The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ordered high-strength steel to ensure the long-term quality of the under-construction Central Subway. The contractor laid 17,000 linear feet of standard-strength steel anyway.
Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez reports from San Francisco: "Construction contractors on the $1.6 billion Central Subway project laid down 3.2 miles of the wrong kind of steel track, The City is alleging in a letter obtained by the San Francisco Examiner."
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is alleging that the contractor, Tutor Pellini, "laid down 17,000 linear feet of 'standard strength' steel, allegedly violating a contract with The City calling for 'high strength' steel." The city has since ordered Tutor Pellini to relay the track, but additional delays on the delivery date are expected. The original planned opening date for the Central Subway was the end of 2018. Now the end of 2019 is more likely.
FULL STORY: City says Central Subway contractor laid down 3.2 miles of the wrong kind of track, prompting new delay
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association