Sarah Goodyear

Like so many systems around the country, St. Louis's Metro is facing a devastating budget crisis. And yet St. Louis Urban Workshop, one of the newer members of the Streetsblog Network, is adding its voice to a highly counterintuitive chorus of people who are calling not for fare increases to help fund the systems -- but for eliminating the farebox altogether. Some have suggested that free mass transit be seen as a stimulus measure. Even MarketWatch, part of the Wall Street Journal's digital network, has run an editorial in favor of making mass transit free, saying, "This is not as far-fetched as it looks."

Suburban cul-de-sacs are one of the fundamental units of a development pattern that is coming under increasing strain and scrutiny around the country. In Charlotte, NC, Streetsblog Network member The Naked City argues against spending precious transportation dollars on building roads that encourage the traditional sprawling pattern of four-lane highways and residential dead ends:

A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration had a rather embarrassing public difference over the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax. It's certainly one of the most contentious notions out there, but most of the debate is based on hypotheticals. Now, as reported by Streetsblog Network member Worldchanging, the Oregon Department of Transportation has released the results of a 2006 experiment in a pay-at-the-pump mileage-based system, and we have some data to talk about. Adam Stein writes:

Here at Streetsblog, we often discuss the ongoing carnage caused by drivers on the nation's roads and streets -- and the near-total lack of accountability for those who are anything but staggering drunk. And we often discuss, too, the role that language plays in our perceptions of accountability. Today's Streetsblog Network featured post, from Sustainable Savannah, is a particularly thoughtful and reasonable examination of the importance of terminology -- "accidents" vs. "crashes":

Are cities with strong centers faring better in the recession? Today on the Streetsblog Network we’re featuring a post from NRDC Switchboard’s Kaid Benfield that pulls together several items suggesting that might be the case: Downtown Abilene, Texas: More jobs near the center, lower unemployment. Photo: austrini/Flickr. [A] story by Alejandro Lazo in Saturday’s Washington … Continued

Today we bring you a call for action from Pennsylvania network member Bike PGH, which is asking Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell to release funds for the state's Safe Routes to Schools program:

I just returned from an overnight train trip on Amtrak a couple of days ago, riding the Crescent from Meridian, Mississippi, into Penn Station, after completing the southbound trip a week earlier. It's a route I've traveled before, one of dozens of long-distance hauls I've made on Amtrak over the last 20 or so years. And while it may be wishful thinking, I felt like there was an improved mood on the train this time, among both crew and passengers. I heard several hopeful conversations in the dining car about the future of intercity rail travel in this country.

Communities around the country are bracing for the impact of fare hikes and transit cuts, as jury-rigged funding mechanisms for vital local transportation systems crumble under the strain of the weakening economy. You already know about the MTA's woes in New York City; today, the Times had a report about the 75 percent fare increase that's going to be hitting Long Island bus riders. In Orange County, CA, Streetsblog Network member Orange County Transit Blog reports on a similarly devastating situation. The local transit authority there, OCTA, has voted to decrease service by 25 percent and lay off 400 employees:

We're taking it out of the city and into the suburbs and small towns today on the Streetsblog Network. Member blog Urban City Architecture takes a look at Moving Communities Forward, a recently released report on transit-oriented development (TOD) from the American Institute of Architects and the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota (it was funded by the Federal Highway Administration):

To finish off the Streetsblog Network week on an adrenaline-filled note, we've got a post about fear -- the biker's fear, to be precise -- from Livable Streets for West Palm Beach. Raphael Clemente relates a couple of all-too-familiar anecdotes about drivers who use their vehicles to intimidate, then says: