StreetNews 11/11/2008
New cycle track on Grand Street, Manhattan (Photo courtesy Streetsblog)
Highlights
- A kinder, gentler approach on traffic signs (
Globe)
By Lisa Kocian -- NEEDHAM -- Empathetic traffic signs? It
sounds like an oxymoron. Aren't traffic signs usually about threats and
fines? Not in Needham. Drivers have feelings, too. And the harried
soccer/hockey/gymnastics mom who is just trying to get everyone where
they're going might actually respond better to a sign that tries to
relate to her, according to Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick.Using
that borrowed theory, Fitzpatrick enlisted Pollard Middle School
students to design signs that would slow down their parents and older
brothers and sisters.
- Allston commuter rail plan rolls ahead (
TAB)
By Matt Seidner -- ALLSTON -- Consultants for the State Executive
Office of Transportation presented Allston residents with updated plans
for a commuter rail station and a more specific version of the Urban Ring
Phase 2 bus project Wednesday night. The majority of the meeting focused
on the lack of public rail transport in Allston even though the
Framingham/Worcester line, currently owned by CSX, passes through it.
“We recognize that there is a gap in this neighborhood,” said Dennis
Coffey, business development manager for HNTB, a consulting firm.
- Sierra Club: Silver Line plan shows 'willful ignorance and
contempt for reality' (
End News)
The Massachusetts Chapter of the Sierra Club
is
responding to several recently-filed documents including the draft
Finding of Effect Memorandum dated September 16, 2008, identifying the
potential impacts to historic properties that may result from the
construction of the Silver Line Phase III bus tunnel connecting the
South Boston Waterfront Transitway with Washington Street bus service
to Dudley Square in Roxbury. We believe that these filings seriously
underestimate the likely effects, both temporary and permanent, of this
construction project upon the structures and other features along its
route.
- Work on South Bay Harbor Trail is launched (
Globe)
By Christina Pazzanese -- BOSTON -- City and state officials
marked the formal launch of work on a new
bicycle and pedestrian pathway yesterday designed to open Boston's
waterfront to formerly landlocked neighborhoods. Organizers say the
3.5-mile South Bay Harbor Trail will link inland
areas such as Roxbury, Chinatown, and the South End to the waterways of
Fort Point Channel and the Seaport district by Fan Pier. It will also
serve as a much-needed recreational connection for cyclists and
pedestrians downtown to get from the Rose Kennedy Greenway to the
Arnold Arboretum and the Emerald Necklace, they say.
CORRECTION: The article incorrectly stated that the project will begin
construction this fall. The project design is expected to be completed
in late 2009, and construction is anticipated to commence in 2010.
- Full Steam Ahead for California's High-Speed Rail (
By Dave Demerjian -- Before the final ballots had even been
tallied, high-speed rail advocates in California were getting down to
work, laying the foundation for a bullet train that will link San
Francisco and Los Angeles as early as 2020. Voters on Tuesday approved
the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, more commonly
known as Proposition 1A, by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent. The
law authorizes the Legislature to issue almost $10 billion in bonds to
fund the first phase of an 800-mile high speed rail link between
Northern and Southern California. Advocates of high-speed rail hailed
the victory as a watershed for high-speed rail in America.
Related: Passenger trains gain favor with public, Congress (
Times)
- Drivers Respect Grand Street Parking-Protected Cycle Track (
By Brad Aaron -- NEW YORK, NY -- Though modest by comparison,
here's another first for this historic day. Manhattan Community Board
2's Ian Dutton sent over photos of the new Grand Street cycle track,
the city's initial attempt at a parking-protected design. [...] Photo
pool contributor Jacob-uptown had similar things to say after cruising
the new Grand: "Cars have learned where to park ... This is a huge
precedent for creating these cheap yet highly effective bike lanes."
"Streets"
- Fewer Roads, Less Congestion (
- A kinder, gentler approach on traffic signs [Needham] (
Globe) - New street lamps brighten Peabody's Main Street (
News)
Walking
- Workshop aims to make Brookline more walkable (
TAB)
Bicycling
- 2 bike stolen from MBTA cages (
Herald) - For cyclists seeking simplicity, the fixed is in (
Globe) - Bike-share system under study [Cambridge] (
Globe)
Transit
- Despite falling gas prices, T ridership continues to increase in
September (
Globe) - T to vote on plan to overhaul its buses (
Globe) - Allston commuter rail plan rolls ahead (
TAB) - Sierra Club: Silver Line plan shows 'willful ignorance and
contempt for reality' (
End News) - Commuter rail to get free Wi-Fi; cell service added in some T
stations (Tufts Daily) - #39 bus meetings begin privately (
Gazette) - MBTA to JP: Run your own bus (
Gazette) - New bus yard plan revealed (
Gazette) - Letter: Build T facility according to plan, or don't build at all
(Jamaica Plain
Gazette) - Advocate: T bus drivers are rude (
Globe) - Starts & Stops: Commuter battles MBTA parking hike (
Globe,
Metro)
Cars/Parking
- Boston Begins Upgrade To Solar-Powered Parking Meters (
- Drivers get charged up about plugging in cars (
Globe)
Parks
- Ideas sough for Public Garden pavilion, duck house (
- Work on South Bay Harbor Trail is launched (
Globe)
CORRECTION: The article incorrectly stated that the project will begin
construction this fall. The project design is expected to be completed
in late 2009, and construction is anticipated to commence in 2010.
Development projects
- Tower plan filed: $200M downtown complex eyed (
Herald) - Hynes: Filene's project on hold (
Business Journal) - Tank may shift Stoneham standoff (
Globe,
Sun) - Vertex move to Fan Pier hits snag (
Business Journal) - Three plans presented for the MBTA substation (
Roxbury Transcript) - Loving care for a Brutalist giant (
Globe) - Letter: City Hall revival need not be brutal (
Globe) - Questions remain about Copley plan (
Globe) - P24 PDA Approved (
Land Use/Zoning
- 2 sides (at least) to every story at Town Meeting [Brookline] (
Globe)
Transportation financing/Government
- McCourt Construction pays half million dollar fine (
Business Journal)
Out-of-state
- Streets Smarts effort aims to make city safer for pedestrians (
Haven Register) - RTA's Euclid Corridor 'Healthline' opens [Cleveland] (
8, - More Experts Weigh In Against NJ Turnpike Widening (
the Region) - For new offices, it's all about the ride (
Post) - Full Steam Ahead for California's High-Speed Rail (
- GPS System For City Buses May Lose Support (
- Drivers Respect Grand Street Parking-Protected Cycle Track (
- Designing NYC Streets for the 21st Century (
- Transit: A Full Ride (
- PDOT includes bike boulevards in $847 million federal funding
request ( - Downtown streets closed for Bike Miami (
Herald)
National trends
- Passenger trains gain favor with public, Congress (
Times) - Cities rack up public art with bike racks (
TODAY) - Active Transportation for America Report (
- Over 70% of Public Transportation Ballot Measures Pass (
- Bixi Ranks in TIME's Best Inventions of '08 (
Bike-sharing Blog) - Livable communities in the Obama era (
Livable Communities) - The price of our oil addiction (
International news
- Delhi (How
We Drive) - Nine 'healthy towns' get £30m pot (