August 1, 2012

The Hubway Celebrates One Year

The Hubway Celebrates One Year
(Photo courtesy of The Charlestown Patch

Highlights

 

In Kendall Square, car traffic falls even as the workforce soars Boston Globe

By Eric Moskowitz-- Despite the rapid expansion in and around Kendall Square in the last ­decade — the neighborhood absorbed a 40 percent increase in commercial and institutional space, adding 4.6 million square feet of development — automobile traffic actually dropped on major streets, with vehicle counts falling as much as 14 percent. Although more commuters are churning in and out of Kendall each day, many more than ever are going by T, bike, car pool, or foot.

 

Ikea says no to Somerville The Somerville News

By The Somerville News Staff-- After nearly 15 years, IKEA has officially decided to abandon its plans to open a store in Somerville, and it will work with the city to determine what will happen to the property it owns at Assembly Square. (For more, Somerville Patch,  Wicked Local, Boston Globe, The Somerville News)

 

Downtown Crossing to get $3.2m face lift Boston Globe

By Michael Levenson-- Downtown Crossing will be getting $3.2 million in improvements, including brightly illuminated street signs, repairs to crumbling sidewalks, and newly paved roads, part of a broader plan to revitalize the long-neglected area.“It’s time for us to go back into the Downtown Crossing area and do some reinvestments there, because things are changing and new businessess [sic] keep wanting to come there,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

 

The projections fallacy Better Cities

By Charles Marohn-- We spend billions every year in this country on our transportation network, large percentages of it based on traffic projections. This despite the fact that we have a long record of not being able to accurately project traffic. The answer isn't better projections but a better transportation system, one that is robust to modeling error.

 

In Denmark, Pedaling to Work on a Superhighway NY Times

By Sally McGrane-- Picture 11 miles of smoothly paved bike path meandering through the countryside. Largely uninterrupted by roads or intersections, it passes fields, backyards, chirping birds, a lake, some ducks and, at every mile, an air pump. For some Danes, this is the morning commute.

 

"Streets"

 

Walking

 

Bicycling

  • Bicyclists Using Cameras to Capture Accidents NY Times
  • The Hidden Factor in Bike Commuting -- Showers The Atlantic Cities
  • Pushing pedals from Tokyo to Tel Aviv - A bicycle built for two ... hundred CNN
  • High-Wattage Wheels -- The Best Electric Bikes WSJ
  • A bicycle (or two) built for view Boston.com
  • PSU research delves deeper into 'Four types of cyclists' Bike Portland
  • Who taught YOU to drive? Bike lanes and the law Boston.com
  • Cyclists put the pedal to the metal at Roslindale's Bike Day Wicked Local
  • Boston parklets, Hubway stations show creative approach to street space Boston Globe
  • Hubway
    • Hubway to celebrate its first birthday with a free party Metro
    • Hubway to add hundreds of bikes, new stations Metro
    • Hubway Coming to Charlestown by End of Summer Charlestown Patch
    • Hubway Bike Sharing Service to Add 11 Boston Stations Beacon Hill Patch
    • Rental Bikes Coming to the Neighborhood Charlestown Bridge
  • Why We Should Pay People to Bike to Work Boston Magazine
  • Bicyclist, Biker Or Cyclist: What¹s In A Name? Boston Biker
  • Cops: Bike rules come up empty Boston Herald
  • Bike concierge wants to take business on road Biz Journals

 

Transit

  • Maybe he was just rummaging around under his desk for a copy of the T photo policy Universal Hub
    • Sleeping T worker 'disciplined' Metro
  • Why We Should Stop Talking About 'Bus Stigma' The Atlantic Cities
  • Attention passengers: Do not ride scooters up the escalators. Thank you for riding the T Universal Hub
  • MBTA to Add Thousands of Security Cameras, Including Inside Buses and Trains Jamaica Plain Patch, Back Bay Patch
  • Free Silver Line service to stretch until September Metro, Boston.com
  • New elevator to improve connections for Orange Line riders Metro
  • A smarTer way to pay Metro, BostInno
  • Elevator debuts at State Street Station; T's 144th lift links Orange Line platforms Boston.com
  • MBTA Transit Police Conduct Fare Evasion Blitz & Hand Out More Than $2,000 in Citations BostInno, Wicked Local
  • Dunkin' Donuts Sprays the Smell of Coffee Onto Buses to Increase Sales BostInno
  • Department of Homeland Security Expands Biological Testing on the MBTA BostInno

