New York’s Kosciuszko Bridge

• A 2009 internal Toyota document reveals how the company sidestepped its growing sudden-acceleration problem and delayed the implementation of several safety regulations–to the tune of hundreds of millions in savings. (LATimes)

• New York’s DOT released four proposals for the redesign of the Kosciuszko Bridge; if completed, it will be the first new bridge in New York since the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge was opened in 1964. (CityRoom)

• The EPA will spend $2.2 billion to clean up the polluted waters and beaches of the Great Lakes to compensate for “150 years of abuse.” (Chicago Breaking News)

• Vancouver’s mass transit is seeing record-high ridership because of the Olympics. So far, transit agencies have yet to encounter any serious problems; “Everything that rolls and floats,” says a spokesman, “is in service.” (Vancouver Sun)

• South Africa’s ambitious Bus Rapid Transit program, which is growing in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup, is plagued by violence, financial shortfalls, and “steely” NIMBYism from suburban residents. (NYTimes)

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• Say it ain’t so! A conference at Berkeley reflected growing concern about the practicality of California’s HSR projects. Projected ridership seems unrealistic, and unless it reaches a certain level, emissions won’t be lower than those from air travel. (Berkeley)
• GE inked a deal with China’s Rail Ministry that will allow it to pursue high-speed projects in the US with the help of a Chinese manufacturer (GE can’t build HS locomotives, yet). They’ll work with another Chinese manufacturer to build their most efficient diesel train. (Earth2Tech)
• China’s airlines are up the creek, and they know it. The country’s largest carrier is adding shuttle services, and passengers will only need to check in half an hour before their flight. How long do you have to check in before a train ride? (Bloomberg)
• The biggest obstacle to California HSR is systematic: instead of convening opposed parties on issues like land-use, the government both designs and plans and forces opponents to file lawsuits in order to have their voices heard. (CAHSR)

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• A federal ruling says the Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in its maintenance of a navigation channel in New Orleans and therefore is to blame for the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. 100,000 people could receive billions in payouts from the government. (WaPo)
• A group of Senators is scrambling to pass a third short-term extension of the transit bill, which has failed to garner attention due to the health-care debate. A DoT official says federal funding for highways and mass-transit could drop by 30% if something isn’t done soon. (NYTimes)
• Transit fares in New York will rise in 2011 and again in 2013, if not sooner. MTA Chief Jay Walder called for a permament overhaul of the MTA, saying the agency can’t rely anymore on bailouts from the state. (Reuters)
• Wealthy investors are turning to infrastructure investments as safe, long-term bets. Target returns for infrastructure reach as high as 18 percent for unlisted investments, and they offer the added bonus of feeling good about building bridges and roads. (Globe and Mail)
• A New Zealander whines about a trip through Los Angeles: the taxi driver doesn’t speak English good, and doesn’t drop him at the door of the airport shuttle; the airport is a hassle and there’s nothing to do. He’d much rather be in Shanghai or Amsterdam, where the airports are veritable carnivals of fun. (Stuff)

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• The Energy Dept says the US can get 20% of its electricity from wind by 2030. That is, if between 2018 and 2030 we install as much wind power each year as we have in total right now. (EnviroCapital)
• Turns out paying more for airline tickets to buy carbon offsets is a total joke. Quantifying the emissions-reduction potential of those programs is impossible, and it distracts people from doing things like, you know, actually flying less. (NYTimes)
  
• Airlines took a “pummeling” in the last year, as people simply refused to pay for business or first class seats. To make matters worse, airlines are telling their own employees to fly economy! (LATimes)
• Last week, Obama signed legislation that will drop “helicopter money” on the same home builders who way over-built and helped pave the way to a recession. The kicker? There’s such a surplus of homes, the money won’t even be used to create jobs. (NYTimes)
• Also last week, Sen. Schumer was all up in arms about the Chinese company that planned to build a wind farm in Texas and soak up US stimulus dollars. Well, that company, A-Power, now says it’s going to build a factory. In America. (NYTimes)

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• Speaking to students in Shanghai, President Obama expressed optimism about the future of Chinese-American relations and spoke of the “burden of leadership” that bore on both nations with regard to climate-change policy. He also called China’s high-speed rail development “fine work.” (ENS)
• Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim says that Latin America must invest in infrastructure, including water treatment and alternative energy products, to create employment and promote growth. Slim is banking on the potential of deepwater and land-based drilling in Mexico. (Reuters)
• The Obama administration wants to set and enforce safety standards on the nation’s subway and light-rail systems, which to date has been the domain of regional and state bodies. Transportation Secretary LaHood will present the plan to Congress next month. (NYTimes)
• East LA finally has its trains. The area has been heavily dependent on public transportation for years, and local leaders hope the new connection will spark development. (LATimes)
• An economist says that if we built cars today at the weight, horsepower and torque we built them at in 1980, cars today would be 50% more fuel efficient. This review says says the study is a total bust. (Jalopnik - pic via)

