February 12, 2011

Beacon Street Somerville
Beacon St, Somerville -- Bike lanes blocked by snow and parked cars
(Photo courtesy The Transit Fix)


Highlights

  • Something new on the menu (Boston Globe, Universal Hub)
    Some in the North End want to make Hanover Street one way and give it a bit of Newbury Street panache. But others fear losing the bustle that makes this savory place.
    By Meghan E. Irons -- Even with glacial piles of snow and an icy wind on a recent day, Hanover Street’s narrow sidewalks seethed with people, and impatient drivers slalomed double-parked delivery trucks amid the helter-skelter traffic that has come to define the fabled spine of Boston’s North End.  Some say the cacophony and gritty edge are essential to Hanover’s Old World charm, but business leaders along one of Boston’s biggest tourist draws say it is time to do something about it.
  • VIDEO: Deep Freeze Creating Headaches For Disabled (WCVB)
    Snow-Covered Streets, Sidewalks, Curbs Make For Difficult Travel
    BOSTON -- Tons of snow and ice and an arctic cold that's keeping all of it from thawing are creating terrible conditions for many disabled residents in the Bay State, who are having a difficult time navigating streets and sidewalks.Many of them say sometimes the only way to get around is to ride their wheelchairs in the streets.John Kelly, of Boston's Disability Commission, said every trip outside his Fenway home this winter has presented new challenges."It's been really hard to get out," Kelly said. Almost weekly storms since Dec. 26 have left sidewalks unplowed or under-plowed.
  • Boston Bike Czar calls city "bike-friendly," says ridership has doubled in three years (Boston Globe, The Humble Cyclist)
    By Nicole Freedman -- This evening [Jan 27] at the Boston Public Library, Mayor Menino’s Boston Bikes will report back to the public on the state of cycling at its annual Boston Bikes Annual Update, hosted by Livable Streets Alliance. In 2007, Mayor Menino launched Boston Bikes with the goal of transforming Boston into a world-class bicycling city. We have made tremendous strides since then. Once known as the worst cycling city according to Bicycling Magazine, we can now safely say that Boston is one of the leading bike-friendly cities in the country.
  • Harvard study: Cycling on streets not as safe as cycle tracks (BikePortland, Cycling Embassy of Denmark, Injury Prevention)
    By Jonathan Maus -- A new study from Dr. Anne Lusk at the Harvard School of Public Health published in the British Medical Journal yesterday came to the conclusion that bicycling in a cycle track — physically separated from motor vehicle traffic — is safer than riding in the street. From the study: "Contrary to AASHTO's [American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials] safety cautions about road-parallel paths and its exclusion of cycle tracks, our results suggest that two-way cycle tracks on one side of the road have either lower or similar injury rates compared with bicycling in the street without bicycle provisions. This lowered risk is also in spite of the less-than-ideal design of the Montreal cycle tracks, such as lacking parking setbacks at intersections, a recommended practice."
  • Is the T Safe to Ride? (Boston Magazine, Cambridge Day)
    The system is broke, broken, and about to get a whole lot worse. No one on Beacon Hill wants to address any of this, of course, much less fix it. So we will. Here’s how everything went wrong, and what can be done to set things right at the MBTA — before someone dies.
  • Obama seeks $53b for high-speed rail (Boston Globe, Transportation Nation, New York Times, Transport Politic)
    Proposal called vital in keeping US competitive
    By Ashley Halsey III -- The Obama administration wants to invest $53 billion in high-speed and intercity rail service in the next six years, expanding a signature transportation initiative it already has targeted with $10.5 billion. The plan to spend billions more on a vast high-speed-rail network was cast by the administration as vital to keeping the United States competitive with world markets that already use the technology.

