May 8, 2014

Bikes
LivableStreets Alliance Launches Safety Campaign
(Image Courtesy of BostInno)
 

LivableStreets Alliance Launches Campaign for Cars to Safely Share the Road BostInno

Boston has certainly made strides in accommodating more than just cars on the road. More cycle tracks are in the works, bike-share stations are opening throughout the Greater Boston Area and city bike festivals are helping to ring in the new cycling season. But catastrophes are still all too common. For this reason LivableStreets has launched its Safer Streets Campaign, a collaborative effort intended to both streamline the process of making Boston's roadways safer and encourage people not accustomed to biking to give it a try.

 

Parklets a lively lure to downtowns Globe

Clusters of brick and mortar retailers can’t top the Internet, so they need to change the game and give shoppers reasons to come downtown. This means rethinking public spaces that haven’t been touched in decades, like streets and lifeless sidewalks, and reprogramming them with parklets and food trucks. It means creating unique experiences on a pedestrian scale, because when pedestrians come downtown, they spend money.

 

CapeFLYER Weekend Rail Service Returns May 23 MA Transpo Blog

MassDOT and the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) today announced CapeFLYER weekend rail service to Cape Cod and the Islands will begin Friday, May 23 through Labor Day, with an improved schedule and new station stop at Wareham Village.  

 

Somerville begins Central Broadway/Winter Hill roadway design process Somerville Times

The Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) and Somerville by Design kicked off a meeting for the Central Broadway/Winter Hill Roadway and Streetscape Improvements Project by crowdsourcing the residents in the neighborhood. They have several goals in mind, including improving accessibility and multimodal transportation and maximizing usable green space, as well as safety and aesthetic improvements.

 

Anthony Foxx Kicks Off Nationwide Project for Better Bike Lanes StreetsBlog

Staring down a highway trust fund that he described as “teetering toward insolvency” by August or September, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Monday that better bike infrastructure projects are part of the solution.

“When you have a swelling population like the USA has and will have for the next 35 years, one of the most cost-effective ways to better fit that population is to better use the existing grid,” Foxx said.

 

Tearing Down an Urban Highway Can Give Rise to a Whole New City Atlantic Cities

I'm standing in the middle of a five-mile linear park in downtown Seoul called Cheonggyecheon. Around me, children play and laugh beside a man-made gurgling stream, which includes remnants of the natural one that used to run here. This is the new reality created in the mid-2000s, when Seoul tore down an elevated, interstate-style highway built in the late 1960s through the heart of downtown.

 

"Streets"

  • What's Happening With The I-90 Allston Interchange Project MassBike
  • Letters: Strong ally in saving neighborhoods Globe
  • TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT SAFETY: Looking Beyond Traffic Lights LivableStreets Blog
  • What's wrong with this picture? Amateur Planner
  • Beacon Hill Repairs in Mayor's Budget Beacon Hill Times
  • Public meeting to review accessibility study Somerville Times
  • LivableStreets Alliance Launches Campaign for Cars to Safely Share the Road BostInno
  • On Longfellow Bridge, searching for that perfect paint swatch Globe

Bicycling

  • Boston Police Got to Test New Electric Bikes During Marathon Boston Magazine
  • Dorchester Bike Festival to Help Ring in Boston's Cycling Season BostInno
  • ACTION ALERT: Save the Bike Lanes on Father Morissette Boulevard in Lowell MassBike
  • Boston's Bike Friday to Kick Off Bike Week in Bay State BostInno
  • Bay State Bike Week Reminder! MA Transpo Blog
  • Lowell council orders review of Father Morissette Blvd. bike lanes Lowell Sun
  • Somerville bike pathway to expand Globe
  • Local officials address community concerns about Hubway Caught in Southie
  • 2014 Hubway Season Begins: A Look Back on 2013 Somerville Resistat
  • Massachusetts Ranked 10th Bike Friendly State BostInno

Parks

  • The Charlesgate David Maerz
  • Parklets a lively lure to downtowns Globe
  • Street Charge: Charging Stations on Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway BostInno

Walking

  • Student struck by car crossing Commonwealth Avenue near West Campus Daily Free Press
  • Bicycle, Pedestrian Safety Program Announced MA Transpo Blog
  • Supporting design flexibility to make bicycling and walking safer and more convenient Bay State Roads

Transit

  • MBTA Launches New Maps, Countdown Clocks, and Real-time Arrival Info Boston.com
  • Boston Stays Up Late City of Boston
  • Say Bye to the Spider: A Brief History of the MBTA's Outgoing Map BostInno
  • Out-of-Control Transit Costs in Boston or Attack on Public Services? Truth Out
  • MBTA Looks to Ease Green Line Confusion at Park Street BostInno
  • MBTA Green Line Trolleys Ditching Old DHS Security Cameras BostInno
  • Green Line Extension: Community Path Funding MA Transpo Blog
  • CapeFLYER Weekend Rail Service Returns May 23 MA Transpo Blog
  • MBTA Testing New Turn Alert System on Select Buses Boston Magazine
  • The new Blue Book is out Amateur Planner

