May 2, 2012

Bicycle Navigation Signs
New navigational signs for bicyclists in Boston
(Photo courtesy of Boston Metro)


Highlights

  • Bike parking corrals moving into ten locations citywide (Somerville News, Somerville Patch)
    Curbside Structures Enhance Safety, Convenience for Cyclists; Improve Pedestrian Flow by Reducing Bike Parking on Sidewalks and at Parking Meters
    Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced  that city workers are nearing completion on installation of ten curbside bicycle corrals across the city. The structures are designed to provide secure parking for up to up to 14 bikes in the same space that would typically be used for a single parked car. Bicyclists can use the corrals instead of locking their bikes to street signs or parking meters, which reduces congestion on sidewalks and promotes easier access to meters in business districts. The corrals will remain in place until late fall, when colder weather typically causes a decline in bicycle traffic.
  • MBTA announces smartphone ticketing for commuter rail (Universal Hub, NECN, Boston Globe, BostInno, Boston Metro)
    The MBTA announced today that by this fall, riders should be able to use their smartphones as replacements for their current paper passes. The T's signed a contract with a British e-ticketing company for a system that will let iPhone, Android and Blackberry users hold up their phones to conductors rather than passes. The new system means the end of the promise to let riders use CharlieCards on commuter rail. However, riders will be able to link CharlieCards to their smartphone accounts, eliminating the need for paper tickets at connecting subway or bus lines.
  • VIDEO: Plan: Turn Carpool Lanes Into Toll Lanes During Rush Hour (WCVB)
    Some Say Plan To Charge For Quicker Commute Not Fair
    There's a plan on the table to turn the high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Massachusetts into toll lanes during rush hour. The idea is simple: Turn HOV lanes that encourage carpooling and pollution reduction during rush hour into toll-paying lanes to raise millions of extra dollars each year. "It took me an hour and half on (Interstate) 93 from the Braintree split this morning to get into the city. I would have given anything. I would have given $5. I would have given $10, frankly, to be able to drive into the city in 15 minutes time," Rep. Daniel Winslow said.
  • Dallas City Council Member: Adding Highway Lanes Is Pointless (Streetsblog)
    By Angie Schmitt -- We’ve written about the seedy good-old-boy network in Texas that, with naked self-interest, has lobbied for and built more, more, and MORE highways, even as public budgets and household pocketbooks struggle under the burden. So it is with great admiration today that we recognize a voice of reason out of the Lone Star state: no, not Pedestrian Pete — Dallas City Council Member Scott Griggs. Griggs set himself apart by criticizing plans to ram through a major new highway in downtown Dallas — which would add to the existing roster of six.
  • VIDEO: America Revealed Episode 2: Nation on the Move (PBS)
    America is a nation of vast distances and dense urban clusters, woven together by 200,000 miles of railroads, 5,000 airports, and 4 million miles of roads. These massive, complex transportation systems combine to make Americans the most mobile people on earth.  In this episode, host Yul Kwon journeys across the continent by air, road and rail.
  • How to get urban dwellers cycling: Make it normal (Toronto Globe and Mail)
    By Anna Mehler Paperney -- This stretch of Toronto’s King Street West, lined with cabs and delivery vans of beer, choked with midday drivers dodging streetcars, is not the most bike-friendly block. But Andreas Rohl is pedalling around on a bike as though it were the most normal thing in the world. Which is the point. Mr. Rohl, Copenhagen’s bicycle guru, was visiting Toronto this week from Vancouver, where he’s working on a new walking and cycling strategy for the West Coast city. He sat down with The Globe and Mail after his keynote talk at the Ontario Bike Summit.

"Streets"

Walking

  • Quincy to make traffic changes on Sea Street to improve pedestrian safety (Boston Globe)
  • We Walk, Therefore We Are Liberals? (Boston Magazine)
  • Walk This Way: Tips for pedestrian etiquette (Planning 101)
  • Harvard Yard transformed by colored chairs (Boston Globe)

