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Monthly archive for June, 2011
Charting Blame for Bicycle Accidents (And Other Bike News)
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Yesterday Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood rode a bicycle to work from the Washington Monument as a way of reminding Americans about their travel options during these days of high gas prices. “The route was safe and well-marked; we enjoyed some Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Growth of Private Prisons in the U.S.
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
• While some conservatives say that private prisons help reduce costs for state governments, the evidence seems to be more mixed. Privatized prisons may even cost taxpayers more. (NYT) • Several towns in eastern Arizona may have to evacuate soon Read more ›
Why Building Roads Creates Traffic
Monday, June 6th, 2011
In the transportation world our intuition can lead us astray. On first thought, no one would suspect that removing a major road can improve traffic flow — yet that’s exactly what it does (or would do) in some cases. The Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Bleak Future of the U.S. Postal Service
Monday, June 6th, 2011
• A comprehensive look at the issues plaguing the U.S. Postal Service, and an analysis of whether USPS can stay afloat. (BusinessWeek) • Experts predict that Germany’s move to phase out nuclear power could add 40 million tons of carbon Read more ›
Announcing the Winners of the ‘Infrastructure 2012 Slogan’ Contest
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
Last week we offered up a challenge: Come up with a subtitle for the 2012 Urban Land Institute annual infrastructure report that will guarantee the topic gets the attention (and action) it deserves. As promised, we’ve chosen 5 winners from Read more ›
For and Against High-Speed Rail: Part III
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
The first two episodes of this ongoing series began with the “against” position, and the third time’s official policy. Today’s high-speed criticism comes from Zhao Jian, a rail scholar at Jiaotong University, in Beijing. Zhao told USA Today: “In no Read more ›
The Morning Dig: What D.C. Looked Like Two Centuries Ago
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
• A video (above) provides details, maps, and paintings of how Washington, D.C. has changed over two centuries. (DCist) • New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is under fire for taking a state helicopter to his son’s baseball game. (AP) (AP) Read more ›
Rush Hour Read: Christie’s ARC Fight Costs Jersey Half a Million a Month
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
It has been several months since Governor Chris Christie terminated the country’s largest infrastructure project, the ARC tunnel into Manhattan, but New Jersey residents continue to pay for it, the Star-Ledger reports: Gov. Chris Christie’s fight with the federal government Read more ›
New Report: Long Commutes Are Relationship Killers
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
If you have a 45-minute work commute, you might want to pick up some flowers on the (long) way home. A social geographer at Umea University, in Sweden, is reporting that people who commute 45-minutes (each way) and upward run Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Deadly Tornadoes Hit Western Massachusetts
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
• Four people are dead after tornadoes hit 19 communities in western Massachusetts on Wednesday, including Springfield. (AP) (Springfield Republican) • The governor of South Dakota is urging more residents of three cities in his state to evacuate because of Read more ›
Paying for Infrastructure: Value Capture and the Use of Private Land
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
This is a guest post by Anthony Flint, a fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a think tank in Cambridge, MA. He is a contributor to ‘The Boston Globe’ and the author of ‘Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Read more ›
Worst. Crosswalk. Ever?
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Hurry up — we only have seven minutes to cross. All hail Kaid Benfield at NRDC for recently posting the blogospherically irresistible question about the above image: is this the busiest crosswalk in the world? The scene is the Shibuya Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Continuing Decline of U.S. Housing Prices
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
• Housing prices fell for the eighth straight month in March and are now down 33 percent from their July 2006 peak. (NYT) (NYT) • After a passenger reclined his seat on a flight from Washington to Ghana, a fight Read more ›
