Green Options

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The average Chicagoan spends an hour and a half commuting to and from work each day. With the second largest public transportation system in the country, one million people ride city buses each day. Mayor Daley considered both facts when he devised a plan aimed at easing congestion, commuting times, and air pollution in the central business district. A $153 million federal grant can help make this plan a reality.

Priority Given to Buses Over Cars

The first part of the plan entails creating a 100 mile bus corridor with dedicated bus lanes during peak hours. Kiosks selling bus tickets allow passengers to quickly board buses and many routes will run express, resulting in fewer stops. Traffic lights will be programmed to turn green for buses, helping to keep them in motion. Hybrid buses will be used, reducing pollution in these heavily populated areas.

Sick of being stuck in traffic during his daily commute from Bath to Batheaston, U.K. architect trainee Ricardo Assis Rosa has found a more pleasant and eco-friendly way to get to work: by canoe.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user KMJ.

Here’s another reason to take public transportation when you’re in New York City: there really is no parking … or at least not nearly enough for the number of drivers looking for a space.

The New York Times reports that a “long-awaited” city study found that, outside of those drivers lucky enough to have city-issued placards that give them special parking privileges, typical commuters face near-hopeless odds of finding a parking space in some areas. The city’s financial district, for example, offers only one-third the number of spaces needed for the non-placarded drivers passing through.