August 4, 2010

LivableStreets first annual StreetParty held on July 22
Photo courtesy Steve Marsel Studio
(For more coverage, check out the Boston Globe article)

Highlights

• Linking cities and areas (Boston Globe)
  As the Longfellow Bridge overhaul nears, the question remains: How to balance the needs of cars, trains, bikers, and walkers
  By Eric Moskowitz -- When the Longfellow opened to traffic in 1906, the roadway was a free-for-all cobblestone surface shared by horse-drawn carriages, automobiles, and trolleys, with overhead wires and rails embedded in the cobblestones to serve the streetcars. The middle was a cavity; the Red Line did not yet exist, but planners left space to encourage its arrival. Half a century later, engineers replaced the cobblestones with asphalt, narrowed the sidewalk, and striped the wider, paved roadway to make the bridge more inviting for the automobile. Today, the Longfellow means different things to different people.
  Related: Editorial: Envision Longfellow not just as a bridge, but an amenity (Boston Globe)
• Bridge between Harvard Square and Allston could be reduced to three lanes (Boston Globe, Harvard Crimson)
  By Brock Parker -- Transportation officials are considering a plan to reduce the number of traffic lanes on the Anderson Memorial Bridge between Harvard Square and Allston as part of a $16 million renovation. The state Department of Transportation is also considering adding two bicycle lanes to the 95-year-old bridge, which is the primary connection between two Harvard University campuses.
• 20 Years Of ADA: How Far Have We Come? (WBUR, MassDOT Blog, Boston Globe)
  By Dan Mauzy -- Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We take a look at how Boston has become more accessible for people with disabilities since the act was signed by President H.W. Bush in 1990 – and what more still needs be done.
  Related: DOT celebrates 20 years of progress under the Americans with Disabilities Act (US DOT, T4America)
• MBTA Bus Routes Real-Time Data Major Expansion (MassDOT Blog, Boston Globe)
  By Joshua Robin -- This week, the MBTA took the next step in helping bus riders answer the question, "where's the bus?" Building on General Manager Richard Davey's commitment to unlock real-time bus information this summer, the MBTA began releasing data for 118 bus routes in addition to the 17 that already have data. Now, real-time data is available for 135 of the MBTA's 185 bus routes. This release will allow bus riders on these routes to access real-time information on bus locations and arrival predictions for all bus stops. Data will be accessible through 3rd party applications.
  Related: VIDEO: A Case for Open Data in Transit (Streetfilms)
• Hauling Cargo, No Car Necessary (New York Times)
  By Sean Patrick Farrell -- NEW YORK -- When Lela Rose needs to take her two children to school or pick up a bag of potting soil or transport a large chair, she doesn’t grab the keys to the family vehicle. Instead, she hops aboard her cargo-hauling tricycle. “It’s literally a car,” said Ms. Rose, a fashion designer who regularly commutes on the trike in heels and a dress from her home in TriBeCa to her office in the fashion district. She says the machine has changed her life.
• VIDEO: Dangerous Crossing (Blueprint America)
  In recent years a little noticed shift has been transforming suburbia: the home of the middle class has become the home of the working poor. As a result, roadways that were built for the car are now used by a growing population that can’t afford to drive. The consequences can be deadly. Blueprint America on Need to Know from suburban Atlanta where getting to the other side of the road is nothing to take for granted.

"Streets"

• Starts & Stops: T still pursuing ways to stop illegal parking at bus stops; Green Line Extension deadline nears; Bike path upgrade draws compliments for state (Boston Globe)
• Editorial: A shade cooler (Boston Globe)
• SomerStreets, FossFest combine in East Somerville (Somerville Journal)
• The most dangerous intersections in Cambridge (Cambridge Chronicle)
• On Biking: Flat fires come with the territory (Boston Globe)
• Cambridge residents sue city, temporarily stop tree removal (Cambridge Chronicle: 1, 2, Cambridge Day)
• Somerville utilities juggle double poles (Somerville Journal)
• Bridge between Harvard Square and Allston could be reduced to three lanes (Boston Globe, Harvard Crimson)
• City gets go-ahead for Monument Sq. redesign (Jamaica Plain Gazette)
• Plan for 100K new trees defunct (Jamaica Plain Gazette)
• Linking cities and areas [Longfellow Bridge reconstruction] (Boston Globe)
  • Editorial: Envision Longfellow not just as a bridge, but an amenity (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: The More Things Change... (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: Key opportunity to advance access for the disabled (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: Imagine a latte from this lofty perch (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: Focus not on what is but what could be (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: Don't settle for auto-centric options (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: Crumbling infrastructure a national challenge (Boston Globe)
• Starts & Stops: Quieting down the Mattapan Trolley at Ashmont Station; LivableStreets Alliance honors officials 'who get it'; License renewals offered at AAA; Coalition aims to help state improve transit (Boston Globe)
• Route 128 Face Lift (Boston Globe)
• Bike/Ped bridge underpasses on Cape Cod (Allston-Brighton Community Blog)
• East Boston excited about restoration plans (Boston Globe)
• Starts & Stops: For most T riders, the long wait for a bus location app is over; $1b extension passes key milestone; In first for T's heavy rail, ads to rake in $120,000 (Boston Globe)

