BIKE OVER TRASH TO SAVE ON GAS
By MIKE MENNONNO, letters@metro.us
May 2, 2006 -- Page 9

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With T fares set to go up again, and not by a small increment, I’m more committed than ever to cycling as a viable alternative to cars and mass transit. Not only is it a greener way to get around, it’s a great cardio workout, and it’s cheaper and faster than the T. What more could you want? Since I started biking to work in the Back Bay from Dorchester, I’ve cut my morning commute time in half.

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Smart Thinking
Franklin, a community south of Boston, became a poster town for sprawl. Now one developer is betting big on revitalizing its downtown. Should the rest of Massachusetts follow suit?
By Bryant Urstadt | February 12, 2006

The next boom in real estate may have started with a wrecking crew. The target was a single abandoned furniture warehouse right in the center of the once-thriving downtown of Franklin. What went down with the warehouse may be the whole idea of living in a huge house on gobbled-up farmland in the suburbs and spending the better part of your life behind the wheel of a car.

Click here for the original article from New York's Villiage Voice.

Ever wonder why, in such a crowded place as New York City, it can be so hard to find a mate?

Here's a novel excuse: traffic.

According to a new study by the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, people who live on highly trafficked streets tend to go out less and have fewer friends and acquaintances than people who live in less congested parts of the city.

The Day The Traffic Disappeared

By RANDY KENNEDY (NYT) 3472 words
Late Edition - Final , Section 6 , Page 42 , Column 2

ABSTRACT - Randy Kennedy article on impact of London's policy of charging drivers to drive within specified area of city, thus reclaiming it from tyranny of automobile; says car is most inefficient method of traveling in cities; explores historical relationship of car traffic and cities and wonders how similar plan would work in New York; drawings (L)

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ADRIAN WALKER
Park stuck in neutral
By Adrian Walker, Globe Columnist | February 9, 2006

You might think of Southwest Corridor Park as a dream deferred.

The 4.7-mile expanse, which runs from Back Bay Station to Jamaica Plain, was planned as an urban showcase. It's never become that, exactly. Stretches of it are lovely, while others bear witness to benign neglect.

Perhaps that's to be expected of a large urban park that is mostly maintained by neighbors and volunteers, instead of by the state government responsible for it.

National Academies News: Fuel Taxes and Future of Highway Funding
From: The National Academies
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 10:13:47 -0500

Date: Jan. 23, 2006
Contacts: Patrice Pages, Media Relations Officer
Chris Dobbins, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fuel Tax Is a Sound Way to Fund Highways in the Short Term,
But Different Long-Term Revenue Sources Are Needed

WASHINGTON -- Fuel taxes can remain the primary funding source for the nation's highways for at least another decade, but eventually replacing them with a system that meters road use and charges drivers accordingly could benefit travelers and the public, says a new report from the National Academies' Transportation Research Board. Although the current funding system helps build and maintain highways and ensures that users pay most of these costs, it does not help transportation agencies alleviate congestion or target investment to the most valuable projects.

The Boston Scenarios Group (http://www.bostonscenarios.org) is a fledgling network of scholars and activists in the Boston region who are trying to develop inspiring visions of Deep Change for the city and its environs in 2050. Following a workshop on June 2, 2005, convened by Tellus Institute, the group is now working to enhance preliminary scenarios for different sectors: the economy, health, transportation and land-use, energy, water, and so on. Small technical working groups have been formed to help develop quantitative relationships for generating the scenarios. There are also complementary narrative visions that need to be elaborated and checked for consistency with one another. The objective is to build a shared conception of a vibrant and socially cohesive city of the future that satisfies sustainability goals. These include racial and economic justice, reduced overall work-loads, and environmental loadings that are consonant with global per capita emissions needed for a sustainable planet. The project is premised on the view that a shared perspective on where we want to go is a necessary (though not sufficient) first step to building the sort of coherent urban movement that could bring about far-reaching social and environmental change over the long term.

Mayer Hillman is a transport and environmental advocate who has been very influential in the UK over the past two decades or so. This is an extended profile on him, which appeared in 2002 in the magazine section of the Guardian.

High Cost or High Opportunity Cost? Transportation and Family Economic Success
Margy Waller
Center on Children and Families Working Paper

Abstract: Research evidence suggests that having a car is a worthwhile investment in better outcomes for low-income families. Recent reports quantify the additional money required to own and operate personal vehicles, as compared to the lower cost of traveling on public transit. However, this method of accounting fails to consider the fact that poor workers without a car may not be able to search for or accept a better-paying job because public transit doesn’t go there, causing these workers to lose lost income or benefits as a result. This report outlines opportunity costs experienced by transit-dependent poor households, and concludes that when all costs are considered along with benefits of private vehicles, it makes sense to press for more assistance and policies that reduce car ownership costs for poor workers.