Month: October 2009

A sobering post today from the Streetsblog Network on the importance of preparing our transportation system for the effects of climate change. Megan McConville at The City Fix reports on a panel titled "Perspectives on Adaptation to Climate Change," hosted by the Engineers Forum on Sustainability.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

The city will hold four workshops on the Draft Bike Plan starting this Thursday.  For more information on the plan, visit the official website.

Last week, State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that his commission adopted new rules allowing and encouraging auto insurance companies to create "pay as you drive" (PAYD) insurance policies. PAYD policies, which charge drivers per mile driven for their insurance, provide another financial incentive for drivers to reduce their vehicle miles traveled. The new rules can be read here.

If any of our friends at Cal State San Bernadino happen to be reading Streetsblog in the next thirty hours, they should make a point to visit Tom Vanderbilt's open lectures tomorrow. Vanderbilt is the bestselling author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What it Says About Us) and something of a favorite for Livable Streets advocates. His name pops up in a lot of Streetsblog stories as his viewpoint and research are second-to-none. My favorite Vanderbilt story features him talking about Motorist Sociopathy.  Of course, you can also read all about Vanderbilt at his personal blog How We Drive.

Bike lanes: In some cities people are so desperate for them they'll go so far as to mark their own. (Editor's note: We know.)  Here in New York City, it feels like every time I get on my bike there is a new bike lane -- sometimes on the left, sometimes buffered, and sometimes completely separated from automobile traffic.

At last week's meeting of the City Council Transportation Committee, LADOT's Alan Willis presented on the status that the DOT has made with the owners of the Greek Theatre, Hollywood Bowl, Coliseum, Sports Arena, former Olympic Auditorium and Dodger Stadium in getting these traffic attractors to pay for their own traffic officers. In response to the budget crisis, the city has cut the budget to pay for special event traffic and parking officers for their events from $6 million to $2 million.

Today on the Streetsblog Network, Portlandize is talking about freedom -- the freedom to move about your community without fear, the liberty to make use of public spaces as a human being, not as the operator of a motor vehicle. It's a post that gets to the heart of the issues we talk about on our blogs every day of the week:

Editor’s note: Today we have a guest post from Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who has represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District since 1996. He is the lead sponsor of the House’s “CLEAN TEA” climate legislation and founded the Congressional Bicycle Caucus. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. Photo: Airdye.com With much excitement, today we are launching the Livable Communities … Continued