Elon Musk's desire to tunnel a path to freedom from congestion refuses to die.
Many people noticed last week when Elon Musk took to Twitter to announce a momentous occasion for The Boring Company and The Hyperloop—those fanciful and futuristic ideas for super fast transportation that will forever solve the world's congestion, or at least Musk's commute through Los Angeles.
The momentous occasion: receiving "verbal govt approval" for an "underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop."
Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2017
Apparently some unnamed bureaucrat in some unnamed branch of some unnamed government didn't get the memo about all the reasons to be skeptical about The Boring Company. Nor did this granter-of-verbal-approvals get the memo about the reasons to be skeptical about the Hyperloop.
Aarian Marshall plays the roll of reality checker this time around, saying what many were thinking: "'verbal government approval' isn’t a thing." Marshall then explains what exactly it takes to build "a gigantic, multi-billion dollar, multi-state infrastructure projects in the United States of America." That is "Something nearing an act of God."
Laura Bill also gathered a list of reasons to be wary of Elon Musk's East Coast Hyperloop tunnel idea—five reasons, in total.
FULL STORY: OH, ELON. BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE HYPERLOOP DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT
Friday Funny: The Onion Skewers Elon Musk (Again)
Elon Musk, a favorite target of satirists and urbanists alike, is once again the subject of The Onion's withering pen.
Musk's Boring Co. Drops Westside L.A. Tunnel Plans
A lawsuit by a pair of Westside L.A. neighborhood groups has killed the Boring Company's plans to drill a tunnel below Sepulveda Boulevard.
High-Speed Transit Tunnels to O'Hare Airport Could Begin Construction Within Months
The 16-mile route itself from downtown Chicago is still being negotiated. Passengers will be transported in what Elon Musk's Boring Company calls an "electric skate" at speeds up to 150 mph for the 12-minute trip.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process
The Dallas transit agency hopes a shorter permitting timeline will boost transit-oriented development around rail stations.
Study: 4% of Truckers Lack a Valid Commercial License
Over 56% of inspected trucks had other violations.
Chicago Judge Orders Thousands of Accessible Ped Signals
Only 3% of the city's crossing signals are currently accessible to blind pedestrians.
Philadelphia Swaps Car Lanes for Bikeways in Unanimous Vote
The project will transform one of the handful of streets responsible for 80% of the city’s major crashes.
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.
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)