Posts Tagged ‘MTA’

The Morning Dig: ‘Reforest and Unpave’ Edition

Friday, February 5th, 2010

450px-seymour_logging_road1• A UMass report says that reforestation is a better job generator than road and bridge repair by a factor of almost two to one–and better than nuclear power by a factor of almost ten. (Grist)

• “Unpaving” — recycling asphalt into gravel roads — is how some states are cutting maintenance costs. (USA Today)

• NY’s MTA estimates that it will receive $350 million less than expected from the state this year because of that payroll tax debacle, so they’re going ahead with a $650 million bond sale. (Bloomberg via Business Week)

• 681 miles of bike infrastructure in Portland will cost $613 million over the next twenty years, but the mayor insists it would be “very difficult” to pursue livability, affordable transportation, and the reduction of greenhouse gases without it. (CSMonitor)

• The TSA scrapped its plans to impose strict security regulations on the private air travel industry. (NPR)

• A confidential report from a commission on Radiation Safety says women and children should not be put through body scanners at airports because of “extremely small” doses of radiation–less than the cosmic rays absorbed while airborne. (Business Week)

• And a blogger suggests that for Milwaukee to be successful in the 21st century, it must look to its past for inspiration and take advantage of the incredible vistas that distinguish it from so many midwestern cities. (Urban Milwaukee)

The Morning Dig: “United Front” Edition

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

screenshot3• A “united front” is forming behind the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, as Sec. LaHood and Rep. Oberstar have overcome their differences and collectively disdain the “cost-effectiveness index” that used to govern transportation policy. (Finance & Commerce)

• With indefatigable strength, Oakland’s MTC board members will push through their plan for the Airport Connector, despite their own admission that the project is “stupid” and “crappy.” (SF Weekly)

• Reliance on urban green spaces as carbon sinks may be misguided, as a new study indicates that the materials that go into maintaining city lawns produce more emissions than the spaces absorb. (Dot Earth)

• After 9/11, New York’s MTA said it would install surveillance cameras and other security measures across its systems; nearly ten years later, it has no way to pay for the $833 million project. Apparently 8,700 tickets issued to people hogging more than one seat on the subway wasn’t enough! (City Room)

• To those of you who ride CTA in Chicago: Sorry, guys. You have less than two weeks left of a functional transit system. (NBC Chicago)

• Communities built to accomodate only a single mode of transportation are myopic, says a design expert, and designing good, multi-modal infrastructure is like designing a user interface: deliberate, unobtrusive, appropriately timed. (GOOD)