December 5, 2013

London Protest
London cyclists take a stand...so to speak

(Photo courtesy of The Atlantic Cities)
 

Late T service to be tried on weekends Boston Globe

Martine Powers--MBTA riders and some local businesses hailed news that the T plans to try late-night service next spring on trains and buses until 3 a.m. on weekends.
But even amid exclamations of enthusiasm — “Finally!” “Yessssss!!” and “PRAISE THE LORD!” cropped up on Twitter — some people raised concerns about whether the program could be a success and questioned how the T will overcome the logistical challenges posed by keeping the trains running into times now scheduled for maintenance.

Boston Bikes debuts ‘sharrows on steroids’ Boston.com

Martine Powers--A new set of street markings on Allston’s Brighton Avenue aren’t simply an errant set of dashes installed by city staff with extra paint — they’re part of a national experiment to test innovative bike facilities.
I first noticed the markings last week while driving through Allston Village. Running down the right-hand lanes on both sides of Brighton Avenue are bike-priority icons, known as “sharrows” in cyclist parlance, hugged by two sets of dashed lines along either side that make the lane look more like an airport runway.
My first thought: Sharrows on steroids!

McGRATH HIGHWAY REPAIRS: The Occasional Superiority of Short-Term Solutions LivableStreets

Steve Miller--Both Advocates and Public Agency leaders can find a number of lessons in the multi-level effort to deal with the McGrath Highway corridor in Somerville – which has resulted not only in a commitment from MassDOT to explore ways to eventually replace the crumbling neighborhood-dividing “Chinese Wall” with a less intimidating ground-level road, but a short-term plan to significantly  improve transit, pedestrian, and bicycling facilities as part of short-term repairs to the McCarthy Overpass section.

Why Free Black Friday Parking Is a Bad Idea StreetsBlog

Angie Schmitt--It can be hard for downtown retailers to compete with big box stores in the burbs. That’s why a lot of cities like to offer free street parking on “black Friday.”
It sounds good in theory. But in practice, giving away parking might not do much to help central business districts, or their patrons.

Following a Spate of Deaths, London Cyclists Get Militant The Atlantic Cities

Feargus O'Sullivan--Cyclists staged a "Die-in" in London on Friday to protest a recent spate of cycling deaths on the city's roads. Massing outside the offices of Transport for London, the body governing city transit, protestors lay down in the road way, lit candles and held a moment of silence for the cyclists who have died recently on London's streets—a group currently growing at an alarming rate. Five London cyclists died in collisions with motor vehicles over just nine days in November. The atmosphere has gotten so bad that an estimated 20 percent of London cyclistshave stopped bike commuting due to safety fears.

"Streets"

  • Column: Let Somerville's Union Square thrive on its own terms Wicked Local
  • Complete Streets Occupiers Spectator
  • MassDOT Implements New Healthy Transportation... Bay State Roads
  • LIVABILITY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND MOVING AROUND: A Healthy Society Requires Healthy People LivableStreets

Walking

Bicycling

  • Cambridge to test year-round Hubway operations this winter Boston.com
  • Boston Bikes debuts ‘sharrows on steroids’ Boston.com
  • The new Harvard Bridge bike lane, animated-GIF style Amateur Planner
  • Hubway a profit-maker for City, bike company JP Gazette
  • No public input mandated on bike-share sites JP Gazette
  • Boston Bikes: Sharrows Installed in Allston BostInno
  • Making The Cape Great For Biking Mass Bike
  • Opinion: American bike infrastructure on steroids Bike Portland
  • Editorial: Hubway service in Cambridge this winter provides welcome experiment for entire system Boston Globe
  • Springfield celebrates city's first official bicycle lanes in Sixteen Acres neighborhood MassLive
  • Boston Startups: Superpedestrian Releases Copenhagen Wheel BostInno
  • Cambridge, You've Done it Again Cycle Style Boston

Transit

Cars/Parking

  • A second look at a controversial bend in the road Boston.com
  • Town Meeting shoots down measure to decrease parking requirement Wicked Local
  • Op-Ed: Get rid of this downtown garage — and one more Boston Globe
  • Why Free Black Friday Parking Is a Bad Idea StreetsBlog
  • Speed Cameras Working: Speeding Drops 65 Percent StreetsBlog
  • Bad parking policy, in one picture Walking Bostonian
  • Zipcar offers new monthly membership plan Boston.com
  • The meaning of #BlackFridayParking Strong Towns

