Cities and Countries
Streetsblog Basics
Streetfilms: A Bright Beginning for Phoenix Light Rail
Everyone knows that Phoenix has a huge sprawl problem. But now transit-oriented development is on the upswing in this Sun Belt metropolis. In
December, the Phoenix region opened one of the most ambitious transit projects
in recent U.S. history: a 20-mile light rail line with 28 stops
serving three cities (Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa). Future plans include an extension within three years, with several new corridors being studied.
June 18, 2009
Chicago Pays the Price for Parking Privatization
It appears Chicago politicians who privatized city parking meter operations traded short-term political gain for long-term fiscal pain.
June 17, 2009
Tweeting Live from the Congress for the New Urbanism in Denver
OK. I've finally succumbed to Twitter and I'm using it to keep track of interesting quotes, observations and tidbits at the 17th annual Congress for the New Urbanism conference in Denver. There's a lot of great stuff happening here and plenty of interesting people. I'm not sure how much of that I can convey in 140 character text bursts. But I'm a professional haikuist so let's see what I can do.
June 11, 2009
Streetcars in Seattle, Or Why America Should Mind Its Transit Gaps
The rider went down -- Boom! -- just as she turned to see if the streetcar was getting close to her. Turning to look was her undoing, because her wheel got caught in the big gap between rail and street, toppling her hard. The big blue streetcar was only ten feet or so behind her, but luckily was slowing down and did not run her over. Scary though.
June 9, 2009
Why Buy More Trains If You Can’t Afford to Run Them?
Down in balmy South Florida, D-Day is approaching for riders of the the popular Tri-Rail transit system. A looming $18 million shortfall has forced the Tri-Rail board to approve a budget that slices daily service and stops all trains by 2011 -- although ridership has doubled since 2005.
May 27, 2009
On TV Tonight…
For those who are not tuning in to the American Idol season finale tonight (Kris is going to win, watch), here are two shows worth looking out for:
May 20, 2009
When Cycling Becomes the Norm
Following up on Sarah's post this morning, here's a Bike to Work Week special from Mikael Colville Andersen, the mastermind behind Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Colville Andersen's blogs are like extended odes to urban cycling and bike culture, and in this vid he shows what bicycling looks like when it's seen as a "normal" way to get from here to there.
May 13, 2009