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July 8, 2009

Seoul Before and After
Seoul, South Korea -- Before and after demolition of Cheonggyecheon Highway
(Photo courtesy Infrastructurist)

Highlights

  • Transportation in Somerville: The best of times and the worst of times (Somerville News)
    By Ellin Reisner -- Unless there are problems, most people take transportation for granted. When it works we do not think about the importance of being able to move from place to place for our personal and work lives as well as our economy. Today, news about transportation in Somerville reflects both the best of times and the worst of times. It is the best of times because after over 20 years of increasing traffic on local streets and highways, and no improvements in transit services Somerville is on the brink of securing greatly improved public transportation with the extension of the Green Line that will connect East and West Somerville and a new Orange Line station at Assembly Square.
     
  • Transit officials will apply for grant for Route 28 project (Dorchester Reporter)
    By Alex Owens -- The state’s Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) held a meeting at the Mildred Ave. Community Center in Mattapan on Tuesday regarding the MBTA service developments in Mattapan, Roxbury and Dorchester, most notably the proposed 28X express bus line. The 28X development was initially set to be funded by $117 million in stimulus money. However, in response to wavering community sentiment the EOT and MBTA have told residents on Tuesday that the state will forego a previous plan to tap into a guaranteed federal stimulus package, which required that plans be finalized by July. Instead, the Patrick administration will apply for transit oriented grants from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
     
  • Gas tax hike is ruled out in Senate (Boston Globe)
    Murray says issue is dead and won't be revisited soon
    By Matt Viser -- Senate President Therese Murray, swatting down a suggestion by Governor Deval Patrick this week that a gas tax increase might be necessary, said yesterday that lawmakers were not keen to consider the issue further. “The Senate has already voted against that,’’ Murray told reporters after Patrick signed a bill overhauling state ethics laws. Asked whether the Senate would revisit it, she gave an emphatic no. Patrick said Monday that a future boost in the gasoline tax might be needed to put the state’s transportation network on sounder financial footing. His aides have since said that there are no current plans to raise the tax.
     
  • How driving a car into Manhattan costs $160 (Reuters)
    By Felix Salmon -- In the world of urban planning, there are few things hairier than transportation hypotheticals. When NYC pedestrianized Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square in May, the transportation commissioner said that traffic speeds would go up — but now it seems that we won’t know until December at the earliest whether that’s actually true. At the same time, however, a smart model of what exactly would happen if you changed this or charged for that is a prerequisite for making any kind of informed improvements to a snarled-up central business district. And so, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Charles Komanoff’s absolutely astonishing Balanced Tranportation Analyzer — a 3.5 MB Excel spreadsheet which is the product of many years of research and analysis into the question of New York City traffic.
     
  • VIDEO: D.C.'s DOT Director talks "Transportation Freedom" (Streetfilms)
    By Clarence Eckerson, Jr -- Meet Gabe Klein who was appointed new director of Washington D.C.'s Department of Transportation (DDOT) in December 2008.  With an interesting background which includes four years working for Zipcar, Mr. Klein was brought in with the idea of looking at the job from a fresh perspective (check out: Potholepalooza!) and innovating solutions to many mobility problems D.C. faces.  Right off the bat, you'll love a lot of what he has to say: "Cars are a part of our daily life here in D.C. ...but what we want to do is try to equalize the playing field.  Encourage people to walk, to bike, to bike share; or instead of owning a car - car share." Washington D.C. already has one of the lowest household car-ownership percentages of any major U.S. city, so actively promoting these modes is essential to helping its citizens move about with - as Mr Klein points out - "freedom".
     
  • VIDEO: Jaime Lerner on Making Curitiba's First Pedestrian Street (Streetfilms)
    By Elizabeth Press -- This is the third installment of videos from Brazil. Demonstrating again how Brazil is 35+ years in front of our NYC livable streets curve, this video is about a street transformation in Curitiba, Brazil. Former Mayor and founder of Bus Rapid Transit, Jaime Lerner sat down with me during my visit to discuss how and why he made the first pedestrian street in the middle of downtown Curitiba. Rua XV de Novembro (15th of November Street) is a vital artery through downtown Curitiba. In 1972 under the direction of then Mayor Jaime Lerner, it became the first major pedestrian street in Brazil. The first phase of closing the street to automobiles and opening it to people took place in only 72 hours. The pedestrian plaza spans 15 blocks, and although it was initially unpopular, it is now a central meeting spot and the epicenter of local businesses in the center of Curitiba.

"Streets"

Bicycling

Transit

Cars/Parking

Transportation financing/Government

Parks

Development projects

Land Use/Zoning

Out-of-state

National trends

  • Obama pushes ahead with transport fund rescue (Reuters, Streetsblog DC)
  • When Old Parking Meter Poles Go, So Often Does Bike Parking (Streetsblog SF)
  • Census: Big Cities now growing quicker (MSNBC)
  • Electronic Tolls Trump Cash on the Highways (Wall Street Journal)
  • Huh?! 4 Cases of How Tearing Down a Highway Can Relieve Traffic James (And Save Your City) (Infrastructurist)
  • From One-Way Rotary System to Modern Roundabout (PPS Blog)

International news