Year: 2009
Top Categories
SF Plans to Act Quickly on Bike Projects When Injunction is Lifted
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and MTA Chief Nat Ford have made repeated promises that they will act swiftly to build out large segments of the city's Bicycle Master Plan when the 3-year-old bicycle injunction is lifted. Behind the good rhetoric, the agency does appear prepared to begin striping lanes and adding bike racks when the long legal wait finally ends.
October 29, 2009
Inhofe Blasts Transport Bill Inaction That Comes From His Own Party
The Senate environment committee's senior Republican, Jim Inhofe (OK), delivered
a stern warning today to any lawmakers who would force another
short-term extension of federal transportation programs, which are set to expire at midnight Saturday.
October 29, 2009
A Republican Returns to Congress With A Map to Transportation Reform
During his 24 years in Congress, former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) was known for
a brand of Republicanism now considered endangered. An ardent
environmentalist and defender of objective government science, he
played a key role in drafting the acid rain limits that are serving as a model for this year's climate change fight.
October 29, 2009
In Other Road Users We Trust (Because We Have To)
Let's face it, walking out the door and getting on the road as a
user of any transportation mode -- from feet to bike to car -- is an
act of faith. To a certain extent, you have to trust the other people
out there to follow the rules. Sure, you're always on the lookout for
those who are disregarding traffic laws, but if you really thought no
one was going to be playing along, you probably wouldn't dare to set
foot in the public space.
October 29, 2009
Senior Dems Release New Distracted Driving Bill as LaHood Testifies
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today unveiled his plan to take an incentive-based approach to distracted driving as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified on the Obama administration's campaign to end the use of electronic devices behind the wheel.
October 28, 2009
Bicyclist Injured in Collision at Market and Ellis Streets this Morning
A bicyclist was injured in an apparent collision involving an automobile at Market and Ellis Streets this morning. Limited details were available about the crash, but Streetsblog contributor Pam MacLean reports that it took place just before 7:40 a.m. today:
October 28, 2009
News from NY: What We Can Learn from Times Square’s Public Spaces
When Tim Tompkins took over as President of the Times Square Alliance, one of New York City's largest Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), the primary concerns were the security and cleanliness of the most iconic, if chaotic, public space in the world. Despite incessant traffic and pedestrian gridlock ("pedlock" to borrow Tompkin's phrase), his Board of Directors and city officials on the whole weren't initially interested in Tompkins' vision for transforming Times Square into a world-class public space, with less traffic and higher design concepts.
October 28, 2009
Transportation Policy Becomes the Proverbial Tree Falling in the Forest
Halfway through this afternoon's rally
in support of a new federal transportation bill, there came an
accidental but telling moment. A group of tourists, attracted by the
hundreds of orange flags planted in the National Mall for the rally,
walked through the event and whispered questions to attendees about its
purpose. Once their curiosity was sated, the group lost interest and
ambled away.
October 28, 2009