the app on your phone.
