Posted February 10, 200619 yr Much of what is discussed here that is happening in New England are challenges also facing us in Ohio. Road, Rail, Air, Water: Separate Worlds or One System? New England: New Century, New Game By Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson No region of the world can expect to compete and flourish in the demanding 21st century without state-of-the-art connections -- road and rail, air and water, plus fast and efficient electronic information highways. On the transportation front, New England seems frozen in time and space, unaware of how seriously isolated and inefficient it’s becoming with its overburdened interstates, poorly maintained bridges and local roads, shrunken and imperiled rail service, and lack of a modern deepwater cargo port. Read more at: http://www.newenglandfutures.org/issues/connections/article/
February 17, 200619 yr FEBRUARY 2, 2006 Business Week News & Features By Pallavi Gogoi Bringing Community to the City New urbanism takes hold in townships sprouting up across the U.S., changing the landscape and American lifestyle Jean Hee Park, who doesn't like driving, prefers to walk to the grocery store. So when she graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003 and landed a job at a government agency in Atlanta, her choices were limited. Atlanta isn't a city with a lot of sidewalks. Or wasn't, that is, until the opening of Atlantic Station, a 138-acre community smack-dab in the middle of the city. Park promptly got a one-bedroom apartment for $950 per month in May, 2005, and today takes the metro train to work. "I don't have a car, and I walk for groceries -- I love it," she says. Atlantic Station is the latest example of "new urbanism," a trendy antidote to the suburban and exurban sprawl that has defined the American way of life for the past five decades. It's a shiny new town, complete with city blocks, sidewalks, street parking, a train station, parks, schools, offices, town houses, and even loft residences right above the retail stores. It officially opened in October, 2005, though the condos and townhomes started selling before then. Its storefronts boast many well-known retailers, including a Banana Republic (GPS ), a West Elm (WSM ) furniture store, the country's first urban Ikea, a Coldstone Creamery, and a Publix grocery and pharmacy. Read more at: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2006/id20060202_200657.htm
April 18, 200619 yr Commuter lines fast track to growth? BY LAURI HARVEY KEAGLE [email protected] 219.762.1397 Communities with existing South Shore rail service and those hoping to get it shared plans Monday for mixed-use developments geared toward commuters. The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District sponsored the transit-oriented development workshop at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville. Such developments involve mixed-use zoning -- single-family homes, townhouses, apartments, condominiums, commercial and retail -- centered on a rail or bus station. The developments encourage people to leave their cars behind and walk to transit opportunities as well as shopping, services and restaurants. More at: http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2006/04/18/news/top_news/11237776771d786d862571540006c62c.txt
April 22, 200619 yr Atlantic Station is nice, and I bought some good and relatively inexpensive clothes there (I think that mostly had to do with the fact it was after Christmas) but I don't think it would fall into most people's idea of what is walkable with regard to the available public transit opportunities in Atlanta. To get to the MARTA you have to walk across I-75/I-85, then down Peachtree Road to Arts Center Station, which is one station north of Midtown Station. I then took the southbound train to Five Points, transferred to the Eastbound Train, road two stops to King Memorial Station, then walked almost exactly a mile, crossing I-20, to house where I was staying. All the time relatively encumbered with shopping bags. There are those of us who don't mind such a commute, but most aren't interested in such a journey. I say this not to rag on public transit, just to give a better perspective on the Atlanta and the Atlantic Station development. It's still focused on the car.
April 22, 200619 yr Agreed on your assessment of Atlanta. They are a classic example of an auto-centric city trying to retrofit transit and dense, walkable development.
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