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January 11, 2009


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: LivableStreets To Host First Annual "Boston Bikes Update Report"
On Thursday, January 29th, LivableStreets Alliance will host the first "Boston Bikes Update Report" by the city's Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman.  The public meeting will be held starting at 7 PM in the mezzanine conference room of the main branch of the Boston Public Library.  The focus will be on future steps needed to create the "world class bicycling city" that Mayor Menino has promised.  There will be additional discussion about what could be done to significantly expand the cycling population -- and its political influence -- by attracting "traffic intolerant" bicyclists, by installing low-cost bike-friendly infrastructure in all parts of the city, and by setting up programs to assure that low-income and non-white communities feel included, among other strategies.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: LivableStreets To Host First Annual "Boston Bikes Update Report"
On Thursday, January 29th, LivableStreets Alliance will host the first "Boston Bikes Update Report" by the city's Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman.  The public meeting will be held starting at 7 PM in the mezzanine conference room of the main branch of the Boston Public Library.  The focus will be on future steps needed to create the "world class bicycling city" that Mayor Menino has promised.  There will be additional discussion about what could be done to significantly expand the cycling population -- and its political influence -- by attracting "traffic intolerant" bicyclists, by installing low-cost bike-friendly infrastructure in all parts of the city, and by setting up programs to assure that low-income and non-white communities feel included, among other strategies.
Metro North bike hooks
New bike hooks on Metro North commuter rail train
(Photo courtesy Streetsblog)
 

Highlights

  • Two key roads to get $4m in improvements (Boston Globe)
    By Christina Pazzanese -- Amid fiscal belt-tightening across the state, the Department of Conservation and Recreation recently unveiled an ambitious $4 million plan to make maintenance and recreational improvements along Storrow Drive and Soldiers Field Road. In the Dec. 24 announcement, DCR Commissioner Rick Sullivan said the project would improve public safety and "heighten the experience" for drivers, bikers, and pedestrians in the Charles River Reservation.

     

  • Many awaiting movement on Green Line extension (Boston Globe)
    By Noah Bierman -- Shocking. A state transportation project is missing a deadline, prompting concerns about delays. Round up the usual suspects. OK, so maybe it's not too surprising. But the Massachusetts Bay Turnpike Authority's Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford is worthy of attention - one of the state's highest priorities and among its most expensive public transit projects underway in the next few years.

     

  • Why You'll Love Paying for Roads That Used to Be Free: A Guest Post (Freakonomics: Part 1, Part 2)
    By Eric A. Morris -- To end the scourge of traffic congestion, Julius Caesar banned most carts from the streets of Rome during daylight hours. It didn’t work — traffic jams just shifted to dusk. Two thousand years later, we have put a man on the moon and developed garments infinitely more practical than the toga, but we seem little nearer to solving the congestion problem. If you live in a city, particularly a large one, you probably need little convincing that traffic congestion is frustrating and wasteful. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, the average American urban traveler lost 38 hours, nearly one full work week, to congestion in 2005. And congestion is getting worse, not better; urban travelers in 1982 were delayed only 14 hours that year.

     

  • Editorial: A Pitch for Mass Transit (New York Times)
    Unlike President Bush, Barack Obama is going to enter office with a clear appreciation of the urgent problems of climate change and America’s growing dependency on foreign oil — and a strong commitment to address both. One way he can do this is to give mass transit — trains, buses, commuter rails — the priority it deserves and the full financial and technological help it needs and has long been denied.

     

  • An Open Letter to Barack Obama on Behalf of Sidewalks (Portland Transport)
    By Michael Ronkin -- Mr. President-elect: Thank you for taking the time to listen to suggestions on how best to invest in our infrastructure. You have heard from many about repairing bridges and highways. You have been receiving many "shovel-ready" wish lists of projects. Big highway projects are rarely shovel-ready; there will always be legitimate environmental and political hurdles to overcome, requiring robust public debate.However, there are many small-scale projects that require little or no red tape, provide tremendous benefit/cost, and create the greatest number of local jobs per dollar spent: sidewalk repair, infill and construction, and bringing existing sidewalks up to ADA compliance. Sidewalk projects provide many economic benefits for communities large and small...

     

  • Bicycle makes a comeback in China, for fashion, health (China View)
    HANGZHOU, China -- To celebrate the New Year, Shen Kailun, a white-collar in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, rode a bicycle onto a hill top in the "First Ride in 2009"-theme activity. The motorist used to commute by car developed the hobby of cycling for health from last year. Born in 1978, Shen, like many of his peers, has a reminisces about his experience of bicycles. A "Phoenix" brand bicycle was his parents' wedding gift, a luxury at that time, which cost his father four months of salary. At the age of 12, he got his first bike. He rode it to school like most of his classmates did until finishing high school education. In 1980s and 1990s, to the majority in China, pedaling was a means for everyday transportation and thus made China "kingdom of bicycles".

"Streets"

Bicycling

Transit

Transportation financing/Government

Parks

Development projects

Land Use/Zoning

  • Sweet Spot Density for Livable Neighborhoods (Planetizen)
  • Restrictive housing policies blamed for high home prices (Boston Herald)

Out-of-state

  • Twentysomethings Are Out Protesting The Light Rail's Midnight Stop Time (Phoenix New Times)
  • Flush with riders, transit is short on money and options [Minneapolis] (Star Tribune)
  • Metro-North Makes Its M-7 Train Cars More Bike-Friendly (Streetsblog)
  • Bay Area transit is cheaper than driving to work (San Francisco Examiner)
  • More and more, Miami becomes a bike-friendly city (Miami Herald)
  • Chicago Loses NYC's Congestion Pricing Money (Streetsblog)

National trends

  • Editorial: A Pitch for Mass Transit (New York Times)
  • Officials Hope Transportation Moves Forward With Obama (MSNBC)
  • More then half of U.S. cyclists forgo helmets: report (Reuters)
  • What Does $1.67 Gasoline Mean For The Future (National Journal)
  • Tell Congress: Don't Waste Money on Highway Expansion (Streetsblog)
  • Transit's up, driving's down: Have we reached the tipping point (The Ground Floor)
  • An Open Letter to Barack Obama on Behalf of Sidewalks (Portland Transport)
  • Toward a New American Infrastructure (WorldChanging)

International news