Intercity Trains: How Good Do Connections Need to Be?
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we return to the question of connectivity -- or, to translate it out of transpo jargon, how to get there from here.
September 4, 2009
The Brute Power of the Car
For the last couple of days, there's been a lot of talk around the Streetsblog Network about a particularly horrific incident
on Monday in which a cyclist, Darcy Allan Sheppard, was fatally injured
on Toronto's Bloor Street in an encounter with a car allegedly driven
by the former attorney general of Ontario, Michael Bryant.
September 3, 2009
Portland Gets a Cycle Track, and All That Comes With It
In Portland, Oregon, already one of America's best cycling cities, a
new amenity was unveiled this past weekend: a cycle track, or
physically separated bike lane, near Portland State University. For
several blocks, it provides a protected place for bikers to ride -- by
taking a lane from motor vehicle traffic and changing the place where
cars are supposed to park.
September 2, 2009
Carrots Are Good for You, and So Are Sticks
A very interesting post today on the Streetsblog Network from getDowntown,
in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The getDowntown program, which aims to get more
people using alternative modes of transportation through a variety of
incentives and support systems, is a partnership between the Ann Arbor
Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ann Arbor Transportation
Authority, the City of Ann Arbor and the Downtown Development
Authority. It's been around since 1999.
September 1, 2009
Car Culture and Drunk Driving – They Go Together
Drinking and driving laws vary from state to state, but in
Wisconsin, it's not until your fifth offense that you're charged with a
felony for drunk driving. That's an awful lot of leeway for a behavior
that so often leads to serious bodily harm.
August 31, 2009
The Importance of Making the Connection
Yesterday, I made the trip from Brooklyn, NY, to Jersey City, NJ, to
visit the Liberty Science Center. It really wasn't hard to do, although
it required three separate transfers -- from the F train to the A
train, from the A to the PATH train, and then from the PATH to the
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line.
August 28, 2009
In Defense of High-Speed Rail
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we've got a post from Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic
on the importance of funding both intercity and intracity rail, despite
limits on the amount of money available. Freemark takes on the argument
that investment in transportation within cities should trump the construction of more efficient rail connections between cities:
August 27, 2009
Of Froggy Dreams and Feral Houses
File today's Streetsblog Network post under "where fantasy meets reality."
August 26, 2009
Bike Skirt Goes Car-Free in Birmingham
Yesterday we featured a post from The Urbanophile
about the political and personal costs of carlessness in a small city.
Today, we've got something of an antidote to that -- an entry from Streetsblog Network member Bike Skirt in Birmingham, Alabama, about the sense of liberation, connection and empowerment that giving up a car can bring.
August 25, 2009
The Social Costs of Car-Free Living in Small Cities
What kind of a statement does car-free living make in a small city? Today on the Streetsblog Network, Aaron Renn at The Urbanophile
poses that question in a provocative post. Sure, it's about walking the
walk of sustainable transportation, he says, but it also represents a
withdrawal from the community structure in places such as Columbus and
Cincinnati:
August 24, 2009