 

Cars/Parking

  • Pay to park with credit cards at several MBTA lots Boston.com
  • Tobin commuters hit the brakes, slam repair work Universal Hub, Boston Herald
  • BG Op-Ed: How to make parking garages in Boston obsolete Boston Globe
  • Motorists To Urban Planners: Stay In Your Lane NPR
  • Empty Garages? Fuggedaboutit! ArchPaper
  • The Secret Lives of Zipcar Drivers The Atlantic Cities
  • 'Fast 14' Highway Project Gets National Recognition Medford Patch
  • BU removing more than one hundred public parking spaces from Kenmore Square Universal Hub
  • Cambridge figures out how to curb traffic in Kendall Square Universal Hub
  • Peer-to-Peer Car-Sharing Benefits New England, Car Owners CLF

 

Transportation financing/ Government

 

Parks 

  • City Breaks Ground on New East Somerville Park Somerville Patch
  • A Different Perspective on the North Bank Bridge Charlestown Patch
  • CommonWealth Magazine: Conservancy loses bid for Armenian park care Commonwealth Magazine
  • North Bank Pedestrian Bridge brings new life to neglected part of Cambridge, Charlestown Boston Globe
  • Simmons College
    • Simmons College plan to build athletic fields in state-owned Brighton park sparks opposition Boston Globe
    • Privatization of Brighton field is a bad precedent Boston Globe
  • Greenway conservancy says state funding necessary to maintain parks Boston Globe
  • Charles River Basin - Pictures Boston Globe
  • Edge Buffer Parks Project Moving Forward Eastie Times
  • Greenway pays to save money Boston Herald
  • Deal reached to build Charles River Skatepark Boston.com
  • State preparing 10-acre park on Somerville side of Mystic River Wicked Local

 

Development projects

  • IKEA
  • Downtown Crossing
    • Downtown Crossing to get $3.2m face lift Boston Globe
    • Downtown Crossing momentum NECN
  • Casey Arborway construction plans revealed Wicked Local
  • Architect Presents Details of Allston Residential and Retail Project The Crimson
  • Construction report: 10 projects that will change the innovation landscape in Boston and Cambridge Boston.com
  • "A" Street stands for apartments as Fort Point tower rises Boston Herald
  • Developer submits revised plan to raze Home for Little Wanderers for housing in Jamaica Plain Boston.com
  • Developer Gerding Edlen to build micro housing in Seaport District Boston Globe
  • Apartment tower deal on Stuart Street Wirth it for Avalon Bay Boston Herald

 

Land Use/Planning

 

Out-of-State

  • A Plan in New Haven to Right a Highway’s Wrong NY Times
  • Commuter rail officials say riders might use smartphones as tickets next year Chicago Tribune
  • A City Faces Its 'Berlin Wall': An Interstate Highway NPR
  • The Architect's Newspaper: Will New York’s Bike Lanes Last? ArchPaper
  • In Virginia, Developer Is on a Mission to Revive His Town NY Times
  • Downtown Minneapolis is seen as drowning in a sea of parking lots Star Tribune
  • The Rail Bike Lets You Glide Along City Trolley Rails Fast.co
  • Sellwood Bridge plans finalized; County will use green concrete on bike lanes Bike Portland

 

National trends

  • Projections
  • Transportation Bill
    • Misplaced Priorities: Cars Trump Bikes in New Transportation Bill CLF
    • If You Want Federal Transportation Money to Go to Biking and Walking, Start Agitating Locally Transportation Nation

 

International news