Rail Across America
You've
probably seen this already. It's the latest graphic representation of
the nation's proposed high-speed rail corridors, and it's been all over
the transportation blogosphere since President Obama stood beside it at a press conference yesterday.
April 17, 2009
The Physics and Ethics of a Rolling Stop
In 1982, the state of Idaho legalized the "rolling stop," an adjustment to the rules of the road that lets cyclists treat stop signs as yield signs without becoming scofflaws. Nearly three decades later, the rule has a demonstrated track record of safety, but Idaho is still the only state with such a law. Maybe not much longer. Bike advocates in Oregon are working feverishly this week to gain passage of an "Idaho Stop" law of their own. Via BikePortland, this animation by Spencer Boomhower makes a compelling and visually dazzling case for the idea.
April 16, 2009
Wiki Wednesday: Getting Streets in Shape With Road Diets
This morning Sarah wrote about the excessive width of many American roads, which makes speeding all too tempting for drivers. So I'm going to bookend my day with this StreetsWiki entry on road diets -- the practice of reducing the number of travel lanes -- from author Andy Hamilton:
April 15, 2009
Petition: Support a Climate Bill That Invests in Green Transportation
At the end of March, representatives Henry Waxman and Ed Markey introduced an ambitious federal climate bill. This is the real deal -- the legislative centerpiece of President Obama's effort to combat global warming.
Transportation contributes about a third of all greenhouse gas
emissions in the U.S., so any climate bill will have to green the way
we get around to be effective. On that score, however, the draft
legislation has some glaring omissions.
April 15, 2009
Obama Falls Prey to Ribbon-Cutting Syndrome
At a press event in DC yesterday, President Obama touted the two thousandth transportation project to receive federal stimulus funds.
I'm speculating a bit here, but the White House probably had some
discretion when choosing which item to highlight for this milestone. So
did they pick a refurbished transit station? A new bike route? Perhaps
a bridge repair project to signal that we're not going to repeat the mistakes that led to the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis?
April 14, 2009
Streetfilms: London’s Campaign for People-First Public Spaces
In 2002, then-mayor of London Ken Livingstone launched the 100 Public Spaces Programme, a campaign to better realize the potential of the city's public realm. With guidance from Jan Gehl, the initiative emphasized reclaiming space for pedestrians and enhancing street life.
April 13, 2009
Livable Streets Promised Land
Here's
a nice visual of what cities will look like when the livable streets
movement has completely emerged from the wilderness (sorry for the
extended metaphor, couldn't help it today). GOOD Magazine ran this photosim done by our very own Carly Clark in their transportation issue, with text by Streetsblog Editor-in-Chief Aaron Naparstek. They've got a whole interactive graphic that walks you through the elements of a livable street, and -- hats off to my coworkers -- it looks great.
April 9, 2009
Back to the Grid, Part 2: John Norquist on Reclaiming American Cities
As mayor of Milwaukee from 1988 to 2004, CNU President John Norquist made urbanism and livability top priorities. Some of his most notable achievements centered on the redevelopment of highway corridors with street grids and infill, culminating with the demolition of the Park East Freeway in 2002 -- one of the largest voluntary highway removal projects undertaken in America. Other projects, like the introduction of a light rail system, never reached fruition.
March 30, 2009
Back to the Grid: John Norquist on How to Fix National Transpo Policy
The
news coming out of Washington last week jacked up expectations for
national transportation policy to new heights. Cabinet members Ray
LaHood and Shaun Donovan announced a partnership to connect transportation and housing policy, branded as the "Sustainable Communities Initiative." The second-in-command at DOT, Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, told a New York audience that "building communities" is a top priority at his agency.
March 26, 2009
AARP Joins Campaign to Reform National Transportation Policy
AARP announced today that it will join the Transportation for America
campaign to advocate for a "broad restructuring" of national
transportation policy. In a letter sent to Congressional leaders last
week [PDF],
AARP said that it is "working to enable older adults to live
independently in their homes and communities throughout their lifespan,
and transportation is critical to maintaining the community connections
that make that possible."
March 24, 2009