"Streets"

Walking

  • Snow Issues --
    • Opinion: The Indomitable Snow Spirit: Another Look at Solving the Non-Shoveler Problem (Somerville Patch)
    • Report Unshoveled Sidewalks, Blocked Hydrants (WBUR)
    • Disabled resident tells city: Tap kids to shovel (Boston Herald)
    • Trapped by walls of white (Boston Globe)
    • How Well is Cambridge Handling Unshoveled Sidewalk Complaints? (CCTV)
    • Shoveling out the streets where you live (Boston Globe)
    • VIDEO: Deep Freeze Creating Headaches For Disabled (WCVB)
    • Many sidewalks in Allston-Brighton still buried in snow (Allston-Brighton TAB)
    • City stresses keeping routes clear for students, pedestrians (Cape Ann Beacon)
    • Need help shoveling in Boston? These people have you covered (West Roxbury Transcript)
    • Dot residents reminded of snow rules, warned of fines (Dorchester Reporter)
    • Snowbanks break the bank on Newbury St (Boston Herald)
  • Brisk walking linked to better memory for seniors (Boston Globe)
  • Fitness: A Walk to Remember? Study Says Yes (New York Times)
  • Today's Escape: Walking Meditation (Charlestown Patch)
  • Newton intersection where children were struck will get traffic light (Boston Globe)

Bicycling

Transit

Cars/Parking

Transportation financing/Government

Parks

Development projects

Land Use/Planning

Out-of-state

  • New York City --
    • The Rest of the New Jersey Tunnel Story (Wall Street Journal)
    • Straphangers are more likely to get respiratory diseases and colds thanks to public transit (NY Daily News)
    • Looking for Bold Ideas to Fix the City, New York Turns to Crowd Sourcing (Fast Co. Design)
    • Prospect Park West --
    • Pedaling nowhere fast (New York Post)
    • Wake up to the most dangerous air pollution: Fine particulate matter kills thousands in NYC, LA (NY Daily News)
    • Congestion pricing still on board as politicians resurrect plan to charge drivers entering city (NY Daily News)
    • Long Island gets fourth Complete Streets policy (New Urban Network)
    • East Side Coalition Unveils Its Vision for Safer, Transit-Friendly Streets (Streetsblog)
    • Editorial: Watch Out! The Assault Vehicle Is Loose! (New York Times)
    • New Ferry Service Along East River in the Works (NY1)
    • A New City Handbook Demystifies Zoning (New York Times)
    • A Mere Shovel? Show the Snow Who's Boss (New York Times)
    • Big Names Ready A Lawsuit To Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane (Transportation Nation)
    • VIDEO: Snowy Neckdowns Redux: Winter Traffic Calming (Streetfilms)
    • New stats: NYC has low traffic-fatality rate (Wall Street Journal)
    • ARC Revived as the Amtrak Gateway Project (Transport Politic)
    • Parking Minimums Make NYC Housing More Expensive, NYU Report Finds (Streetsblog)
    • Pedestrian Unfriendly: Hempstead Turnpike Is Region's Riskiest Road for Walking (Wall Street Journal)
  • Transit is a sleeper issues in race for Chicago mayor (Chicago Tribune)
  • Arizona cyclists rally for Giffords' recovery (AP)
  • Parking prices rise as Super Bowl draws near (WFAA)
  • VIDEO: The First Annual Youth Bike Summit (Streetfilms)
  • 'Cross-bikes': Crosswalks for bikes coming soon to Portland? (BikePortland)
  • Detroit light rail plan buoyed $25M grant (Detroit Free Press)
  • In Charlotte, a Busy Highway May Be No Place for Rapid Transit (Transport Politic)
  • Congestion Pricing: To Skip Traffic, Atlanta Says Pay Up (TIME)
  • At high-glam garage, the parking's secondary (Boston Globe)
  • VIDEO: America's Happiest City (Oprah)
  • For Bikesharing, Forget Stations; All You Need Is a Phone (The City Fix)
  • New Meters Aim to Cure San Francisco's Parking Headaches (Wall Street Journal)
  • California congressman: Highways are constitutionally mandated, bike paths not a federal concern (Grist)
  • Editorial: Modern rail helps rural areas (The Gazette)
  • Rahm Emanuel's Bike Plan for Chicago Gets High Marks (Streetsblog, Chicago Sun-Times)
  • Residents of Transit-Oriented Development Say "No" to Transit (GOOD)
  • Charleston Highway Plan, Back From the Dead, May Finally Meet Its Maker (Streetsblog DC)
  • Editorial: A bus-only brouhaha (Los Angeles Times)
  • The Interdependence of Land Use and Transportation (Transport Politic)
  • More Cyclists = Safer Cycling in Minneapolis (Streetsblog)
  • Columbus no longer planning for streetcars, light rail (Columbus Dispatch)

National trends

International news