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April 11, 2010

Urban Street Template
Urban Street Template from "Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares"
(Photo courtesy Streetsblog)

Highlights

  • Safe crossings: Pedestrians require bridge underpasses (Boston Globe)
    By Renata von Tscharner -- The Charles River parklands offer almost 20 miles of pathways for walking, running, biking, and inline skating right on the water’s edge. Thousands use these pathways for strolls, exercise, or bicycle commuting to and from Boston, Cambridge, and surrounding towns. As the bridges in the Charles River Basin are being restored by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presents itself to improve this system of pathways by creating bridge underpasses.
    Read more about our Charles River Bridge campaign.
  • America's Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities: #26 Boston (Bicycling)
    Boston was one of the worst cities for cycling for years. Now, former Olympic cyclist Nicole Freedman serves as its bike coordinator. In the last few years, the city has come along impressively, adding bike lanes and racks, and promoting educational programs.
  • MBTA Bus Hits, Kills Bicyclist (WCVB, WHDH, WBZ, Boston Herald, Universal Hub, Boston Biker, Boston Biker)
    A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus struck and killed a bicyclist on Wednesday evening. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the accident involved a Route 39 bus and the bicyclist near the intersection of South Huntington and Huntington avenues at about 6 p.m.The bicyclist was identified as a 23-year-old man, who was trying to pry his bicycle wheels from the trolley tracks. T police said the bicyclist was struck after he made contact with the rear of the bus.
  • A Southern Success Story for Public Transportation Offers Lessons in Livability (New York Times)
    By Josh Voorhees -- Charlotte, NC -- By nearly all accounts, the new light-rail project here has been an unexpected and nearly unprecedented success. But that hasn't stopped local and federal officials from wishing they could go back in time and take a second crack at planning it. The 9.6-mile line linking the city's suburban South End with its downtown financial district -- known here as "Uptown" -- came on line in the fall of 2007 with its planners expecting solid but ordinary ridership. What they got, however, was ballooning interest that reached 16,000 daily weekday trips in its first year, nearly twice the federal projections and roughly 15 years ahead of schedule.
  • Making Streets for Walking: Dan Burden on Reforming Design Standards (Streetsblog)
    By Noah Kazis -- One of the foundational documents in our country's history of car-centric street design is what's known as the Green Book. These engineering guidelines, which have been published in various editions by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) since the 1930s, are only "green" if you're looking at the cover. Inside, the Green Book codifies an anti-urban design approach that transportation engineers have followed to disastrous effect in American cities and towns, creating wide streets where cars rule, speeding is the norm, and the greenest modes of travel have no place.
  • First new road in 100 years is no-go for cars (London Evening Standard)
    By Ross Lydall -- London -- The first major new road in London for a century is set to be car-free. A “boulevard” through the heart of the King's Cross redevelopment will be lined with small shops, a “concept” Sainsbury's, department store and hotel. But only buses, taxis and cyclists will be allowed to use the road, believed to be the first new major link since Kingsway opened in 1905. Planners want to create a “continental feel” and it is due to be finished by the end of next year.

"Streets"

Walking

  • Safe crossings: Pedestrians require bridge underpasses (Boston Globe)

Bicycling

Transit

Cars/Parking

Transportation financing/Government

Parks

Development projects

Land Use/Planning

Out-of-state

National trends

  • Streetcar Revival: Will Your Town Be Next? (AARP)
  • What Should The Gas Tax Pay For? (National Journal)
  • Life (and Death) in the Fast Lane (New York Times)
  • Q&A: Transportation Secretary on Biking, Walking and 'What Americans Want' (New York Times)
  • What Role For Polls In Policy Debates? (National Journal)
  • Americans rebuild for the 'new urban century' (CNN)
  • Amtrak on Pace to Break Annual Ridership Record (Streetsblog DC)
  • Making Streets for Walking: Dan Burden on Reforming Design Standards (Streetsblog)
  • Sign of the Times: In the U.S., More Cars Are Trashed Than Bought (BNET)

International news