| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
In case you mistook Schwarzenegger for a green
|
Gar Lipow |
25 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Ahnold cuts transit funding. (via Michael O'Hare) |
|
| Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Banner day for B.C. Lots of good stuff north of the border |
Clark Williams-Derry |
25 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The Vancouver Sun has the scoop. First, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, just released a draft "eco-density" plan that sounds, at least to my ears, like exactly the right way to deal with the city's expected population increase: curbing sprawl by concentrating new housing in compact, transit-friendly neighborhoods: Vancouver should put high-density housing next to its major parks and along every one of its major streets, suggests the first d ... |
|
| Topics: Canada, placemaking, public transportation, sprawl, urban planning, Vancouver (all these topics) |
|
|
The Bronx Is Up and the Battery's Under the Hood New York City will convert entire taxi fleet to hybrids |
|
23 May 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| The Bronx Is Up and the Battery's Under the Hood New York City will convert entire taxi fleet to hybrids The big yellow taxis of the Big Apple will all be hybrids by 2012 under a plan announced yesterday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The city has been testing 375 hybrid cabs for 18 months, and will soon begin converting its 13,000-vehicle fleet. "It will be the largest, cleanest fleet of taxis an ... |
|
| Topics: New York City, news, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Gas price roundup Do gas prices affect behavior or not? |
Clark Williams-Derry |
18 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Despite record-setting gas prices, U.S. drivers haven't changed their gas-guzzling habits, says AP. Not only are we consuming as much as we always have, new vehicle sales seem to be tilting even more in favor of trucks than cars. But wait, USA Today disagrees. They say that drivers are, in fact, starting to cut back on how much they drive -- a clear sign that higher gas prices are starting to bite. Who's right? Who cares! Either way, the consumer respons ... |
|
| Topics: cars, energy, gas prices, green living, oil, placemaking, public transportation, Vancouver (all these topics) |
|
|
HopStop
|
David Roberts |
16 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Not long ago, our own JMG lamented the fact that online map services don't include transit-oriented directions. Well, lookee here: HopStop, your city transit guide. OK, it's only for NYC, but still, sounds pretty cool: HopStop is your city transit guide. We provide door-to-door subway and bus directions and maps for New York City. You can also search for places to eat, drink, sleep and see in the City Guide. With HopStop you can: - Send directions by e-mail ... |
|
| Topics: New York City, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Is the SkyTrain the limit? Making public transit work |
Clark Williams-Derry |
15 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Greater Vancouver leads the Northwest in transit ridership, with somewhere between two and three times as many annual bus and train rides per person as Portland and Seattle. So the obvious question: How come? Why does Vancouver do so much better in transit statistics than its southern neighbors?If you're from Seattle, the "obvious" answer might seem to be Vancouver's SkyTrain light rail system, which carries about 66 million passengers each year. Se ... |
|
| Topics: green living, placemaking, Portland, public transportation, Seattle, Vancouver (all these topics) |
|
|
Tassel Talk On graduation gifts |
Umbra Fisk |
14 May 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, The recent question about a senior gift to the school got me wondering: what are some green gift ideas for graduates? Misty Boyd Tahlequah, Okla. Dearest Misty, Cash. You could help them set up a retirement account. With this answer, I think Grist will have covered most gifting opportunities: Valentine's Day, weddings, babies, winter holidays, winter holidays for kids, and birthday fart jokes. The gift of a public-transit hab ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, parenting, public transportation, shopping (all these topics) |
|
|
Medal to the pedal People-powered transit makes you happy |
Clark Williams-Derry |
08 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Transportation uber-geek Todd Litman looked at studies of people's satisfaction with their commutes (PDF). The results: transit isn't all that popular, compared with a car commute: The leftmost bar represents a car-only commute; you can see that it gets higher satisfaction ratings (the green part) and lower dissatisfaction (the orange) than both transit and car+transit commutes, which are the next two bars. (Despite the popularity of park-and-rides, ther ... |
|
| Topics: cars, green living, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
People know how to get out of cars It's like riding a bike ... |
David Roberts |
07 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| What happens when a major urban freeway burns down? Chaos, right? Gridlock! Except not: Traffic congestion was down Monday and Tuesday. The amount of time drivers were stuck in traffic moving slower than 60 mph was down 8 percent around the entire Bay Area, according to Caltrans data. Congestion on Oakland freeways, meanwhile, was down by more than 50 percent, the data showed. ... BART ridership, meanwhile, spiked dramatically, hitting an all-time record on Tu ... |
