Walkscore rates a neighborhood’s walkability on a 1 to 100 scale based on a number of criteria such as proximity to restaurants and grocery stores. Now, they’ve added a transit rating which takes into account a neighborhood’s public transportation options!

Awesome, right? The idea is to “measure how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle,” so adding a transit component makes sense. Maybe you can’t hoof it to the grocery store, but you can walk to a train station that takes you to a farmers market. You can still do your thing car-free!

So why do they need our help?

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China just awarded Bombardier Sifang a contract to build 80 “very high speed trains” for the country.

These are super progressive trains that are energy efficient as well as lightning fast. China intends to invest a total of $300 billion in high speed trains by 2020.

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An Ode to the 38 Geary Bus

My other favorite transportation item this week is “Sometimes on the 38″, a great song by San Francisco musician, Shane Papatolicas; the lyrics chronicle his varied experiences riding on the 38 Geary bus in San Francisco. Here is a link to the catchy music on another local transit blog that is also worth reading, the Muni Diaries.

]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/08/21/riding-on-the-bus/feed/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/07/28/car-free-market-street-is-closer-to-reality/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/07/28/car-free-market-street-is-closer-to-reality/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:12:55 +0000 Rhonda Winter http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/07/28/car-free-market-street-is-closer-to-reality/ My long held fantasy of a car-free Market Street became just a little closer to reality today. A transit improvement report was just approved by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority that encourages travel by bus, foot and bicycle along this busy thoroughfare. District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, who requested the report, expressed his support for the positive changes being implemented that will limit car traffic on Market. “It will feel pretty good to see some progress, albeit incremental progress on Market Street,” he said.

A glorious car-free Market Street in June of 2008 after the queer pride parade.

I could not agree more, and am eagerly anticipating the upcoming changes; they can’t come quickly enough. Cars make us fat. The more we can increase walking, biking and mass transit use, the healthier our citizens will be, and the more livable and sustainable both our city and world will become.

A model of clean technology and green building, a rail center planned for Anaheim, CA in 2013 will also provide a link to Disneyland. Taking design cues from NYC’s Grand Central Station, the building will also be a centerpiece of Anaheim and a site to see in itself.

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That was one of the many probing questions that the visionary former mayor of Bogotá Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa, asked a packed auditorium in San Francisco last night. How do we define what makes a good city, what is our criteria? What makes an urban environment desirable and livable, and how do we judge the quality of life? What is socially and environmentally sustainable?

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The first time that I rode on San Francisco’s Muni it cost me a quarter, complete with a two hour unlimited transfer. Even as a clueless adolescent, I thought that was a pretty good deal. Mass transit ridership is skyrocketing all over the country, as more and more people are utilizing more sustainable methods of transport and bicycles. A few weeks ago, when I saw this notice that Muni fares will be going up to two dollars on July 1st, the first thing that I thought was: “I actually feel pretty good about spending two bucks of my meager resources to ride the streetcar. I want to support my local transit agency and help it to be a success.” Man, I am getting old.

The Board heard hours of impassioned public comment in support of implementing the city’s desperately needed Bike Network; they voted unanimously this afternoon to approve the Bike Plan EIR and finally adopt the complete Bike Plan.

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Londoners will soon be able to hire bikes in the centre of town for short journeys, under plans announced this week by the mayor, Boris Johnson.

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Basically, a cross between the convenience of grabbing a cab and a public bus; the podcars will be a component of Masdar City’s public transportation system.

As part of Masdar City’s car-free design; these podcars will be part of a network of electric taxis without drivers (!). The first of these podcars (also known as personal rapid transit - PRT) are set to debut this year.

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Compared to most other industrialized countries, the rail infrastructure system in the United States is only in its most stunted infancy.

President Obama’s stimulus package, however, is now going to help bring our nation’s transit system into the 21st century. Nine billion dollars has been allocated over the next five years to begin building a faster and cleaner high speed rail network that will not only provide many needed jobs, but will also give us more sustainable transit options and help to make us more competitive internationally.

