Gov. Mitt Romney releases an engineering review that finds Boston's Big Dig to be 'fundamentally safe' but recommends some repairs.
"A comprehensive engineering review of Boston's highways, tunnels, and bridges, ordered after the fatal collapse of a tunnel ceiling in July, has found the road system to be 'fundamentally safe,' Governor Mitt Romney said yesterday. Romney's so-called 'stem to stern' safety review of the Big Dig system did find a variety of relatively minor flaws, including cracking concrete and water leaks near electrical equipment."
"The most serious flaws found to date are those that led to the tunnel ceiling collapse, which killed Milena Del Valle, a 38-year-old Jamaica Plain woman who was a passenger in a car en route to Logan International Airport....Romney said an important safeguard will be added when cellphone service is established in the I-93 and I-90 connector tunnels, allowing motorists to alert authorities to problems."
Read the full story: Big Dig roads are safe, says Romney
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
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.
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