Bicycling

Transit

  • WGBH focus on the T --
    • From the WGBH Vault: MBTA Improvements (WGBH)
    • Just Another Rush Hour on the MBTA (WGBH)
    • Your List: 10 Innovative Ideas to Fix the T (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: The MBTA: What Fare Hikes & Service Cuts Mean for Your Health (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: In Defense of the Auto (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: How to Create a World-Class Transit System (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: Sci-Fi Solutions for the T (WGBH)
    • Senior citizens disrupt Massachusetts Hours budget session, deliver policy demands (MassLive, WBGH)
    • AUDIO: Getting a Free Ride ... from the Bus Farebox (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: Should Massport Help the T? (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: Racial Disparities and the MBTA (WGBH)
    • Your Top 5 Ideas to Fix the T (WGBH)
    • AUDIO: 'Tourist Train' Status: Delayed (WGBH)
  • The MBTA: The auto driver's best friend (Boston Globe)
  • No More Sneaking Onto the Green Line: MBTA Bans Rear-Door Boarding on the D-Branch (BostInno, Allston-Brighton TAB, Boston Magazine, Boston Globe, BostInno, Boston Magazine)
    • Riders React to the MBTA Fare Evasion Crackdown (WGBH)
  • MBTA announces smartphone ticketing for commuter rail (Universal Hub, NECN, Boston Globe, BostInno, Boston Metro)
    • Experts: New ticket app leaves MBTA vulnerable (Boston Metro)
  • T musical needs help to keep laughs going (Boston Metro)
  • OPINION: T-free is the way to be (Boston Globe)
  • Massport and the T (CommonWealth Magazine)
  • Will these abandoned T tunnels be turned into tourist attractions? (Boston Metro)
  • Saving the T (Boston Column)
  • Equal or Better: One Local Filmmaker Aims to Tell a Story of Inequality on the Silver Line (BostInno)
  • Wednesday Wanderings: Broadway (I Ride the T)
  • MBTA settled with patent trolls two years ago to keep alerts flowing (Universal Hub)
  • Carnage along the E line: Councilor wants to mount cameras on trolleys to catch motorists who don't stop for riders (Universal Hub)
  • Government to make Red Line even germier (Universal Hub)
  • Westminster voters to be asked to fund train study (Worcester Telegram)

Cars/Parking

Transportation financing/Government

  • Boston plans upgrades worth $1.8 billion (Boston Herald)
  • MassDOT National Recognition: "Bicycle Friendly Business" (MassDOT Blog)
  • Mayor Forms Transportation Advisory Team (Somerville Patch)
  • Grant Awarded To Transform Communities Around The State (MassBike)
  • House OKs opening books of quasi agencies (Boston Herald)

Parks

Development projects

Land Use/Planning

Out-of-state

  • New York City --
    • Steely Traffic Managers Ease a Holland Tunnel (New York Times)
    • Countdown to a New Times Square (New York Magazine)
    • AUDIO: Gridlock Sam's Master Plan: Commercial Vehicles (WNYC)
    • Dangerous Drivers Practically Begging for NYPD's Attention (Streetsblog)
    • Access-Ride MetroCards (New York Post)
    • After Delay, More Improvements Coming For East Side Select Bus Service (Streetsblog)
    • New Taxicabs Are Green, Literally (New York Times)
  • Los Angeles --
  • Washington DC --
    • Process to start second part of Dulles rail line delayed (Washington Post)
    • Do DC's cycletracks work well? DDOT has some conclusions (GGW)
    • DC Metro Approves Fare Hike (Transportation Nation)
    • Walmart's 6 DC stores: Some will be urban, some won't (GGW)
  • The Tide: 1 million strong and growing (WAVY TV)
  • Dallas City Council Member: Adding Highway Lanes Is Pointless (Streetsblog)
  • Teens: Let me ride my bicycle in peace (Tri-Valley Times)
  • Building a modern streetcar and a stronger downtown in Tucson, AZ (Smart Growth America)
  • Development Moratoriums Make Traffic Worse (Next American City)
  • OK City Gives Car-Free Mobility a Chance (Planetizen)
  • Mass transit gains momentum in Houston Area Survey (Houston Chronicle)
  • Bikes on a train: The thrills and frustrations of commuting in an eco-friendly way in car city (CultureMap Houston)
  • VIDEO: San Francisco: Reclaiming Streets With Innovative Solutions (Streetfilms)
  • San Diego Police: Unless the Cyclist Is Killed, Top Penalty Is a Ticket (Streetsblog)

National trends

  • VIDEO: America Revealed Episode 2: Nation on the Move (PBS)
  • Bike Sharing Systems Aren't Trying to Peddle for Profit (US News)
  • Trains increase number of quiet cars (USA TODAY)
  • Transit funding: GOP plan appears squashed (Politico)
  • Memo to Wendell Cox: Density and vision are not anti-market (Better Cities)
  • Boom in biking benefits everyone, not just bicyclists (Christian Science Monitor)
  • Bad Zoning Can Ruin Your Kid's Life (Atlantic Cities)
  • Wal-Mart Tries to Go to Town (American Prospect)
  • Cities With the Most Highway Miles: a "Who's Who" of Decay (Streetsblog)
  • Bicycle injuries: Is the right-of-way fight getting ugly (CNN)
  • Can Advanced Technologies Really Help Curb Highway Congestion? (PC World)
  • Transportation policy needs push to get moving (Politico)
  • Study: Low-Income Neighborhoods Much More Likely to Have Dangerous Roads (Streetsblog DC)
  • The Invention of Jaywalking (Atlantic Cities)
  • Eye-opening stats on freeway removal (Better Cities)
  • Walkscore Ranks Top Ten U.S. Cities for Transit (Transportation Nation)
    • Boston a Leader in Public Transit Access? Not Now, Walk Score (CLF)
  • U.S. ban sought on cell phone use while driving (Chicago Tribune)
  • Listen to market demand, says Economist's Ryan Avent (Smart Growth America)
  • Urbanism works for small towns, too (Better Cities)

International news