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A group of local activists is working to help raise awareness about MARTA and speak out against the threatened service cuts. They hope folks will pull together this Friday to boost ridership, introduce new riders to the system, and get folks thinking about the MARTA crisis. Check out more details and what you can do to help after the jump!

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The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) recommended last week that funds earmarked for transit improvements go towards keeping MARTA afloat. The transit system is unable to cover its budget shortfall and operating costs, due to strict regulations on how it spends its revenue. MARTA gets the bulk of its funding from sales tax revenue, and it’s required to spend 50% on operating costs and 50% on capital expenses. This $25 million dollars would be a band aid fix, but it certainly beats cutting a day of service, like the MARTA board was proposing.

Not everyone is thrilled about this idea.

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Governor Sonny Perdue is refusing MARTA officials’ request for a special session to address the crisis affecting Atlanta transit.

According to this story from the AJC, the Governor says that, “Special sessions are something we shy away from.” He said that his transportation staff met with MARTA officials, but he will not hold a special session to help the transit system address its financial woes. As a commenter on the AJC article pointed out, Perdue was happy to call a special session in 2006 when a judge struck down Georgia’s gay marriage ban. Maybe Perdue meant he tries to avoid special sessions when the issue at hand isn’t one that matters to him?

I gave Governor Perdue a piece of my mind, and you can get heard too! Here’s the letter I sent to his office and contact info so you can send one of your own.

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[Waiting for the Train. Creative Commons photo by Wesley Fryer]

The General Assembly voted down Senate Bill 120, which would have allowed MARTA to tap into $65 million in capital reserve funds. Since the system receives absolutely no state funding, it relies heavily on sales tax revenue to stay afloat. It’s a state restriction that is tying up the much needed money: MARTA is required to spend 50% of its revenue on operating costs and 50% on capital expenses. The really infuriating part of this vote is that the bill failed for reasons that had nothing to do with Atlanta’s transit system.

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Without new revenue sources from the state or region…MARTA will be forced to dramatically reduce service levels, eliminating bus routes, cutting rail service (either certain days or times, or entire lines altogether), and potentially seriously impacting the overall economic well-being of this region and state.

This is from a memo that MARTA sent to state lawmakers. Atlanta’s transit system has been dealing with a $60 million budget shortfall since December. That, combined with a dramatic decrease in predicted sales tax revenue for the coming year have put the system into crisis. For a transit system funded entirely by sales tax revenue, it’s not surprising that MARTA is having trouble making ends meet. MARTA is one of the few, if not the only, transit systems in the nation that does not receive a penny of state funding.

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More people than ever are now using mass transit in the United States. Ridership on trains, buses, ferries and subways is at record levels, according to a survey just released by the American Public Transportation Association.  Their study reports that, “despite falling gas prices and an economic recession, increasing numbers of Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2008, the highest level of ridership in 52 years and a modern ridership record“, and a 4% increase from 2007.

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[Creative Commons photo by Brett Weinstein]

What is the BeltLine?
The Atlanta BeltLine is a solution. While Atlanta does have a rail and bus system now, MARTA, the rail portion is pretty limited and the buses are a bit unreliable. The BeltLine was going to change the face of Atlanta’s transit system, connecting neighborhoods and making alternative transportation a viable option for more folks in the Atlanta area. They describe the BeltLine:

Our vision is that the BeltLine will be a continuous, connected corridor of parks, trails, greenspace, quality development and transit - completely unique to anything in any other U.S. city. It will connect in-town neighborhoods and promising business centers throughout the city and will link directly into MARTA rail and other public transit systems. Ultimately, the BeltLine is how Atlanta chooses to develop over the next 50 years.

Why would anyone want to stop a project like this?

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A city in Abu Dhabi is introducing personal rapid transit (PRT) “podcars” — a cross between the convenience of grabbing a cab and a public bus. The podcars will be integrated into Masdar City’s public transportation system.

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