Finished the first draft of my play in iambic pentameter! Because I have the freedom to do weird shit now! Anyway, given that I've been bike commuting in Boston since 2008, I was thinking I could put together some bike commuting tips for folks considering it. Do you think anyone would want such a thing? #bike#bikecommute#transportation#boston
Mainichi: "Texas shinkansen may not operate until early 2030s, Amtrak says... Most recently slated for completion in 2026, the project is receiving technical support from Japanese shinkansen operator Central Japan Railway Co. If it goes ahead, the railway will connect Dallas and Houston, two major Texas cities approximately 380 kilometers apart, in about 90 minutes, but planning has been repeatedly delayed due to financing concerns, among other reasons. " https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240530/p2g/00m/0bu/049000c#transportation#trains#texas
Oregon lawmakers 2024 statewide listening tour to gather input on how to fund and invest in #transportation in 2025, first stop is happening in #Portland on June 4th, at 5 pm.
We look at three states where legislation has been proposed to hamper the rollout of bus lanes, EVs and more. Florida has even banned bus wraps, but not because Governor DeSantis cares about bus riders.
Become a Patreon supporter of the podcast to listen:
These U.S. Cities Have More Parking Lots Than Housing - They paved paradise again and again and again.
by Frank Jacobs, Big Think May 17, 2024
"...On average, about one-fifth of all land in city centers is dedicated to parking. But what’s the actual harm being done by all that parking space? For one, city centers that are more “parkable” become less walkable. In other words, fewer things are casually accessible.
...Americans’ attitude toward driving is changing. The share of high school seniors with a driving license has dropped from 85.3% in 1996 to 71.5% in 2015. The rise of shared, multi-modal, and (soon, they keep promising us) autonomous mobility will further reduce the need for driver’s licenses, individual cars, and massive parking facilities in city centers.
Perhaps it’s time for American cities to become denser, more lived-in, more walkable—and less “parkable.”
“I’m wondering if something subliminal has happened after reading Bicycling Monterey. I’ve been riding the Rock Island Greenway Trail for the last week and a half. Just a wonderful and beautiful ride! It’s not Monterey, California, but a real gem for Peoria, Illinois.”—Richard Coers
First lesson: the farmer's market here has no bicycle racks, and the folks in charge have ZERO idea what to do with them, despite the "NO BIKES" sign. They clarified and said bikes are fine, as long as you walk them. "NO ONE HAS ASKED US THAT BEFORE" is what they told me. They ended up letting me stash my bike next to their info booth while I walked around. #BikeTooter#Transportation
Second #BikeTooter badge checked off, also took a bicycle on a city bus. The bus driver was less than amused at my attempts to cram two folded and worn dollar bills into the fare collector and said "gimme those, I'll do it!" LOL He also seemed to be trying to whip around corners and hit pot holes, LOL (the bike did not go anywhere it shouldn't have, the racks work). #bus#transportation
Golze, J., & Sester, M. (2024). Determining user specific #semantics of locations extracted from #TrajectoryData. Transportation Research Procedia, 78, 215-221. - "stop points are extracted from the GPS #trajectories using the #Python framework MovingPandas"
Private automobiles are not the future of anything, and it is a gross mis-allocation of funds to waste money on expanding roads.
The communities that were crushed and divided by highways can be repaired, though they will never have the same vibrancy as before, nor will the original displaced inhabitants benefit in any way.
But it's a start.
"...Decades ago, people decided to create the freeways. Now, we must decide if we will continue this path or reverse the damage to repair our communities..."
This was an interesting email to receive today. It reminded me of some things we discussed back on The Oil Drum about this very thing (the online archive still available: http://theoildrum.com/special/archives ) - how paving over all the old city & county gravel roads had introduced a pile of fixed costs (not just paving, but regular re-grading, snow plowing, etc) that towns would eventually have to shed.
In other words, at some point in the not too distant future, they will start turning roads back into gravel roads, slowly but surely, starting at the very outside edges and creeping inward until only a certain core of local paved roads remains.
Opportunity to talk to the NE #Portland state rep directly about the importance of bikes and #transportation. Lew Frederick is on the joint transportation committee and will play a big part in coming up with the next state transportation funding. He has these meetups once a month but this is the first after the state transportation forum. 9am at the Broadway Grill. #pdxBikes#ORleg#ClimateAction#VisionZero
Shit. Thought I saw a positive story about refurbishing and reopening a major train station...and it turns out it's just a puff piece about a rich Ford family guy buying it and turning into a "tech hub" for Ford's campus. #Trains#FuckCars#Transportation