America’s Least Wanted Highways
The Congress for New Urbanism released a highly entertaining top ten list today: the North American highways most in need of demolition.
At the top is Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct, a structurally damaged
elevated highway that, if removed, would free up 335 acres of public
land by Elliott Bay.
September 23, 2008
Brookings: Feds Should Stop Giving Transit Projects the Run-Around
Americans are moving to areas with better transit access, but their options are limited.
September 18, 2008
Cartoon Tuesday: On-Street Edition
This
intriguing bit of street art is the work of Peter Gibson, a.k.a.
"Roadsworth", who's been painting Montreal streets, sidewalks, and
public spaces since 2001. He's motivated by "a desire for more bike
paths in the city and a questioning of 'car culture' in general,"
according to the design blog Toxel, where you can catch more of his pieces.
September 16, 2008
Urbanism: Not Just for Lefties
The American Prospect reports
on a bi-partisan panel at the University of Minnesota last week where
some dyed-in-the-wool Republicans declared their affinity for urbanism
and opposition to sprawl:
September 15, 2008
U.S. Senate Getting Serious About Transit Stimulus
The Wall Street Journal reports that momentum is building in the Senate for additional federal transit funding:
September 9, 2008
Who Loves Traffic? Dan and the Highway Lobby
U.S. PIRG has picked a winner in its "21st Century Transportation" video contest, and it's this irony-soaked entry. Meet "Dan," a guy who just can't get enough stop-and-go time on the highway. He loves sitting in traffic, and the last thing he wants to see is adequately funded transit giving people an attractive alternative to car commuting.
August 22, 2008
Wiki Wednesday: Beijing
All the overhead shots of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube on NBC's Olympic coverage don't leave much room for views of Beijing's streets. But that's where much of the commotion about smog, absentee athletes and particle masks originates. While the city has taken the unwieldy step of rationing license plates to clear the skies (until the Games leave town, at least), air quality could have been drastically improved by transportation planning with greater foresight.
August 20, 2008
Transit Stimulus Bill Needs Co-Sponsors in Senate
Two weeks ago, Hillary Clinton introduced a bill in the Senate to provide emergency funds for local transit agencies. Since then, the rest of the delegation from New York and New Jersey appears to have lined up behind the legislation. "We believe that Senators Schumer, Lautenberg, and Menendez support it," says Larry Hanley of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which helped to push the bill forward in both chambers of Congress (the House passed it in June). That leaves 56 votes to achieve a filibuster-proof Senate majority. Paging Senators Feinstein and Boxer...
August 15, 2008
Bike-Share Debuts in Washington D.C.
Public bike-share in the U.S. hit a milestone yesterday when SmartBike DC, the first program of its kind in an American city, launched in full. Coverage in the Washington Post was heavy on the implications for D.C.'s image:
August 14, 2008
Wiki Wednesday: Urban Bicycling With Children
Already a prolific contributor to the Streetsblog Flickr pool, BicyclesOnly has recently put together a StreetsWiki guide to "Urban Bicycling With Children." The entry kicks off with a look at some of the less obvious benefits to biking with kids:
August 13, 2008