The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Officials in Maine are considering a plan to build a cross-state superhighway.</p>

June 9 - The Ellsworth American

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Garamond">There are three types of bicyclists: Advanced Bicyclists, Intermediate Bicyclists and Beginner Bicyclists. We need to plan and build facilities to accommodate all of them. Those cities that do are experiencing ridership numbers far above the national average.</span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <img src="/files/u405/Advanced_Bicyclist_2.jpg" width="350" height="233" /> </p>

June 8 - Mike Lydon

<p>A suburb of Dallas ponders charging a toll on a surface road, perhaps the first such plan for a surface road in the United States.</p>

June 8 - WFAA

<p>Even as SUV sales have dropped 33% this year, some drivers hang on to their gas-guzzlers. "You've got to have that room when you're moving around," says a Georgia man. The cost of switching is another major factor for families.</p>

June 8 - CNN.com

<p>Chicago has come in second-to-last place in the selection of finalists seeking to host the 2016 Olympics. The city's bid was criticized for not having a strong transportation plan.</p>

June 8 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has been selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lead a campaign to 'Renew and Rebuild America.'</p>

June 8 - The Planning Report

<p>A city councilwoman in Galt, south of Sacramento, is cited for violating city code rules on watering. That's despite the fact that the City Council had urged the public to water and care for lawns at foreclosed homes.</p>

June 8 - Lodi News-Sentinel

<p>The cartoon strip 'This Modern World' looks at how gas prices have influenced motorists' selection of motor vehicles in the United States - from the 1970's to 'five minutes from now'.</p>

June 7 - Salon.com

<p>An old-fashioned community barn-raising in Masonville, Texas could in fact be a glimpse of the future.</p>

June 7 - Fort Collins Now

<p>GPS from cellphones is enabling exciting research into human behavior, but European studies show that our behavior is rarely exciting.</p>

June 7 - International Herald Tribune

<p>Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich gives his two cents about the need to expand public transit.</p>

June 7 - Robert Reich's Blog

<p>This slideshow from <em>Wired</em> takes a tour of some of the best subway systems in the world, boasting some of the world's most extravagant stations and efficient commutes.</p>

June 7 - Wired

<p>London's underground subway system recently banned the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and to celebrate the last night of drunken train commuting, Londoners converged on trains to get hammered. They also got rowdy, assaulted and arrested.</p>

June 6 - BBC

<p>A senior care facility in Germany teamed with the local transit agency to install a fake bus stop near the home to stem occupant disappearances after Alzheimer's patients repeatedly wandered off site to catch buses at real stops.</p>

June 6 - Telegraph

<p>Following the example set by Sao Paulo, Brazil, the city of Encinitas, California is considering a plan to ban new billboard advertisements within the city.</p>

June 6 - The North County Times

Council Member David Yassky was one of congestion pricing's earliest and most vocal proponents, and he hasn't yet given up on the prospect of charging tolls to drive in Manhattan.

June 6 - The Planning Report

<p>With fill-ups costing close to $70,000 for a transatlantic flight, airlines are facing a grim future.</p>

June 6 - The Globe & Mail

<p>Air pollution is so bad in Mexico City that residents have less sensitivity to smells, according to a recent study.</p>

June 6 - Reuters

BLOG POST

<p> <strong>Bank, Commission, Capital Budget or Business as Usual?</strong> </p> <p> There&#39;s a growing consensus the U.S. needs to invest more in our infrastructure, especially our transportation infrastructure. Too many roads and bridges are in poor repair, and congestion is slowing the economy of many cities. High gas prices has only added to intense interest nationwide for new and enhanced public transportation. With the expiration of the SAFETEA-LU legislation, next year Congress has the opportunity to revise the policies guiding investment in this critical infrastructure. </p> <p> Unfortunately, after the interstate highway system, the federal role in transportation infrastructure is mostly known for its excessive pork barrel spending (bridges to nowhere) and limited funds and Byzantine policies restricting mass transit investment. </p> <p> How should we evaluate the various proposals to reform federal policy? The Urban Land Institute (where I am working this summer) proposed an 8-point &quot;action agenda&quot; for infrastructure in their second-annual <a href="http://www.uli.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&amp;CONTENTID=125957&amp;TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay. cfm">infrastructure report</a>. The agenda is a statement of principles that should guide investments. It includes: build a vision for the community, invest strategically in coordination with land use, fix and maintain first, reduce driving, couple land use decisions with water availability, break down government &quot;silos,&quot; cut pork barrel spending and support smart growth, keep score and keep governments accountable. </p> <p> Taking those principles as advice, let&#39;s take a look at what has been proposed. </p>

June 6 - Robert Goodspeed

James S. Russell comments on the $1 billion deal to redevelop Hudson Yards, and finds the plan lacking in vision.

June 6 - Bloomberg.com