July 23, 2010

Park Avenue Pools
New portable swimming pools coming to Park Ave in Manhattan
(Photo courtesy New York Times)


Highlights

  • Bike sharing in Boston gets $3m federal grant (Boston Globe, Boston Biker)
    By Eric Moskowitz -- The federal government awarded $3 million yesterday to Boston’s planned bike sharing program, giving the city and its partners seed money to purchase the stations and bicycles needed to launch next spring. The federal award, coupled with $2 million in previously pledged local sponsorships and grants, is enough to purchase roughly 500 bicycles and at least 50 rental stations, said Nicole Freedman, who runs Boston Bikes, the program that Mayor Thomas M. Menino created to make Boston more bike-friendly.
  • Green Line Extension to arrive 10 months late (Cambridge Chronicle, Somerville News, Cambridge Day)
    By Andy Metzger -- Supporters of the Green Line Extension have taken solace in the fact that the public transportation project — which would extend trolley service from Lechmere Station in Cambridge to stops in Somerville and Medford — is required by state regulation to be completed by 2014. But the Department of Transportation, which is managing the design and construction of the extension, wrote in its annual report that it will put off the anticipated completion of the project by 10 months, to October 2015. The state agency is going to petition for an extension next January because of “the complexity of the project and sheer length of time for construction,” the report said.
  • Brookline considers parking fee hike (Boston Globe, Brookline TAB)
    Costs may jump near Fenway Park
    By Brock Parker -- Red Sox fans would have to pay more than $20 to park at some Brookline parking meters on game nights under a proposed rate hike being considered by town officials. The proposal is part of a series of parking meter changes that Brookline’s Transportation Board is considering, including increasing hourly rates in much of the town and extending the hours when motorists must pay to park in some commercial areas.
  • To cut gridlock, drivers should pay for the fast lane, new study says (Chicago Tribune, The City Fix)
    'Congestion pricing' works elsewhere and is needed here, report says
    By Richard Wronski -- CHICAGO -- Already plagued by the nation's third-worst traffic congestion with little hope of building a way out of gridlock, Chicago-area motorists need to seriously consider whether they're willing to pay more to avoid traffic jams, transportation experts say. A new federally funded study by the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Illinois Tollway suggests that it's time for Chicago to embrace the concept known as "congestion pricing."
  • The Season of Biker Chic (Wall Street Journal)
    Touring Cities Stylishly on Two Wheels, With Stops for Cycling Accessories
    By Christina Brinkley -- Riding a bike to work is increasingly chic these days. But is it possible to pedal two wheels across town and not arrive at the office looking like a refugee from the Tour de France? I looked into this question recently, inspired by a popular new generation of city bikes. These are old-fashioned-looking bikes with heavy frames, strong, wide tires and handlebars high enough to let the rider sit upright.
  • VIDEO: Cycling Copenhagen, Through North American Eyes (Streetfilms)
    By Clarence Eckerson, Jr. -- While Streetfilms was in Copenhagen for the Velo-City 2010 conference, of course we wanted to showcase its biking greatness.  But we were also looking to take a different perspective then all the myriad other videos out there.  Since there were an abundance of advocates, planners, and city transportation officials attending from the U.S. and Canada, we thought it'd be awesome to get their reactions to the city's built environment and compare to bicycling conditions in their own cities.

"Streets"

  • Main Street to Green Street (Boston Globe)
  • Big Belly time (South End News)
  • Breathing new life into Somerville's squares (Somerville News)
  • Six JP trees found infested with beetles (Jamaica Plain Gazette)
  • Main Street model revitalizes Roslindale (Boston Globe)
  • Starts & Stops: Long-awaited Green Line extension to Somerville, Medford delayed again; T ridership up; increases for 3 months registered; Rest assured, Concord Rotary delays only temporary (Boston Globe)

Walking

Bicycling

Transit

Cars/Parking

Transportation financing/Government

Parks

  • After battle, park at Harvard site manages to please (Boston Globe)
  • The Greening of Boston (Boston Globe)
  • New Pavement On Southwest Corridor Bike Path (Boston Biker)
  • Things you should know about man-made river basin (Back Bay Sun)
  • Letter: Green spaces need boost of city clout (Boston Globe)
  • The chill factor (Boston Herald)
  • Glen Park: Beautiful Park, Complicated Park. Somerville Parks & Recreation Spaces, Part III (Somerville Voices)
  • Watertown council OK's bike path plan (Boston Globe)
  • Looking Out: A Vision For The Future: Swimming In The Charles (WBUR)

Development projects

Land Use/Planning

Out-of-state

National trends

  • The Future of the City (The Dirt)
  • Bus cuts drive Americans back to cars (Guardian)
  • A Desire for More Streetcars (Governing)
  • VIDEO: Retrofitting Suburbia (Washington Post)
  • On The Map: America's Shifting Commuting Choices (The New Republic)
  • Highways Get A $3.7 Billion Boost In House Bill (Transportation Nation)
  • Enforcement Issues Loom With Texting While Driving Bans (NPR)
  • Gas taxes give us a break at the pump (USA Today)
  • A Walker's Guide to Home Buying (Wall Street Journal)
  • What Ever Happened to Public Transportation? (Huffington Post)
  • High-Rise, or House With Yard? (New York Times)
  • New book states case for passenger trains as 21st-century transportation (Reno Gazette-Journal)
  • Rumble Strips: Problems and Policies (LAB)
  • Active transportation, more walking and biking can help us confront obesity (T4America, Streetsblog DC)
  • VIDEO: NACTO's "Cities for Cycling" (Streetfilms)
  • Urban Circulator Grants Promise Better Rail and Bus Service to a Select Group of Cities (Transport Politic)
  • American Conservative magazine "rails against the machine," promotes alternatives to the automobile (T4America)
  • Walking -- Not Just for Cities Anymore (Brookings)
  • Road Diet Crash Reduction Variations Studied by DOT (Planetizen)
  • VIDEO: The Future of Designated Driving (Current)
  • Some cities want fewer roads, not more (Marketplace)
  • After High Line's Success, Other Cities Look Up (New York Times)
  • The Season of Biker Chic (Wall Street Journal)
  • The Nimblest City (Slate)
    • Bicycle Highways (Slate)
    • Should Cities Install Moving Sidewalks? (Slate)
    • Is It Time To Buy A Narrow Car? (Slate)

International news