Transportation

In an effort to help officials and tourists in Washington D.C. deal with inauguration crowds, researchers at the University of Maryland have created a "four-dimensional" map that tracks traffic and road conditions in real time.

January 19, 2009 - NPR

Bicycle activists in Tel Aviv call for better infrastructure for bicyclists, skaters and pedestrians. "The central question is: Who is the city for - for the car or for the people?" says one.

January 19, 2009 - Haaretz

One down, nine to go - that's how many hwy projects Gov. Schwarzenegger wants exempted from environmental review in order to be 'shovel ready' for the Obama stimulus. Hwy 50 was settled to the delight of enviros who negotiated a big win for transit.

January 19, 2009 - The Sacramento Bee

Officials are complaining about the first draft of the economic stimulus package, arguing that it does not dedicate enough money to transit projects and heavily favors road building.

January 18, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

Plummeting gas prices, roads in disrepair, and soaring state deficits have caused some state politicians to, gasp, attempt to raise gas taxes - last raised over 15 years ago in some states.

January 17, 2009 - The New York Times

Barack Obama has announced the three members of the "urban issues" arm of his incoming cabinet. Grist's Ryan Avent takes a look at Shaun Donovan, Ray LaHood and Adolfo Carrion and what they may mean for urban policy.

January 17, 2009 - Grist

UC Davis Professor Daniel Sperling, a transportation expert and member of CA's ARB has co-written "Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability". In this radio interview, Sperling describes cleaner auto technologies but dismisses transit's role.

January 16, 2009 - NPR: 'Fresh Air'

In an effort to save billions of dollars, the State of Massachusetts may merge the MBTA, the Highway Department, and the Turnpike Authority into what is being called the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority.

January 16, 2009 - Boston Globe

Officials in Washington have come to a consensus on plans to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle's damaged inner-city arterial. They've decided on a $4 billion tunnel, but the plans still need approval from the state legislature.

January 14, 2009 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This editorial looks at the hostile environment of bicycling on much of Long Island, and ties it to the precarious life of many immigrant laborers, who already suffer from apparent hate crimes. Sadly, riding a bike only increases their vulnerability

January 14, 2009 - The New York Times

It's clear that both domestic and international auto companies are gearing up to manufacture all-electric (battery-powered) vehicles, though whether the market goes for them is another story with gas prices at historic lows.

January 14, 2009 - The New York Times

"All of a sudden it's hot", says long-time bike advocate and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, who's hoping the country will ride this momentum towards a more sustainable pattern of development.

January 14, 2009 - The New York Times

Environmentalists reject CA Gov. Schwarzenegger's attempt to waive new highway construction projects from environmental review to qualify for Obama's stimulus package, offering 'fix-it-first' construction and public transit projects as alternatives.

January 13, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

Officials in Pittsburgh are hoping that expanding transit-oriented development will spur growth in struggling and decaying neighborhoods -- and they have the voter-approved legislation to help.

January 13, 2009 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While the economic downturn is slowing many construction projects in Dubai, the city's 47-station light rail system is moving forward on schedule.

January 12, 2009 - Architectural Record

Charles Komanoff reveals a revised new plan that aims to bring congestion pricing to New York City and use its revenue to reduce the price of transit.

January 12, 2009 - Grist

The city of Chicago has missed a deadline to approve a pending parking fee ordinance that would have helped the city qualify for $153 million in federal grant money.

January 12, 2009 - Crain's Chicago Business

San Francisco's federally-funded parking experiment SFPark will be a live test of the theories of dynamic parking management popularized by Donald Shoup.

January 12, 2009 - Streetsblog San Francisco

Creating transit, and planning around it, will be the key to success for metro areas, according to a new report from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

January 11, 2009 - Citiwire

The economic recession is hurting the California High Speed Rail Authority, the lead agency developing the high speed rail network for which the state's voters approved $10 billion in bonds in 2008. With no buyers, the bond money is unavailable.

January 11, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle