How bike-friendly ‘slow streets’ are changing cities, BBC, Nov 19, 2020 by Mark Johanson Moving around Bogotá can be a bit of a Jekyll-or-Hyde experience. On one hand, the city is infamous for having the world’s worst traffic. Yet, on the other, its cycling infrastructure is considered an exemplary model of sustainable urban mobility, according to the Copenhagenize Index, which ranks bike-friendly …
Start-up bets on new model for putting electric school buses on the road
Sarah Shemkus November 2, 2020, US Energy News Duncan McIntyre, left, CEO Highland Electric Transportation, stands by as Beverly Mayor Michael Cahill speaks during a ceremony unveiling the first electric school bus for the Beverly school district, Thursday, Oct 8, 2020. © David Sokol / USA TODAY NETWORK Highland Electric Transportation has partnered with a Massachusetts city to provide electric …
Bosselman: Colorado doesn’t need a useless rail line. It needs true high-speed rail
By ANDY BOSSELMAN Denver Post, November 8, 2020 Momentum is building for a new passenger rail line that would extend 191 miles from Fort Collins to Pueblo. According to a survey for the Front Range Passenger Rail Commission, such a line has overwhelming public support. Significant federal funding could become available, too. But don’t imagine yourself zipping around on a high-speed …
Building a carfree neighborhood in an auto-centric area
Culdesac Tempe is a 17-acre lot just across the Salt River from Phoenix. Currently a mess of dust and heavy equipment, the site will eventually feature 761 apartments, 16,000 square feet of retail, 1,000 residents — and exactly zero places for them to park. The people who live there will be contractually forbidden to park a car on site or …
14 million to 23 million Americans intend to relocate to a different city or region as a result of telework, according to a new study released
October 30, 2020, NPR As coronavirus cases continue to spike and working from home seems permanent, many Americans are planning to set off to live in new places. An astonishing 14 million to 23 million Americans intend to relocate to a different city or region as a result of telework, according to a new study released by Upwork, a freelancing platform. The survey was …
Post-COVID Transportation Infrastructure: A major shift to public transit and active modes is the only realistic answer
Streetsblog, Oct 2020 Study: We Can’t Fix Transportation-Related Climate Emissions With EVs Alone: And a major shift to public transit and active modes is the only realistic answer. By Kea Wilson Oct 2, 2020 The U.S. can’t simply electrify its way out of the transportation-related carbon disaster — and thinking that it can might actually delay what really works: shifting people …
What Is the Carbon Footprint of Transportation? Driving big cars and flying short distances are the worst.
Lloyd Alter https://www.treehugger.com/what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-transportation-5081940 October 13, 2020 The statistician and engineer W. Edwards Deming once said “In God we trust. All others must bring data.” Some of the best data come from the Our World in Data team at Oxford University. Their latest looks at what form of transport has the smallest carbon footprint. Probably to no one’s surprise, driving a big car …
From garden streets to bike highways: four ideas for post-Covid cities – visualised
As the pandemic wreaks havoc on existing structures, we look at some visions for post-Covid cities – and how they hold up Chris Michael, Lydia McMullan and Frank Hulley-Jones in The Guardian, 25 Sep 2020 There is a huge, looming, unanswerable question that overshadows our cities, like an elephant squatting in the central square. Will a Covid-19 vaccine or herd immunity return us …
Battery Powered Trains will be 35% Cheaper Than Hydrogen, Study Concludes: Plus the price of batteries keeps dropping
Oliver Cuenca of International Railway Journal reports that the battery-powered trains cost 35% less to buy and operate than hydrogen trains. The batteries don’t have to be replaced as often as fuel cells, either, so maintenance costs will be lower. If the trains operate during the daytime, they can be charged at night with the same cheap electricity, just like people …
Mobility data for fairer transport systems. Also, study shows for bikes and bicycling infrastructure, “build it and they will come” is true
27th July 2020 Sarah Wray https://cities-today.com/mobility-data-foundational-for-fairer-transport-systems/Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation Cities worldwide have been disrupted like never before by COVID-19 – all citizens have been affected but not necessarily equally. In the US, for instance, evidence suggests that non-white communities have been disproportionately impacted by the virus in terms of deaths, job losses, risk of exposure and more. Mayors have vowed to …