March 2, 20187 yr Michigan shuts down road near Ann Arbor due to its extremely poor condition, with no plan for repaving and reopening.
March 2, 20187 yr Michigan shuts down road near Ann Arbor due to its extremely poor condition, with no plan for repaving and reopening. We've overbuilt our road system for what we can afford to maintain. Maintenance isn't as exciting as a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new road. There is push-back from some communities, but I think we'll be seeing more road closures and converting paved roads to gravel, etc. in the furture. http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/iowa-takes-the-hard-road/article_a5271d4a-03a5-11e0-baef-001cc4c002e0.html
June 6, 20187 yr https://www.ft.com/stream/7fc92be7-ca46-476b-943f-61a4c4ecb26f Helsinki is marketing MaaS (Mobility as a Service) as a one-ticket multimodal transportation system. The marketer decides how best to get a person from A to B and sells the appropriate one-payment ticket which might combine public (bus/rail) and private (Uber) transportation systems. It doesn't sound cheap, but it does sound efficient. Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
September 7, 20186 yr Infrastructure spending by both the federal government and states is at its lowest level in 70 years https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-09-06/government-spending-hits-a-striking-new-low "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 11, 20186 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 11, 20196 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 23, 20195 yr Not sure if this is the right place to post, but this was interesting to me: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/ulez-reduces-polluting-cars-by-13500-every-day Quote ULEZ reduces polluting cars by 13,500 every day & cuts toxic air pollution by a third • New report shows significant drop in air pollution plus 13,500 fewer polluting cars being driven into the zone daily • 77 per cent of vehicles in the zone now meet the clean emissions standards • Report on first six months of scheme confirms no increase in pollution around the ULEZ boundary New figures show there are now 13,500 fewer polluting cars being driven into central London every day and a significant drop in harmful air pollution, since the Mayor introduced the Ultra Low Emission Zone six months ago. https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone Basically a zone where they charge an operating cost (per day) for vehicles that don't meet the ultra-low emission standards.
December 6, 20195 yr Big news this morning out of Kansas City, the city has voted to go fare-free across the KC transit system. Currently only the KC streetcar is fare-free and has been since debut, however this vote extends free access to the full bus and BRT systems at a cost of roughly $8 million per year. Additionally, the move makes KC the largest American city to have fare-free public transit. https://www.kcur.org/post/kansas-city-council-unanimously-votes-get-rid-bus-fares#stream/0 I can see this being a huge catalyst for the city, excited to see how this plays out and what other cities take notice.
December 6, 20195 yr I'm not sure what their current zoning requirements are, but they should also consider slashing parking requirements for any development along a major bus line.
June 24, 20204 yr gridlock sam is proposing building a few new grand ped bridges around nyc --- over the hudson and east rivers: https://gothamist.com/news/three-ribbon-bike-pedestrian-bridges-for-nyc-are-more-than-a-coronavirus-concocted-fantasy?to=comments
September 30, 20204 yr now this is really what ya call rethinking transportation -- a walking car: https://nypost.com/2020/09/29/hyundai-in-works-of-creating-a-transformer-class-walking-car/
October 3, 20204 yr the majority of driver’s license suspensions in nj have nothing to do with traffic safety: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/us/new-jersey-drivers-license-suspension-reason-trnd/index.html
January 26, 20214 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 31, 20214 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 31, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, KJP said: Considering the priorities of the people who run our state, that would be a bad policy for us. It would have to be heavily modified to favor transportation funding that emphasizes density and decreased environmental impact. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
January 31, 20214 yr 39 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said: Considering the priorities of the people who run our state, that would be a bad policy for us. It would have to be heavily modified to favor transportation funding that emphasizes density and decreased environmental impact. Not so bad if it was mainly funneled through MPOs
March 29, 20214 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 30, 20214 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 31, 20214 yr https://transitcosts.com/projects/ We are so inefficient when it comes to cost per mile that I'm not sure throwing more money at it is the only (or correct) solution here. Very Stable Genius
March 31, 20214 yr On 9/30/2020 at 1:12 AM, mrnyc said: now this is really what ya call rethinking transportation -- a walking car: https://nypost.com/2020/09/29/hyundai-in-works-of-creating-a-transformer-class-walking-car/ Could be a disaster if those stairs aren't designed for the weight of a vehicle.
March 31, 20214 yr Biden’s infrastructure plan is out. Here are our thoughts https://t4america.org/2021/03/31/bidens-infrastructure-plan-is-out-here-are-our-thoughts/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 13, 20214 yr Whoop!! https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOT/bulletins/2cca426 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 26, 20214 yr Land use heavily influences what modes of transport we use "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 3, 20214 yr Could be an interesting read (due out in September this year): https://www.strongtowns.org/book
May 6, 20214 yr Does anyone have a recommended reading list for Marohn's books? They all kind of blend into the same topic for me so I'm not sure which one to pick with limited time to read.
May 20, 20214 yr On 5/6/2021 at 1:25 PM, Dev said: Does anyone have a recommended reading list for Marohn's books? They all kind of blend into the same topic for me so I'm not sure which one to pick with limited time to read. No. I apologize, but I don't. I only recently discovered him. As far as I know, there is only his his 2020 book: Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity right now. The Confessions book isn't due out until September.
May 20, 20214 yr Suburbs That Don't Suck Another great video by Not Just Bikes. Traffic engineering mandates in the US and Canada that prioritize the movement of cars combined with car-centric zoning codes has turned our suburbs into ugly, soul-crushing waste lands.