Transportation financing/Government

  • Governor Patrick Announces Springfield I-91 Viaduct Project Mass Transit Blog
  • Bedford/Kingston Island Makeover Improves Accessibility, Lighting Downtown BRA
  • Marty Walsh eyes BRA mess​ Boston Herald
  • Transportation Reform: Collaboration Leads to Big Savings Mass Transpo Blog
  • MBTA: Reduces Commuter Rail Parking Fines to $5 Per Ticket BostInno

Parks

  • Bike to the Sea Wins Major Grant For Revere Portion of Trail Bike to the Sea
  • Editorial: Parklets need rethinking before next rollout Boston Globe
  • Cambridge skatepark nearing final design review Wicked Local
  • Parklet partner Tacos El Charo closed JP Gazette
  • Neighbors of the state's Greenway project in Arlington adapt Wicked Local
  • North End Regional Review: A North End Dog Park Is Needed -- on CAT Parcel 12 North End Regional Review
  • Another Look at the Bicycle Track -- around the Public Garden Beacon Hill Times
  • Investing in Healthy Neighborhoods: The Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund Planning 101
  • Somerville residents weigh in on Lincoln Park improvements Wicked Local

Development projects

Land Use/Planning

  • Somerville alderman calls for more residential notification of local development Wicked Local
  • Improve the Cambridge Street Overpass!: Concerns with the MassDOT proposal Cambridge Street Overpass
  • Allston residents to MassDOT: Cambridge Street isn't Rte. 9 Universal Hub
  • Follow up to Cambridge Street overpass public meeting Walking Bostonian
  • Meeting on the Cambridge Street Overpass » Skinny in a Land of Plenty SicLoot
  • Mt. Vernon Street RFP Deadline Approaching, Will Bring "Complete Streets" Guidelines to Columbia Point BRA
  • Mayor Curtatone issues letter on Union Square redevelopment Boston.com
  • Judge throws out Brookline's Hancock Village lawsuit Wicked Local

Out-of-state

  • CA
    • A Highway Teardown Appears Likely, In an Unlikely Place DC StreetsBlog
    • High-speed rail plan halted Mass Transit Mag
    • Shifting Gears -- Commuting Aboard The L.A. Bike Trains NPR
  • NY
    • Arthur Chi'en of WPIX Has Raised the Bar for NYC Traffic Violence Reportage StreetsBlog
    • NYC DOT Shares Its Five Principles for Designing Safer Streets StreetsBlog
    • How New Yorkers Reacted When a Stranger Slept on Them in the Subway The Atlantic Cities
    • How Could One Thoughtless Driver Take This Child? NY Times
    • The Two-Step Parking Cure for Mayor de Blasio StreetsBlog
    • Cycling in New York: End of a lovely ride? The Economist
  • PA
    • Pilot program: Speed sensors trigger red light on Philly road Philly.com
  • MI
    • No more I-375? Detroit to study removing freeway in favor of walkable surface street Freep
  • MN
  • TX
    • Partnership in the news: Dallas seeks to improve and expand regional transit network Smart Growth America
    • Houston embraces multi-modal transportation solution DOT
  • OR
    • Op-Ed: Should cars be taxed by the mile? Oregon’s plan to replace gas tax is creepy, but worth doing Boston Globe

National trends

  • Can Saying "People on Bikes" Instead of "Cyclists" Make Biking Safer? Gizmodo
  • How Parking Meters Turned Around a Struggling Downtown Planetizen
  • Cycling v cars: The American right-of-way The Economist
  • Friday Fun: What's your right of way? The City Fix
  • Action Alert: Ask Congress to Prevent Bicyclist and Pedestrian Fatalities MassBike
  • The Secret Art of Street Sweeping The Atlantic Cities
  • Fight Street Crime With Speed Bumps and Crosswalks DC StreetsBlog
  • John Delaney: Driving the economy forward with infrastructure investment Washington Post
  • Creating a sense of community with smart growth Telegram
  • National Association of Railroad Passengers - Pay no attention to the tax-sucking behemoths behind the curtain NARP Rail
  • Uber hails new financing scheme for its drivers FT
  • Why Correcting Misperceptions About Mass Transit May Be More Important Than Improving Service The Atlantic Cities
  • Motor vehicle pollution a major contributor to American deaths SSTI
  • New Software Lets You Virtually Stroll Down Streets That You Design DC StreetsBlog
  • What Your Street Grid Reveals About Your City The Atlantic Cities

International news