Walking

• 20 Years Of ADA: How Far Have We Come? (WBUR, MassDOT Blog, Boston Globe)
• Mass. court: Owners must clear snowy walkways (Boston Globe)

Bicycling

• Police: Newton driver strikes Allston cyclist (Newton TAB)
• Cambridge public health professor says it's true: biking is good for you (Cambridge Chronicle)
• Cambridge Publishes Bike Theft Statistics, Up 54% This Year (Boston Biker)
• On Biking: can't we all get along on our roads? (Boston Globe)
• Stats Class #2 - Crash Rates pt. 2 (The WashCycle)

Transit

• New MBTA Fairmount Line Station Announced (MassDOT Blog)
• Shouting into the void: Political Tweeters can learn from MBTA (CommonWealth Magazine)
• MBTA clueless on cause of concrete falling on car (Boston Herald)
• Arlington residents discuss proposed bus shelters (Arlington Advocate)
• Re: Reviving the night owl --
  • Letter: Weigh late-night T service in the harsh light of day (Boston Globe)
• Pay MBTA Parking: There's An App For That (WCVB, MassDOT Blog, Bostonist)
• MBTA Bus Routes Real-Time Data Major Expansion (MassDOT Blog)
• T moving in right direction on disabled access (Boston Herald)
• Transit authority's student pass may hold lessons for MBTA (CommonWealth Magazine)
• Freeze lifted on funding for station [Springfield] (The Republican)
• Housatonic Railroad explores reopening passenger line from Danbury to Massachusetts (NewsTimes)
• VIDEO: A Case for Open Data in Transit (Streetfilms)
• Green Line Extension/Community Path Extension --
  • Green line design will fix platform flaw (Cambridge Day)
  • MassBike Argues For Extension Of Community Path (MassBike)

Cars/Parking

• Dexter Park moves ahead in bid to rent parking to nonresidents (Brookline TAB)
• Salem State to offer Zipcar options for students, staff (Boston Globe)
• Parking bargain lures efficient vehicles (Boston Globe, Back Bay Sun)

Transportation financing/Government

• Transportation Advisory Committee votes on safety recommendations for schools (Arlington Advocate)
• Newton mayor to launch transportation panel (Boston Globe)
• Somerville's Argenziano School honors cycling grads (Somerville Journal)
• CitySmart Program Promotes Getting Around Carless (CCTV)
• Walz receives award from LivableStreets Alliance (Cambridge Chronicle)
• Transportation Advisory Committee to modify Stratton School traffic proposal (Arlington Advocate)

Parks

• Looking Out: A Vision For The Future: Swimming In The Charles (WBUR)
• Greenway gets free Wi-Fi (Boston Globe, Greenway Blog)
• State's cuts leave Greenway wanting (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: It would be a disgrace to abandon the jewel (Boston Globe)
  • Letter: What's the rush? A little brown grass is no 'tragedy' (Boston Globe)
• Longer walking paths proposed along Neponset River (Patriot Ledger)
• Officials look to improve harbor islands tourism (Boston Globe)
• Sunnyside Ave. residents concerned Greenway permit not being followed (Arlington Advocate)
• A Greenway urban code broken (Boston Globe)
• Nevada nonprofit helps Danvers, Methuen get rail trail projects done quickly, cheaply (Boston Globe)

Development projects

• Somerville's zoning changes hold Ocean State Job Lot at bay (Somerville Journal)
• New stadium could kick-start Revolution, Somerville (Boston Globe)
• A waterfront what? (Boston Herald)
• Panel to guide Olmstead Hill housing project in Brookline (Brookline TAB)
• Developer pitches plan for apartment building on Englewood Street (Brookline TAB)
• Trachtenberg Column: Did New Balance buy itself a favor? (Allston-Brighton TAB)
• Neighbors fear traffic at new Boston College building (Boston Globe, Newton TAB)
• What Passes for a Traffic Study at Riverside (Newton Streets and Sidewalks)
• Residents, businesses fear Mill Street complex proposal will mean increased traffic (Arlington Advocate)
• Kennedy Senate institute design plans take shape (Boston Globe)
• Public food market gets $10m promise (Boston Globe)
• Neighbors wary of Englewood Avenue project over parking, drainage issues in Brookline (Brookline TAB)
• Just plan ugly (CommonWealth Magazine)
  • BRA Statement on the Harbor Garage Project (BRA)
  • Editorial: A chance to be seized (Boston Globe)
• Developer of 93 Mass. Ave. and 407 Newbury St. proposes smaller project (Back Bay Sun)
• State gives Liberty waiver on major Columbus Ave development; project includes 22-story office tower and demolition of historic buildings (Back Bay Sun)

