Issue #70 / October 18 2012

In this issue
  • Back to back events you won't want to miss! November 28th and 29th
  • Italians buy more bikes than cars for the first time since WWII
  • LivableStreets to speak at NACTO Designing Cities Conference in NYC
  • Remembering Danny O'Brien
  • The Public Way Blog - "Crisis and Opportunity at MassDOT"
  • Upcoming public meetings & events

Calendar: Click here to view full listing of upcoming events and public meetings

 

What's happening 

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Back to back events you won't want to miss!
Mark your calendars: StreetTalk Nov 28th and Networking Night Nov 29th 

 
Wednesday, November 28th, 7-9 PM, is our next StreetTalk with City of Cambridge Transportation Demand Guru, Stephanie Groll.

Then on Thursday, November 29th, 6-9 PM, we are bringing back our popular Networking Night.

Save the dates. More details coming soon.

Is your business, firm, or group interested in getting involved in these events? Become a sponsor. Email kara@livablestreets.info for more information.  
 

Italians buy more bikes than cars for the first time since WWII  

 

The Cape Cod Rail Trail
Bike sales see big increase in Italy.
Photo Source: The Christian Science Monitor 

Last year 1.75 million bikes were sold in Italy, compared to 1.748 million motor vehicles, according to The Christian Science Monitor. Contributing to this trend are rising fuel prices and hefty costs associated with keeping a car on the road. Gas prices recently hit €2 a liter ($9.50 a gallon), and the average cost of ownership is estimated at around €7,0000 ($9,000) a year. The fact that it's quicker to get around Rome by bike, makes it no wonder that bike sales are increasing.

 

Antonio Della Venezia, president of the Italian Federation of Bike Lovers, told Italian paper La Republica, "People who have only ever driven cars are changing their thinking. I don't think Italy will go back to the levels of car sales that we saw before 2008." In addition to new bikes being bought, an estimated 200,000 old bikes have also been restored for regular use.  

Read full article here>> 

LivableStreets to speak at NACTO Designing Cities Conference in New York City
 
Streets and sidewalks comprise close to 80 percent of a city's public space. These streets not only represent essential corridors of commerce and industry, they serve as front yards, playgrounds, and theaters which showcase the expressions of urban life. While the public must decide how it wants to use this wealth of space, city leaders can inspire us to imagine all the possibilities.   

 

Designing Cities: Leading the Way to World Class Streets is an opportunity for elected officials, transportation leaders, and key stakeholders from the public and private sector to forge a common vision for cities to achieve national objectives for healthier, more sustainable, equitable, and efficient cities of tomorrow. NACTO is the National Association of City Transportation Officials. 

 

Speakers include US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and NYC Transportation Commissioner & NACTO President Janette Sadik-Khan. 
 
LivableStreets Executive Director Jackie Douglas will be moderating a panel on data and community-driven action to create safer streets with leaders from New York City and Seattle. Though walking, biking, and transit access are keys to a sustainable city, every year over 5,000 pedestrians and cyclists are killed in traffic nationwide, and at least 18,000 are severely injured. The panelists will focus on how they are decreasing crashes with the ultimate goal of zero road collisions.

> For more information about the conference, click here >>

> Follow LivableStreets on Twitter to get live updates from the NACTO Conference.

Remembering Danny O'Brien 
Good friend of LivableStreets and "Godfather of rails to trails"
The Cape Cod Rail Trail, one of Danny O'Brien's crowning achievements. 

 

Danny O'Brien, a good friend of LivableStreets, passed away this past summer after a long battle with cancer. Danny was the director of Greenway Planning at the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and known to many as the "Godfather of rails to trails" in Massachusetts. We often forget that behind some of the greatest things in our built environment is a passionate and dedicated champion within government. Danny is one of those people. Take a few minutes to celebrate what he has given to us by browsing some photos of the  Cape Cod Rail Trail, a crowning achievement of his.  
 

The Public Way: Transportation, health and livable communities
Recent postings on Steve Miller's blog
 

"Because government is the arena where so many of society's conflicting interests fight for influence, and because nearly every decision and action can end up in court, the public sector is more rule-bound than most organizations. The biggest political sin for administrators is making a visible mistake. So public agencies typically evolve very incrementally, and if something isn't noticeably broken there is seldom any political advantage in fixing it - or even in improving its internal operations. Which is what gives extra credence to the cliché that the Chinese character for "crisis" also means "opportunity". Read full post here: Crisis and Opportunity at MassDOT: Money, Internal Operations, and Political Support for Change. 

   

Other recent posts:

>The Boston Globe Editorial on Bicycle Safety: Moving Past the Training Wheels

>The Traffic Behind the Candidates: Vote for the Appointees, Not The Person

Upcoming public meetings & events

 

MassDOT holding series of statewide transportation conversations

September 27 - November 29, 5:30pm-8:00pm  

@ Major cities & town across MA 

MassDOT is holding a series of public meetings to help determine the future of transportation in MA. Attend and make your voice heard to help shape our state's transportation system. Framingham, Mattapan, Medford and Boston's meetings will be held in November. Check out full details of meetings here>>

   

Bowker Overpass/Storrow Drive Viaduct Repair Work Contract Public Meeting 

Monday, October 29, 6:00pm

@ Mezzanine Conference Room, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St

For more information>> 

 

MassDOT Boston South Station public meetings

Monday, November 19, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Tuesday, November 20, 8:00am-9:15am

@ Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress Street - Fort Point Room, 2nd floor

MassDOT is leading an effort to improve and expand Boston South Station for the future, and wants to hear your ideas. MassDOT is providing two meeting times for convenience, the same content will be shown at both.  

 

The New Urban Interface event forum

Mondays, October 29 through December 3, starting at 5:00pm or 6:00pm 

@ MIT, exact room location varies week to week 

MIT Department of Urban Studies and Visiting Scholar Aaron Naparstek are hosting weekly events showcasing new directions in urban design and planning. Topics range from NYC's New Public Space Vision to Public Transportation for Personal Freedom. 

For more information and time/location details, click here >> 
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Thank you to our Platinum sponsors and business members:    
 

         
 
 
Sign up to be a LivableStreets sponsor or business member today.
Contact jackie@livablestreets.info for more details.