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• “There’s no end to the things that make TriMet,” Portland’s mass transit system, “awesome.” But there’s still room for a few improvements: a little late-night service, the ticketing system is “neurotic,” and no one really has to pay to ride. (Autopia)
• World leaders, including Obama, acknowledge that they have collectively dropped the proverbial ball on a comprehensive climate deal. A slow Congress is hogtying the President’s ambitions, and no one is willing to commit to anything until we do. (NYTimes)
• Spain announced plans to install 8.8 gigawatts of renewable energy sources by 2012. This will undoubtedly make it a world-class manufacturer of solar and wind materials. (Reuters)
• India, too, will boost solar production, which right now is five times as expensive as oil-based power. The country hopes to have 20 gigawatts of solar output by 2020. (WSJ)
• It might be possible to circulate CO2 several kilometers below the earth’s surface, removing it from the atmosphere and forcing hot gases to the surface. This would make for more efficient geothermal energy production. (MIT)

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• In an effort to concentrate California’s rail efforts on new high-speed lines, Gov. Schwarzenegger snuffed out a proposal for $1.1B in federal HSR funds to fix (non-high-speed) commuter rail. Positive-control braking systems, which must be in place by 2015, were among the proposed improvements. (LATimes)
• Rail expansion is the “cornerstone of Beijing’s fiscal stimulus plan”; it’s budgeting $90B for rails this year and next, and $15B more for rolling stock. 13,000km of new line should be complete by 2012. (WSJ - Google headline for full article)
• 86% of Canadians support high-speed rail, and 68% think all levels of government should be involved in funding the projects. “Put this in the store window,” says a pollster. (National Post)
• First Canada. Now this. Thai business ministers approved a $3B investment plan to build an HSR network to connect Bangkok to the country’s four regions. At this rate, Bermuda will probably have HSR before the US. (Some site)

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• A 3D visualization reconstructs the descent and emergency landing of Flight 1549, landed on the Hudson River by Capt. Sullenberger in April. The integration of raw radar data with the public docket and audio from the cockpit to Air Traffic Control makes for an incredible guided tour. (ExoSphere3D)
• Porn in subways, trains, planes, even basketball games…Public consumption of the carnal arts has reached new heights. Sometimes pilots intervene; says one, “I have never had anyone say, ‘I refuse to stop. I must watch this dirty movie.’” (WaPo)
• 60 million people suffered a blackout in Brazil on Tuesday. The rapidly-modernizing nation is realizing the necessity of fixing its mass-transit and power systems, especially as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics approach. (LATimes)
• Trucks carry about 70% of US freight, but they’re three times less energy efficient per ton carried–our 2.2 million semi-trucks average 5.1 miles per gallon. The trucking industry is a little concerned. (Reuters)
• Chicago won’t hike fares on mass transit, but it will cut service. 110 of 150 bus routes will see cuts because of the budget deficit; the CTA will borrow more than $160 million from the state to pay its bills. (Tribune)

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• An upset in Seattle puts a former Sierra Club leader in charge. He built his campaign around opposition to the waterfront tunnel, then reversed course when City Council endorsed it. He also says he’ll fix the schools, despite the fact that the mayor’s office has no say over them. (NYTimes)
• South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies, tried to sneak one by the Constitution by approving a license plate that says “I Believe” and has an image of a cross in front of a stained-glass window. Fortunately, we have federal courts to squash dumb ideas. (Wheels)
• An editorialist proposes an “adaptive reuse” or our nation’s highway system: build rail lines alongside roads and bury power lines under highways to bring electricity to cities and (somehow) power plug-in hybrids. “The highway system can’t always be a ghetto for the internal combustion engine,” she writes. (NYTimes)
• Raise the Cloud! British designers hope to build a “zero-power” “digital” cloud of plastic spheres to float over London, providing an observation deck and a park and transmitting a feed of web searches by Londoners “to give a real time ‘barometer’ of the city’s interests and mood.” (BBC - pic via)

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• The map above illustrates the number of traffic fatalities per 100,000 population worldwide. Note to self: Don’t walk or ride a bus in Ghana, Mozambique, or Kenya. And stay out of Iraq. Stay. Out. Of. Iraq. (HowWeDrive via Planetizen - pic via)
• If you don’t already read “Ask the Pilot,” you should. In this edition, why senators trying to ban the use of personal electronics by pilots are wrong, and a theory that people (politicians especially) hate air travel. (Salon)
• Isn’t this lovely. Chrysler convinced Congress to give it $12.5 billion on the premise that it would build electric cars; a few months pass, and it’s dropped all of its electric car programs. (USA Today)
• Cities worldwide are revitalizing their waterfronts: Hamburg, Stockholm, Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai, New York, and Toronto are all undertaking massive projects to clean their waters and build parks and sustainable cultural centers; click through to see the proposals. (DesignObserver)

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