Land Use/Planning

• Greenway Planning:
  • Grow the Greenway the right way (CommonWealth Magazine)
  • Fresh thoughts for the Greenway (CommonWealth Magazine)
  • North End Residents Give Mixed Reactions to BRA's Greenway Area Development Guidelines (NorthEndWaterfront.com)
• Ideas percolate in Innovation District (Boston Globe)
• Editorial: Landmark decision (Boston Globe)
• SJC says public still has rights to tidal areas filled in since 1866 (Boston Globe)

Out-of-state

• Getting Slim Just by Riding the Subway (New York Times)
• Hauling Cargo, No Car Necessary (New York Times)
• Light-rail passengers still get a kick out of the ride, a year later (Seattle Times)
• Restoring New York Streets to Their Cobblestone Pasts (New York Times)
• As Metro congestion grows, so does anger at 'seat hogs' (Washington Post)
• Ann Arbor's new pedestrian safety ordinance seeks to prevent 'playing Frogger' to cross city streets (AnnArbor.com)
• Boulder is a city "wired for biking" (Denver Post)
• Washington Uses Transit to Generate Development (Next American City)
• Life In The Bike Lane: Getting Around The City By Bike (WNYC)
• Looking into Los Angeles' 2010 Draft Bike Plan (Streetsblog LA)
• Claiborne Avenue expressway demolition gets support in report [New Orleans] (Times-Picayune)
• L.A. officials to mark 20th anniversary of Metro Rail system (Los Angeles Times)
• Suburban residents now favor more transit spending, poll shows (Chicago Tribune)
• A Newfangled Sandbox Arrives (New York Times)
• Bikes and Cars: A Lesson in Los Angeles (New York Times)
• NYC floats in bridge to replace span linking boroughs (Boston Globe)
• High-tech parking meters premiere in S.F. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• First look at PBOT's new sharrow, 'neighborhood greenway' marketing (BikePortland)
• Bay Area bridge tolls take a toll on commuters (San Francisco Chronicle)

National trends

• Travelers Behaving Badly (InTransition)
• Design // Amtrak Subway Map (Cameron Booth)
• The Reverse Commute (The American Prospect)
• A FABBulous guide for Bicycling Advocates (LAB)
• Airports pitch sites as all-purpose transport hubs (USA TODAY)
• America's transit systems require $77.7 billion just to reach state of good repair (T4America, Sacramento Business Journal)
• AASHTO Expert Urges "New Strategy" to make America's Bridges Healthy (AASHTO)
• DOT celebrates 20 years of progress under the Americans with Disabilities Act (US DOT, T4America)
• VIDEO: Dangerous Crossing (Blueprint America)
• Recession breeds wave of supercommuters (MSNBC)
• High-speed railroading (Economist)
• Mitch Berg: Are conservatives allowed to ride bikes (Minnesota Post)
• The U.S. Emphasis on Passenger Rail and the Future of Freight (Transport Politic)
• Our view on gas tax: Price holds key to ending nation's addiction to oil (USA TODAY)
• Obama marks 20th anniversary of landmark disabled rights law (CNN)
• Cities tackle traffic head-on with commuter options (USA TODAY)
• National Transportation Safety Board report on Metro crash may reach nationwide (Washington Post)
• Funding Alternatives to the Gas Tax: The Pundits Discuss (Fox Business News)
• Learning Livability Locally: New PBS Series Imagines Future of American Communities (The City Fix)
• New Searchable Database for Transportation and Infrastructure Earmarks (The City Fix)
• Dude, Where's Your Car? (Slate)

International news

• Chinese Cities Find Bus-Only Lanes an Alternative to Cars and Subways (New York Times)
• Greek Rail System's Debt Adds to Economic Woes (New York Times)
• Bulldozers Meet Historic Chinese Neighborhood (New York Times)
• Construction Begins on Amman BRT (Treehugger)
• Do speed cameras really cut accidents? (BBC)
• BIXI bikes make their Toronto debut (BlogTO)
• London saddles up for new bike hire scheme (BBC)