Month: November 2009

In the wake of the 2007 collapse of Minnesota's I-35 bridge, Washington policymakers vowed a renewed focus on repairing the nation's aging infrastructure. But weeks after the fatal collapse, Congress approved a transportation spending bill with 704 earmarked projects, at a total cost topping $570 million -- and just 11 percent of those earmarks went towards bridge repair, according to a new report released today.

Ok everyone, maybe we need to talk about the purpose of a calendar section. This is the second day in a row that I've been tipped off to an outstanding event less than twenty four hours before it occurs. The purpose is to send me awesome and educational events much earlier so I can get them on my calendar and attend instead of just writing a preview before hand.

The difficulty of changing our ingrained daily habits -- even for our own good, not the health of the planet -- is the subject of today's post from Streetsblog Network member Twin City Sidewalks.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

And who should they hang for granting variances permitting higher than 2:1 ratios, as happened last week when a two-unit home at 2626 Larkin Street in Russian Hill received permission from the San Francisco Planning Commission to build five parking spaces, one with a parking stacker for additional cars?

When Chrysler asked the government for a second round of bailout money in February, it submitted a 177-page restructuring plan that vowed to usher in a new era of fuel-efficient vehicles at the famously gas-chugging automaker.

For over a decade, the Echo Park community has been in negotiations with the big three of local transportation agencies, Metro, LADOT and Caltrans, over redesigning the terminus of Route 2 to improve traffic flow. Over forty years ago a coalition of Echo Park and Silver Lake residents banded together to keep Route 2 from being completed south through several neighborhoods. The result is the road ends sharply at Glendale Boulevard and creates traffic jams on both Route 2 and Glendale Blvd. All three agencies have to agree on an alternative for it to move to the build stage.

Despite being amongst the first to offer a preview of World Without a Car, the amazing car-free photography exhibit by Diane Meyer in Santa Monica, I've somewhat fallen down on the job of promoting the events that go with the exhibition.  Well, I can correct that at least for one day.  Below is an email from Meyer touting tonight's panel discussion:

The Dangerous by Design report on pedestrian fatalities from Transportation for America and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign has been getting a lot of attention from the Streetsblog Network (and from the national press) this week. The data in the report gives advocates a powerful tool when talking to local officials about the need for safer streets.