February 9, 2010
Designing for Health
Two recent stories (via Planetizen: here and here) make the connection between health and how we design our urban environments and transportation systems:
- Five New York City departments have jointly released a document titled "Active Design Guidelines: A new definition for sustainable cities", covering everything from Urban Design to where to put the stairwells in buildings (hint: make it easier to find the stairs than the elevator).
- A study out of Berkeley has found that kids living in calmer traffic areas are less obese than those living near heavy traffic.
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:52 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
February 8, 2010
Transportation in the State of the City
In Friday's State of the City address, Mayor Adams outlined several interesting ideas for transporation:
A Streetcar in Lents
Portland was a streetcar city and it shall return to being a streetcar city. And by "city," I mean citywide.
The Mayor showed a visual simulation of a streetcar on Foster, and the development it would stimulate.
And best of all, the streetcars are built right here by Oregon Iron Works - on sale to the rest of the country. The only streetcar that meets the Buy America requirements for federal dollars.
Commitment to the Bicycle Plan
The same goes for our brand new bicycle plan, which elevates our aspirations to one in four trips in Portland to be made on bicycle. It's the most ambitious, most comprehensive plan of its kind in the country. By building it out, we will be on par with the great bike cities of Northern Europe. There's been some chatter out there about cost, and that's fine. But folks, here's the bottom line: we can't afford not to build it. Think about the cost of any given trip made on bicycle versus private automobile. There's no such thing as a pothole caused by bikes. No noise and no emissions. And you're getting exercise, which, frankly, some of us - including yours truly - could use.Even if you never plan to set foot on a bicycle, you benefit tremendously. Fewer vehicles, less congestion, reduced pollution.
We're Portland and we lead the nation in bicycling, because that's how we roll.
Sidewalks!
And if I'm talking innovation and greater resilience through transportation, I gotta talk about sidewalks. You may remember that the state legislature passed a modest increase in the gas tax last year. I want to put $16 million into sidewalk development in East Portland, North/NE Portland, and SW Portland - the areas of town annexed into the city that have never had sidewalks.There is a caveat. Anti-tax types from elsewhere have submitted an initiative to the state to repeal that source of funding. When you see one of those signature gatherers on the streets I want you to think about Jean and her two infants. Jean can't afford a car; she relies on transit. Can we really expect her to safely get to her MAX stop - with her stroller in tow - without a sidewalk? Is that fair? Is that Portland? I say no.
Posted by Chris Smith at 4:07 AM | Comments (17) | Permalink
Potholes? There's an App for that
The City of Portland has an iPhone application that lets you report potholes, graffiti or other issues. You can include a photo and/or a GPS or map location.
I don't think I've seen an official announcement, so I suspect this is a beta or soft launch.
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:31 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
February 5, 2010
CRC as Architecture
From the Architecture Foundation of Oregon: PDXplore: Design in Progress February 4 - 26, 2010 Come experience a growing collage of maps, drawings, ideas and questions about the Columbia River Crossing. This dynamic exhibition will evolve throughout the month as...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:04 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
February 4, 2010
Game Time for the Bike Plan
City Council takes up the plan at 2pm today (Thursday). Please come out and join the rally at 1:30 outside City Hall and then help fill the chambers at 2. Find out more about what you can do to support...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:49 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
February 3, 2010
KBOO Bike Show: Bike Activism and the 2030 Plan
Listen to the show (mp3, 27.1MB) The theme of today's show is bike activism in Portland, focusing on efforts to gain support for the 2030 Portland Bicycle Plan, which provides a road map for making Portland a truly world...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 1:50 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
February, 2010 Open Thread
The original open thread for topic suggestions* has grown quite large, and isn't always easy to find. I'm going to experiment with starting monthly open threads. Here's one, just two days late... To get things started, here's a link (sent...
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Posted by Bob Richardson at 10:32 AM | Comments (19) | Permalink
February 2, 2010
Wireless Devices Good for Transit Use?
Over at his Price Tags blog, Gordon Price speculates that bans on driving while texting and calling will encourage people to take transit so they can keep their cell phones active and in-use. And the Infrastructurist speculates that the iPad...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 9:30 AM | Comments (9) | Permalink
Focus on SB 1059
The Oregon Environmental Council would like you to support SB 1059. The bill (PDF) would direct the Departments of Transportation and Land Conservation and Development to develop land use and transportation "scenarios" to reduce greenhouse gases and create administrative rules...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:03 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink
February 1, 2010
First Eastside Streetcar Rails Go Down Today
I just learned that the first segment of rail for the Streetcar Loop project will be laid on NE Grand today!...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 10:18 AM | Comments (22) | Permalink
What Kind of Traveler are You?
Via World Streets: A survey in Germany identifies five types of travelers, with respect to their attitudes around greenhouse gases and transportation choices: Public transport rejecters. These believe public transport provides little sense of control or excitement. They are not...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 6:56 AM | Comments (7) | Permalink
CRC Open House on Hayden Island Issues
From the Columbia River Crossing Project: PORTLAND - The Columbia River Crossing project and the Portland Working Group are hosting an open house Feb. 10 for the public to learn about improvements to Hayden Island, including the latest roadway and...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:50 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 29, 2010
Adams Backs Off Separate CRC Analysis by PBOT
In a post on the official Mayoral site, Sam Adams says: Frustrated with the lack of "out of the box" thinking about options and assumptions, last month I directed Portland to undertake our own analysis of CRC options. I asked...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:26 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
January 28, 2010
NW High Speed Rail Corridor Receives $590M in Funding
Part of the President's announcement made from Florida this morning. Reported in the Tacoma Daily Index....
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Posted by Chris Smith at 10:54 AM | Comments (22) | Permalink
January 27, 2010
Columbian Says Adams Considering 6-lane CRC Proposal
Things are getting interesting. The State of the City address is just around the corner. I just have two words for the Mayor: supplemental bridge....
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Posted by Chris Smith at 5:46 AM | Comments (18) | Permalink
Learning from Europe
Portland State University Center for Transportation Studies Winter 2010 Transportation Seminar Series Speaker: Ed Fischer, P.E., State Traffic Engineer, Oregon DOT Topic: European Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning (Scan Tour Report) When: Friday, Jan 29, 2010, 12:00 - 1:00pm Where: PSU...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:57 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 26, 2010
Why You Should Help Build It (and How)
I had the opportunity to sign on early for the "Build It" campaign that the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and allies have created to get the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 adopted and funded. Here's why I think this is...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 9:30 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
