(Source: via Betacity)
According to this infographic from Denver bikes, four of five dollars you spend on your car leave your local economy. To keep 130k transportation dollars in your local economy your city would need to reduce car ownership by 15k cars. Which could mean 15k more bike owners, and bike money stays 100 percent local which makes good business sense.
(Source: Reddit)
A tractor trailer hauling printer ink rolled over on the morning of March 9, 2011 spewing its contents across the highway and forcing the closure during the morning’s rush hour of the ramp linking Route 128 and Interstate 95 in Peabody, MA. Here is what it looks like – a beautiful colorful mess. Read more here.
Image Courtesy: Reddit.com
(Source: The City Fix Blog)
As the much-feared and talked about Carmaggedon weekend in LA is almost here, our friends at The City Fix blog brought to our attention this beautiful video by Ross Ching, a filmmaker. This video gives you an idea of what LA without cars would look like and I must admit it looks different (i.e., read as beautiful). The footage, edited by Ross, is from “LA with no cars,” and it is a series of time-lapse clips edited to make it seem like the roads are empty. On his website, Ching explains how he achieved the effect. Watch the video below
Running on Empty from Ross Ching on Vimeo.
Inspired by Matt Logue’s Empty LA.
Read more about this video at http://rossching.com/running-on-empty
Update Courtesy: ITS America
As the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee continues to work on finalizing its six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill in anticipation of an early July introduction, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has announced plans to introduce the Senate version of the bill during the week of July 11, hold hearings the week of July 18, and is expected to proceed with a Committee mark-up on July 27. The Senate bill, which is rumored to be a two-year bill instead of six, is expected to face a $12 billion funding shortfall which would require the Senate Finance Committee to come up with additional revenues before the legislation could be passed. Committee staff continues to craft the bill in a bipartisan fashion with their most recent work focusing on a freight section. ITS America is working closely with Senate staff to include provisions that would promote greater deployment of ITS.
On the House side, T&I Committee majority staff continues to work on their bill but have provided limited details as to what specific policies and programs will be included. Speculation continues about the time frame for moving a surface transportation bill through the House, with Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA/7) taking heat for not including the reauthorization bill in a June 10 memo to House Republicans outlining key pieces of legislation that will be debated on the House floor this summer. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association obtained the memo and has posted the document on its website here.
Meanwhile Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY/24), Vice-Chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, joined ITS America’s Congressional Roundtable members for breakfast to discuss ITS and the transportation reauthorization bill. As a businessman who spent nearly three decades in the construction industry before being elected to Congress, Rep. Hanna stressed the need for technology solutions that can help public agencies do ‘more with less’. The Congressman made note of Portland, Oregon as an example of a city that is investing in ITS to help create a more efficient, user-friendly transportation network, while acknowledging the pressure many agencies face to roll out more visible ‘bricks and mortar’ projects. He also said the “argument is building daily” for investing in transportation as a means to create jobs and bring down the nation’s high unemployment rate. Read more about the Congressional Roundtable in the AASHTO Journal.
(Source: Reddit)
After watching this, I shudder to think how an elderly driver would understand the flow of traffic and negotiate this intersection? Especially, if he she had lived in the area for a while and now had to face this new re-designed nightmare that will make for one heck of an interview.
All joking aside, I’m definitely interested in learning more about efficiency (volume, throughput, etc) and accident metrics (before vs. after) for this particular intersection. If anyone can find interesting reads/studies/publications on this issue, please share it in the comments section below.
Though it may look efficient (saving an full signal cycle) and creative on the video, I sense there is something inherently wrong with this design. Accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists seem very minimal. And the most important question above all – how did they manage to get the community’s buy-in before going forward with spending $$ on this complex mess? IF anything, I find it quite interesting to see how the average citizen react to this unique design by observing the comments posted on Reddit.
(Source: via Real Talkies)
Just noticed this post on my favorite documentary blog – Real Talkies and couldn’t help but share. Oh, I’m planning to see it on June 25th when it gets screened at the AFI Silver Docs Documentary Festival.
Here is a snippet of what Real Talkies wrote: In “Who killed the electric Car?” they followed a group of activists. “REvenge of the Electric Car” sets out to follow Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, GM’s vice chair – Bob Lutz, Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn and DIY expert Greg “Gadget” Abbott . Each one allowed access to their journey over three years on condition that the film will not be released until 2011.
This is one rare occasion when we want all of them to win, their cumulative success is success for the earth, for us and for a life without dependence on fossil fuel. This remarkable film is on its festival circuit. DC folks can see it at SilverDocs on June 25th. For future screenings visit their website.
(Source: HoustonChronicle; Click2houston.com)
How should this be viewed – A population’s unwillingness to see the safety benefits of continuing with a safety measure?Or, is it simply a matter of the city administration, driven by the economic gains, unwilling to execute the citizens’ collective decision? The issues surrounding the City of Houston’s red-light camera enforcement now got a bit more chaotic by the latest court ruling. Read on.
