Well, it has been a long time coming, but the US is finally putting some money into high-speed rail (HSR)!
Obama put a strong focus on this in his State of the Union speech last night — “From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains…. Tomorrow, I’ll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act. There are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help our nation move goods, services, and information.”
Now, the White House has just announced the 12 rail lines that will receive billions of dollars for HSR in the very near future. If these HSR projects come to fruition, the US may finally be level with Europe and China.
Transportation is one of the biggest parts of our lives, whether we think about it or not. How will 2010 help shape the future of transportation in the US? How should it do so?
And, more specifically, what is going on in government on this matter? With an expired (in September of 2009) and extended and extended and extended and extended (yes, four times) 6-year transportation bill, what is coming in 2010?
The following discussion goes into my own thoughts on some of the major issues with the help of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO’s) “Top Ten Transportation Topics” list and other stories.
While many are suffering burnout from the overwhelming amount of EV discussion as of late, the conference hosted by Portland State University and Portland General Electric last month was different.
The conference brought together many of the area’s electric vehicle stakeholders to discuss and begin planning for EVs in the region. These stakeholders included OEMs such as Nissan, Toyota, and smart USA, as well as Portland General Electric, local business associations, the local university, many city and county leaders including the Mayor of Corvallis, OR, charging station providers, and fleet managers.
With bike weddings, bike parades, hundreds of naked bicyclists, bike fashion shows, popular & interesting cargo bikes, and travelling bike pubs, Portland is #3 on this great bicycle city photo tours list.
Portland has great bicycle facilities (colored bike lanes, bike boxes at intersections, great bike signs, off-road bicycle paths, etc.), a large number of people using the bicycle for transportation, and a bike culture that brings the fun of bicycling to another level.
As a result of these factors and more, Portland was the first large city in the US to achieve the Platinum level Bike Friendly award from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) — the Platinum level being the highest level possible (above Gold, Silver and Bronze). It is truly a world-class bicycle city now, and the amazing photos in this photo tour help to show that.
If you’ve kept an eye on the federal government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program (which will end on Monday), you know that it’s been a huge success on a number of fronts: hundreds of thousands of people have traded in older, less fuel-efficient vehicles for new models with better gas mileage, and some auto manufacturers are even rehiring. Of course, the program’s had its downsides, also: dealers have complained about slow reimbursements, and some environmentalists have worried that the fuel economy requirements weren’t quite stringent enough.
Portland, Oregon-based businessman Joe Doebele has another complaint about the program: there’s nothing in it to get commuters to shift from four wheels to two. Rather than just throw stones, though, Doeble decided to do something about this shortcoming: he’s started his own “cash for clunkers” program at his cargo bike shop Joe Bike.
Portland, Oregon is a beautiful city, known for its roses, organic food, environmentally conscious citizens, and its beer. It has truly become a destination for Oregonians and travelers alike searching for locally made micro brews and craft beers.
It’s hard to walk two blocks in Portland without encountering a brew pub, ale house, or beer bar, but there’s one that stands out as being truly exceptional. Located in downtown Portland, Bailey’s Taproom is a cozy, modern facility that specializes in Pacific Northwest microbrews and craft brews. They serve up everything in every imaginable style from a “brutally hoppy IPA, a clean lager, a sour Belgian, a thick stout, or a boozy barleywine”.
August is hotter than ever for those of us who envision a future where the streets are populated with plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles and powered by renewable energies.
The month began with the unveiling of Nissan’s Leaf electric vehicle. On Wednesday, President Obama and the Department of Energy announced $2.4 billion in grants to fuel the development of the electric vehicle industry and reduce our nation’s dependence on oil.
Next week opens with the second annual Plug-In 2009 in Long Beach, Calif.
For a city with so many amazing trees, Portland is getting ready to add a bunch of new LEAFs to our streets.
No, that’s not a typo. I’m talking about the LEAF, Nissan’s just-unveiled electric vehicle, which is set to hit dealerships in the fall of 2010. In our quest to be the nation’s leader in electric vehicle infrastructure, usage and development, the Portland region took a big step forward today with the announcement that Nissan and eTec selected Oregon as one of five test markets for the largest deployment of EV’s and the associated charging station network in American history.
While San Francisco and Portland are each publicly claiming they’ll have the best electric vehicle networks in place in their cities, San Jose may be have made the most progress.
The city of San Jose has installed 7 charging stations so far, including spots at City Hall and a public parking garage. At the charging locations vehicle owners don’t pay for the power; instead they are charged based on the time in the parking spot. To simplify payment, EV owners get a keychain fob that’s connected to their credit card.
Portland based artist Storm Large brings us some happy and enthusiastic vagina love with this incredibly catchy song from her one woman show “Crazy Enough“. She sings that her vagina is a “metaphor for my super vagintastically mystical feminine goddess core“.
