Transportation
"Level of service" is a ranking used by transportation engineers to assess the performance of roads. Streetsblog argues that LOS distorts the development of mobility infrastructure by prioritizing cars over people.
StreetsBlog-SF
In a move that will disappoint auto manufacturers and labor but was met with great applause by the environmental community, Obama has taken the first step to granting CA's request for a waiver so it can set its own, stricter emission standards.
CNN Politics
While the U.S. waffles over its stimulus package, China is two months into a grand countrywide transportation facelift, building high-speed rail, expanding freight capacity and generally beefing up the country's mobility.
The New York Times
WebUrbanist brings together fifteen innovative, creative, and absurd experiments in parking, from VW's robot stacker to eco parking to parking meters on gravestones.
WebUrbanist
The downturn in the economy has hurt the auto industry, leaving many cars unsold. Storage of these cars is becoming a problem for many automakers.
Guardian
Wannado City in Sawgrass Mills, FL, is a model city in a warehouse that gives kids a chance to play at having jobs. Broward County Transit has chipped in a mini bus, which drives around the city introducing kids to public transit.
The Miami Herald
This piece from <em>Bloomberg</em> architecture critic James Russell calls for a unified approach to building the nation's transportation infrastructure.
Bloomberg
An obscure new rule pushed through the Federal Highway Administration requires public toll roads to collect 'fair market value' from drivers, rather than to serve the public interest.
On The Commons
Boise's degrading air quality and the fear it may lead to a loss in federal transportation funding is causing local governments to improve public transit options to get commuters out of their cars. The alternative, smog testing of cars, is resisted.
The New York Times
In a new twist of "managed lanes", this comic looks at ways to accommodate cell phone users so as not to affect those not using their cells.
Go Comics
Granville Bridge was built in 1954 for a growing Vancouver, with giant cloverleaf offramps on each end. Today, the city has taken a different direction.
Price Tags
Jon Zemke ponders the many possibilities for building a world-class transportation network throughout metro Detroit.
Metromode
As the Federal government prepares to pour massive amounts of funding into road infrastructure, James Russell sends up a warning that the 'shovel-ready' projects may just be more bridges to nowhere.
Bloomberg.com
Feature
John Norquist, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, believes that President Obama should reconsider committing stimulus funds to decades-old freeway expansion projects and take transportation policy in a new direction.
In Oregon, transportation officials are set to vote on an ambitious list of transportation projects that they hope will garner funding when Congress allocates transportation money this year.
The Oregonian
Hopes are fading from transit enthusiasts who wanted to see high speed rail and public transit profit from Obama's stimulus package. Even the road lobby is disappointed that infrastructure will get less than tax cuts and state bail-outs.
The New York Times
This editorial suggests three strategies to make the American auto fleet more efficient: renewing the hybrid tax credit program (many credits have been exhausted), pursuing a "cash for clunkers program", and increasing the gas tax to supplement CAFE.
The New York Times
The author of this article offers a few ideas on how to better use our 46,000 miles of highway. From the integration of rail lines to the development of electricity distribution grids, the interstate has more potential than it seems.
Metropolis Magazine
This editorial argues that the San Francisco isn't ready for a complex scheme that the public dislikes, raises little funding, and would send an 'unwelcome' message to visitors.
San Francisco Chronicle
California's high-speed rail project is a triumph for rail advocates, but made possible by private sector funding. A Canadian rail project must also follow the model of public-private partnerships.
The Globe and Mail
