With the number of serviceable trains dwindling the Sydney Monorail is being scrapped.
"On Sunday night, the citizens of Sydney will stare mindlessly as the last monorail carriage wends its sorry way to the blast furnace. There will be a pathetic sigh, a shrug, the odd 'Oh well, that's the end of that, then.' And before you can utter the name 'Laurie Brereton' (the 1980s uber advocate of the monorail and public works minister) next thing you know it'll be Monday morning," writes Pat Sheil.
"Sure, it doesn't move too many people to very many places they actually want to go to, but who cares? That's hardly the point. It's just so inherently cool, and there will be a lot of young people on Sunday night who will, in 50 years' time, be telling their grandchildren: 'I was there the last night the monorail ran.' 'The monorail? Wow, really? Why did they ever tear that down, grandad?' they'll ask."
"Yep, at 9.30pm on Sunday the little part of me that is George Jetson will die - we never got the flying cars, the robot maids and the teleporting gadgets, but we got our monorail," Sheil laments. "And soon it will be like the Bondi tram - gone forever."
FULL STORY: Railing against the death of the monorail
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