|
| Topics: cars, green living, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
That's One Way to Push Public Transportation Gasoline-tanker explosion melts bridge, snarls traffic in Bay Area |
|
30 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| That's One Way to Push Public Transportation Gasoline-tanker explosion melts bridge, snarls traffic in Bay Area Hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents faced a hellish commute today because of a major accident that speaks loads about transportation and convenience in our modern age. Early Sunday, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons of unleaded gas overturned and exploded, causing a section of h ... |
|
| Topics: California, cars, green living, news, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
A refreshing change of pace: sensible policy Imagine: charging polluters to encourage the others! |
JMG |
29 Apr 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Sam Smith, publisher of the estimable e-letter The Progressive Review, is perhaps the ultimate pragmatic environmentalist, with a sharp eye for what works and a sharper ability to deflate the pompous and overly-self-loving. He is often the sole commenter picking up on policy proposals and practices that a less parochial media less obsessed with infotainment would be interested in -- such as the success of congestion charges in London's central district, implemented by Mayor 'Re ... |
|
| Topics: cars, climate, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, London, placemaking, public transportation, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
|
|
High-speed rail transit in the Midwest It can be done |
David Roberts |
24 Apr 2007 |
Gristmill |
| ModeShift has an intriguing post on a proposed regional high-speed rail transit system for the Midwest. Here's the wow bit: In essence, for the same cost as building less than 120 miles of new Interstate freeway, the Midwest could design, construct, and operate a 21st Century passenger rail network that would make the region's transportation system competitive with that of western Europe. Moreover, the feasibility study predicted that the system would generate so mu ... |
|
| Topics: placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Bullets flying in Brazil? A bullet train, that is |
Ron Steenblik |
20 Apr 2007 |
Gristmill |
| According to this article, Brazil's transport ministry is considering whether to tender bids for a high-speed train linking São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Once (OK, if) the bullet train goes into operation, travel time would be just under an hour and a half, compared with the five hours it currently takes to drive between the two cities. Initial studies for the project estimate a total investment of US$6 billion would be required. That's about how much the U.S. feder ... |
|
| Topics: Brazil, energy, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
We Just Ran This Story So We Could Say 'Chunnel' Eurostar will reduce emissions, offset the rest |
|
18 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| We Just Ran This Story So We Could Say "Chunnel" Eurostar will reduce emissions, offset the rest Of trains, planes, and automobiles, locomotives already have the best rep for carbon emissions -- but one operator is on track to boost the bar higher. Eurostar, which shuttles commuters under the English Channel, plans to reduce CO2 emissions 25 percent per traveler ... |
|
| Topics: greenhouse-gas emissions, news, placemaking, public transportation, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
|
|
The pro-enviro solution that dare not speak its name Trains are the forgotten mode of transport, at least in the U.S. |
JMG |
06 Apr 2007 |
Gristmill |
| 'Because if your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down their throats.' Take electrified rail, for instance. Here's a sad report from Dean Baker of The American Prospect, one of the best reporters going today: I was shocked to discover in a conversation with a congressional staffer that rebuilding the country's train system is a topic that is strictly verboten on Capitol Hill. I was reminded of this when I read that a French train had set a new speed record of 35 ... |
|
| Topics: placemaking, politics, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
The Engine On the Bus Goes Plug, Plug, Plug U.S. states beginning to invest in plug-in hybrid school buses |
|
03 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| The Engine On the Bus Goes Plug, Plug, Plug U.S. states beginning to invest in plug-in hybrid school buses Once upon a time, someone had an idea: let's transport U.S. schoolkids in big yellow buses that spew diesel fumes and have no seatbelts. The nation embraced the idea -- though oddly, the plan to dangle a knife above each seat was scrapped -- but now it's having secon ... |
|
| Topics: cars, education, electric vehicles, energy, hybrids, news, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Next Stop, Wonderment Last year, U.S. saw highest public-transit ridership since 1957 |
|
13 Mar 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Next Stop, Wonderment Last year, U.S. saw highest public-transit ridership since 1957 Hooray for sky-high gas prices! Thanks to the manipulative maneuverings of Big Oil, public transit ridership in the U.S. is on the rise too. A report from the American Public Transportation Association says miffed tank-fillers and others took 10 billion mass-transit trips last year -- 2.9 percent more than in 2005, 28 percent more ... |