May 28, 20214 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 28, 20214 yr How longer will this continue? They can't possibly keep pushing out longer loan terms
May 28, 20214 yr A lot of cars are fine. It's the overemphasis on bigass trucks and SUVs. I get the feeling that we have a 1979 moment coming all over again where the car companies pushed so hard for oversize and too much tech/luxury that they'll have to start over with smaller cars again. This time it won't necessarily be over fuel prices and shortages but rather other market limitations. Remember that EVs are not subject to CAFE so the massive market distortion caused by the free pass given to trucks disappears.
May 28, 20214 yr Petty pushback against Charles Marohn of Strong Towns: I'm pushing for safe streets. Some engineers want me to go away. For the second time, a fellow professional engineer has filed a complaint against me with the state licensing board. For the second time, my license to practice engineering is now under formal review. For the second time, I am threatened with losing my professional licensure and, with it, the credentials that give me the opportunity to pursue a career in engineering. And for the second time, the inspiration of the complaint is opposition to my writing, speaking, and my overall push for reform within the engineering profession. This is a sorry state of affairs.... https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/7/30/i-am-pushing-for-safe-streets The pettiness of human beings always amazes me. Edited June 1, 20214 yr by gildone
June 1, 20214 yr Why can't car rental be as easy to use as car sharing? What I mean is car-sharing is all done by app. Car rental requires a more cumbersome queue up and wait set-up. You Don't Need to Own a Car if You Don't Drive to Work:
June 1, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, gildone said: Why can't car rental be as easy to use as car sharing? What I mean is car-sharing is all done by app. Car rental requires a more cumbersome queue up and wait set-up. If you are signed up and have your credit card and license on file with any of the big rental companies, it is the same experience. When I land at an airport, I go straight to the car, get in and go.
June 1, 20214 yr 13 minutes ago, Cleburger said: If you are signed up and have your credit card and license on file with any of the big rental companies, it is the same experience. When I land at an airport, I go straight to the car, get in and go. Ah. Didn't know. We've been renting via our Costco membership for years. That kind of option hasn't been available to us.
June 24, 20213 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 24, 20213 yr On 6/1/2021 at 11:13 AM, gildone said: Why can't car rental be as easy to use as car sharing? What I mean is car-sharing is all done by app. Car rental requires a more cumbersome queue up and wait set-up. We just rented a car for a week through Turo because rental car prices are just ridiculous (imo) right now. It's an AirBNB type of thing. It was all through an app. We took some initial pictures, got the keys and fob from a lockbox on the window and off we went. Same thing when we returned it. Very Stable Genius
June 24, 20213 yr FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/24/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-support-for-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-framework/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 24, 20213 yr It would be interesting to see a like for like analysis of baseline, what Biden initially proposed, and the new framework.
June 24, 20213 yr 1 hour ago, DarkandStormy said: We just rented a car for a week through Turo because rental car prices are just ridiculous (imo) right now. It's an AirBNB type of thing. It was all through an app. We took some initial pictures, got the keys and fob from a lockbox on the window and off we went. Same thing when we returned it. Much better selection, too, with Toro. Annoying when you got to Enterprise and they don't have anything remotely close to what you want to rent.
July 1, 20213 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 16, 20213 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 17, 20213 yr From a discussion about the sea of parking lots in the Cleveland central business district (CBD -- downtown). On 8/5/2021 at 11:12 AM, GISguy said: Until a land value tax comes along (read: never) we're going to be stuck with speculative lot owners for a looooong time. Assuming that a land value tax is not on the horizon, I suggest that another solution to an over-abundance of open air parking lots would be to restrict access of private vehicles to the CBD, narrow roads, reduce lanes, and close some roads to cars while permitting a more circuitous route -- i.e., attack the supply of vehicles that would make downtown parking lots convenient and profitable. Build a big garage adjacent the highway and a transit center to shuttle workers into the city center. Build better transit (complete the downtown rail loop!), build separated bike lanes, etc. And also increase a parking tax and use zoning and permitting processes to make open-air parking lots more difficult to operate.
August 17, 20213 yr Great ideas! One downside is that Cleveland's parking tax is at the state-mandated maximum 8% (so much for Home Rule). "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 23, 20213 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 1, 20213 yr Why is Ohio not apart of this?! 5 Midwestern governors agree to create a network to charge electric vehicles https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041987104/midwest-electric-vehicles-charging-evs-cars?sc=18&f=1001
October 1, 20213 yr Yes, that is surprising that Ohio is not apart of that considering the influence the automobile industry seems to have. It's good that they are not part of it though since EV adoption is just a shell game that will not actually create meaningful reduction in pollution. No matter how strongly governments try to subsidize EV adoption, people just do not buy a new car often enough for the private fleet to transition fast enough away from ICE powered vehicles.
October 1, 20213 yr 1 hour ago, Dev said: Yes, that is surprising that Ohio is not apart of that considering the influence the automobile industry seems to have. It's good that they are not part of it though since EV adoption is just a shell game that will not actually create meaningful reduction in pollution. No matter how strongly governments try to subsidize EV adoption, people just do not buy a new car often enough for the private fleet to transition fast enough away from ICE powered vehicles. Not any more surprising than that Ohio returned a huge pile of free money for passenger rail or that surrounding states are investing in expanding their rail networks and the speed of their rail networks while Ohio continues to invest in tax cuts and highway expansion. Or that Ohio continues to slow walk any transition away from coal toward renewables or take any.other.action to address climate change. The biggest car manufacturers in Ohio (Honda, GM, Hummer) are not leading the charge to EVs, so of course Ohio is not eager to move away from ICE vehicles.
October 1, 20213 yr 21 minutes ago, Foraker said: The biggest car manufacturers in Ohio (Honda, GM, Hummer) are not leading the charge to EVs, so of course Ohio is not eager to move away from ICE vehicles. Ah, good point
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