Houston city leaders are assessing their options after a federal judge invalidated the November referendum that turned off a red-light surveillance system and halted a stream of millions of dollars into strapped city coffers.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes ruled Friday that the referendum was improperly placed on the ballot last year, and the city cannot be forced to turn off the cameras.U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said that the issue as presented on the November ballot violated Houston’s city charter covering the repeal of an ordinance.Hughes said Houston’s city charter requires that efforts to overturn ordinances by referendum must occur within 30 days of an ordinance’s passage.
Video: Houston Red Light Camera Ruling
53% percent voted against Proposition 3 in the Nov. 2 election. The measure forced the city to stop issuing tickets for those caught by the red-light cameras.
(Source: The Texas Tribune)
Image Courtesy: Theatlanticright.com via Google Images
A threat from the federal government to shut down Texas airports or cancel flights may have killed legislation, House Bill 1937, pushed by Tea Party conservatives in the Texas Capitol to prohibit federal Transportation Security Agents from conducting “invasive searches.”
The Texas Tribune has the scoop: The bill passed by the House earlier this month, would make it a misdemeanor offense for a federal security agent to “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly [touch] the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of the other person, including touching through clothing, or touching the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person.”
Two TSA officials visited Patrick at the Capitol earlier today to discuss the legislation. They warned him that the legislation “could close down all the airports in Texas,” he said. After their departure, U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy sent a letter to Speaker of the House Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst saying the bill would “conflict directly with federal law” and that if it became law, “TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew” until the agency could seek a court order stopping the measure from being carried out.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Note: This is not the first time or the first issue the Texas legislature has butted heads with the Federal government. There is the legendary EPA vs Texas reg. the federal takeover of lax pollution standards in the state. And now a new issue looks to threaten the already fractured relationship and this one involves a brown, beady-eyed, two-and-a-half-inch animal – the sagebrush lizard. The Texas House this morning approved a resolutioncalling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to rescind its proposal to bring the lizard under the Endangered Species Act. For the West Texas lawmakers, this federal proposal to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard could halt the production of millions of barrels of oil and gas. Is this another classic Texas story where greed reigns supreme or a genuine concern for the people who depend on the oil & gas revenue?
(Source: Detroit Free Press)
Mike Thompson of Detroit Free Press (Freep.com) has nicely captured the sentiments of the American public (at least, the sensible ones) about Chrysler repaying the $5.9 billion bailout money. God knows how much bickering will happen when the political leadership decides to spend it on other programs.
Image courtesy: Free.com - Mike Thompson: Taxpayers get their money back from Chrysler
Note: For what it is worth, I’d also add this: It is nice to see the taxpayer $$ safely return to the government’s coffers, unlike what happened with some of the Wall Street beneficiaries. This timely intervention from the U.S. Government not only prevented an American icon from vanishing without a trace, but it also saved thousands of jobs in a city that is already reeling from some really bad economic decisions.
(Source: Fastlane – Sec. Ray LaHood’s Blog)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $2 billion in high-speed rail awards providing an unprecedented investment to speed up trains in the Northeast Corridor, expand service in the Midwest and provide new, state-of-the-art locomotives and rail cars as part of the Administration’s plan to transform travel in America. Shortly after making this announcement, he spoke to the financial media house, CNBC, about how these investments in high-speed rail investments are distributed and how they will benefits the various states that received this huge bonanza.
Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak submitted nearly 100 applications, competing to be part of an historic investment that will create tens of thousands of jobs, improve mobility and stimulate American manufacturing. Here is an excerpt from the USDOT presser outlining the details of this disbursement:
The Department’s Federal Railroad Administration selected 15 states and Amtrak to receive $2.02 billion for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects as part of a nationwide network that will connect 80 percent of Americans to high-speed rail in 25 years. The dedicated rail dollars will:
- Make an unprecedented investment in the Northeast Corridor (NEC), with $795 million to upgrade some of the most heavily-used sections of the corridor. The investments will increase speeds from 135 to 160 miles per hour on critical segments, improve on-time performance and add more seats for passengers.
- Provide $404.1 million to expand high-speed rail service in the Midwest. Newly constructed segments of 110-mph track between Detroit and Chicago will save passengers 30 minutes in travel time and create nearly 1,000 new jobs in the construction phase. Upgrades to the Chicago to St. Louis corridor will shave time off the trip, enhance safety and improve ridership.
- Boost U.S. manufacturing through a $336.2 million investment in state-of-the-art locomotives and rail cars for California and the Midwest. “Next Generation” rail equipment will deliver safe, reliable and high-tech American-built vehicles for passenger travel.
- Continue laying the groundwork for the nation’s first 220-mph high-speed rail system in California through a $300 million investment, extending the current 110 mile segment an additional 20 miles to advance completion of the Central Valley project, the backbone of the Los Angeles to San Francisco corridor.
Nearly 100 percent of the $2.02 billion announced today will go directly to construction of rail projects, bringing expanded and improved high-speed intercity passenger rail service to cities in all parts of the country. Thirty-two states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia are currently laying the foundation for high-speed rail corridors to link Americans with faster and more energy-efficient travel options.