|
| Topics: news, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Seattle's difficult decision: Cary Moon She prefers a 'people's waterfront' |
David Roberts |
12 Mar 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Seattle is facing a difficult decision: what to do with a crumbling highway that serves as a major north-south corridor through the city? Below, we hear from Cary Moon. Cary is a landscape and urban designer and co-founder of the People's Waterfront Coalition. The PWC's No-Highway option won second prize in a national design competition sponsored by Metropolis magazine, called 'Next Generation: Big Idea.' ----- Faced with a maddening choice between two miserable hi ... |
|
| Topics: local politics, placemaking, politics, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics) |
|
|
Seattle's difficult decision: Erica C. Barnett She says no and hell no |
David Roberts |
11 Mar 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Seattle is facing a difficult decision: what to do with a crumbling highway that serves as a major north-south corridor through the city? Below, we hear from Erica C. Barnett. Erica is the senior news writer for Seattle's alternative newsweekly, The Stranger, where she covers City Hall and transportation, writes a weekly politics column, and serves on the paper's editorial board. She also has a blog. ----- Voters in Seattle are being asked to take up-or-down ... |
|
| Topics: local politics, placemaking, politics, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics) |
|
|
Seattle's difficult decision: A mini-series Because local transportation choices aren't local any more |
David Roberts |
11 Mar 2007 |
Gristmill |
| As Bradley noted below, the citizens of Seattle face a dilemma. The Alaskan Way Viaduct -- an elevated highway that enters Seattle on its west flank, offering stunning views (to drivers) of the city and the waterfront -- is falling apart. There's real danger that an earthquake, or just Father Time, could send it tumbling down, along with lots of cars. Nobody wants that. That's where the consensus ends. The question is: what should we do about it? In some sense th ... |
|
| Topics: local politics, placemaking, politics, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics) |
|
|
On Track Betting A journey on China's controversial new train to Tibet |
Erica Gies |
23 Feb 2007 |
Main Dish |
| Each night, the Qinghai-Tibet train leaves Beijing at 9:30. A mere 48 hours later, it rolls into Lhasa, 2,525 miles away. Waiting to depart from Beijing. Photos: Erica Gies Shortly after 9 p.m. one warm night last fall, my travel companion and I raced through the sprawling West Beijing train station, weaving our way through a crush of humanity sitting on newspapers and bits of cardboard, eating cups ... |
|
| Topics: China, placemaking, public transportation, Tibet (all these topics) |
|
|
Public transit: The geeky band girl who takes her glasses off and lets her hair down and turns out to be totally hot ... of environmentalism More fun with analogies! |
David Roberts |
15 Feb 2007 |
Gristmill |
| I commend everyone to this article by Ben Adler on American Prospect, which addresses a perpetually overlooked strategy to reduce oil use and combat global warming: With all the focus on ... 'alternate energy programs,' too many [politicians] are ignoring a long-existing technology that, unlike, say, ethanol, already has the power to radically reduce our oil consumption. I'm speaking, of course, of mass transit. This is a real problem. There are organized national ... |
|
| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
Terry Tamminen: Public transit Schwarzenegger wants more |
David Roberts |
16 Jan 2007 |
Gristmill |
| DR: There's always an emphasis on personal transportation. How do you kick start public transportation and more dense settlements? Did you guys make steps toward that in California? TT: We did. While Prop 87 was going down in flames a week ago, the $60 billion bond package for California infrastructure was passing, with several billion for mass transit. That's a first, because California's like most states -- it's up to local transit agencies to pay for buse ... |
|
| Topics: interview, public transportation, Terry Tamminen (all these topics) |
|
|
Carpools Rush In On carpooling to a reunion |
Umbra Fisk |
14 Aug 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, You have told us, in no uncertain terms, that traveling by train is better ecologically than traveling by car. Several members of my family plan to carpool to an upcoming family reunion 600 miles away. I have considered trying to talk them into taking the train instead, but face the following problem: It would cost about $130 each, round-trip, and involve inconvenient hours guaranteed to annoy the elder generation. ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|
A commute point
|
Sarah van Schagen |
06 Jun 2006 |
Gristmill |
| Tomorrow is Commute Another Way Day! In Maine, at least (anyone know of this happening elsewhere?), this is an annual event to promote carpools, vanpools, public transit, biking, walking, pogo-sticking, and other eco-friendly alternatives to that long, lonely slog to and from the 9-to-5. According to the CAWD website: Last year, more than 500 employers and 5,000 commuters got involved statewide, helping to reduce traffic congestion and auto emissions by eliminatin ... |
|
| Topics: Maine, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
|
|