Cars/Parking

  • Could Google's Self-Driving Car Handle Boston's Busy Streets? BostInno
  •  Tech Note #66 - Massachuesetts Speed Laws Bay State Roads
  • Gearing up for interstate tolling Commonwealth Mag
  • Zipcar rolls out one-way service with guaranteed parking Globe

Transportation Finance/Government

  • Editorial: Arborway Yard needs light JP Gazette
  • New Transportation Impact Guidelines MA Transpo Blog
  • Find Out What¹s In The Massachusetts Transportation Bond Bill for Biking And Walking MassBike
  • Being the BRA director is one of the best jobs in the city, but it’s also one of the hardest to fill Globe
  • Transportation projects across the state could be halted if Congress fails to act Globe

Development projects

  • June start expected for Mass. Ave. Corridor project Your Arlington
  • T: Despite hole, bus yard will not be redesigned JP Gazette
  • Casey project goes out to bid; delays possible JP Gazette
  • Letters: New developments overshadow old Boston’s gems Globe
  • Walsh administration provides $3M for Upham’s Corner improvements Biz Journals
  • Boston real estate firm to co-develop $500m New Balance complex in Brighton Boston.com
  • Copley Place Expansion Public Art Project Kicks Off BRA
  • Avalon at Assembly Square -- Minicity living in Somerville Herald

Land Use/Planning

  • About the Central Broadway/Winter Hill project Somerville Times
  • Somerville begins Central Broadway/Winter Hill roadway design process Somerville Times
  • Central Broadway Streetscape Improvements Project Somerville By Design
  • Bus yard belongs on the highway JP Gazette
  • Pole yard site already occupied by zoo, businesses JP Gazette
  • Boston Redevelopment Authority ‘zoning czar’ to boost business Herald
  • Letters: Boston architects very much engaged in debate over waterfront’s future Globe

Out-of-state

  • IL
    • Alderman Jane Grover is working to make Evanston, IL “the most livable city” in America Smart Growth America
  • MO
    • Street not Thru: The Cul-De-Sacking of St. Louis Next Stl
  • MI
    • Nancy Kaffer: How Detroit has it wrong on parking Freep
  • WA
    • Councilman Jon Snyder on how Complete Streets are helping to improve Spokane, WA Smart Growth America
  • DC
    • DC Inspires Bike Lane Envy With Curb-Protected Cycling StreetsBlog
  • OR
    • Why a Portland Domino's Started Delivering Pizza By Trike StreetsBlog
  • CT
    • How Hartford's Bet on Cars Set the Stage for Population Loss and Segregation StreetsBlog
  • WI
    • Wisconsin Responds to Public, Dumps Absurdly Wasteful Highway Project StreetsBlog
  • TN
    • Chattanooga considering light rail from downtown to airport and Enterprise South Times Free Press
  • NY
    • NEW YORK: Plaza hotel, NYC face off over bike-sharing rack Miami Herald
    • ‘Complete streets’ initiative aims to rejuvenate city roadways Buffalo News
  • CA
    • California Eyes Plan to Speed Bullet Train WSJ
  • OK
    • A Big Weekend for Bikes in OKC Bike OKC

National trends

  • Controversies Compared: Rail vs. Bus Rapid Transit Planetizen
  • Avoiding mistakes in bike-ped infrastructure Better Cities
  • Uncle Sam Wants You to Drive: 5 Tax Breaks for Cars in the U.S. Tax Code StreetsBlog
  • Roads Versus Rail: The Big Battle Over Public Transportation Forbes
  • Why UberX Will Win in the End Atlantic Cities
  • The bike-share report: Connectivity and bike lanes key to successful bike-sharing The City Fix
  • More Walking and Biking, Better Health: New Evidence From American Cities StreetsBlog
  • CBO: Highway fund will face shortfall under Obama budget The Hill
  • Robert Moses Vs. Jane Jacobs: The Opera Atlantic Cities
  • Survey: To recruit and keep millennials, give them walkable places with good transit and other options T4America
  • The True Future of Transportation Has Two Big Barriers to Entry Atlantic Cities
  • What Does 'Livable' Mean to Older Americans? Atlantic Cities
  • The Battle Over Sidewalk Cafés NextCity
  • Anthony Foxx: If States Want to Toll Freeways, U.S. DOT Is Open to That StreetsBlog
  • Anthony Foxx Kicks Off Nationwide Project for Better Bike Lanes StreetsBlog
  • The Next Century of Sustainable Communities Will Be Organized Around Transportation Atlantic Cities
  • AAA Adds Bikes to Roadside Program ABC
  • Cycling is the new golf for entrepreneurs CNN
  • Obama transportation plan sent to Congress Big Story
  • A Mapping Tool That Demystifies the Link Between Transportation and Jobs Atlantic Cities
  • A Timely Call for Bike Trails NY Times
  • Millennials shifting commuter trends: Column USA Today

International news

  • New Starts: China Signs HSR Agreement With North Korea, Riyadh and Guangzhou Get Tons of Metros NextCity
  • 3 Reasons We Should Pay Attention to Medellín Planetizen
  • Tearing Down an Urban Highway Can Give Rise to a Whole New City Atlantic Cities
  • Best Cycling City of the Netherlands Bicycle Dutch