transportation

Walking, Biking Good for You and the Planet: Study

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:30:16 -0500

by Margaret Munro

Pedestrians and cyclists should be made king of the urban jungle, according to an international study showing the big benefits of "mass active travel."

It suggests money should be diverted way from roads to make walking and cycling "the most direct, convenient, and pleasant options for most urban trips." Pedestrians and bikers should also get "priority" over cars and trucks at intersections.

The study is one of six reports on the "health dividend" of combating climate change published in the medical journal Lancet Wednesday.

Thinking Beyond Electric Cars

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:15:34 -0400

by Lynn Sloman

From listening to the headlines about the report from the Committee on Climate Change, you might think that a wholesale switch to electric cars over the next few decades would magic away our carbon emissions from transport.

Connecting Transit and Health

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:18:02 -0400

by Deborah Pasha James and Jeanne B. Hewitt

One of the earliest health and anatomy lessons for many of us came from the traditional spiritual "Dem Bones," when as children we sang how "the toe bone's connected to the foot bone," the foot bone to the ankle, the shin, on up to the neck and head.

The lesson reflects the importance of connectivity. Without the knee bone, leg bone or even the tiniest of bones, the body's ability to work and move about as a whole suffers. We can apply this lesson today as we consider how we get places and how we create healthy, sustainable communities.

High-Speed Rail in the United States: Back on Track after 50 Years of Neglect

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:00:54 -0400

by Suzanne Goldenberg

Long before he became president, Barack Obama had a hankering for the TGV and other fast trains. "I am always jealous about European trains," he told an audience during a visit to Strasbourg last spring. "And I said to myself: why can't we have high-speed rail?"

House to Vote on High-Speed Rail Funding, National Infrastructure Bank

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:01:14 -0400

by Josh Voorhees of Greenwire

The House is set today to vote on a fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill that would provide $4 billion for high-speed rail and lay the groundwork for the creation of a national infrastructure bank.

H.R. 3288 (pdf) would provide a total of $75.8 billion for the Transportation Department, an $8.6 billion jump from fiscal 2009.

Biden Tells Governors to Plan for Rail-Line Stimulus Money

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:25:01 -0400

by Paul Nussbaum

The first payments of $8 billion in financing for high-speed trains on lines such the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh corridor will be made by late summer, Vice President Biden said yesterday.

Biden met with state governors, including Gov. Rendell, at the White House yesterday to urge them to think boldly in planning for trains that could travel up to 150 m.p.h. He said funding from the federal economic stimulus package could "jump-start" a high-speed rail network to improve the nation's "terrible passenger rail system."

Cities Can Save the Earth

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:46:43 -0400

by Richard Register

The climate crisis won't be solved by changing light bulbs and inflating your tires more, planting a tree and driving a little less. It's going to require a truly fundamental shift in how we build our cities and live in them.

US Readies Plans for High-Speed Rail Development

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:25:23 -0400

by Lisa Lambert and John Crawley

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is expected to unveil its plans on Thursday for accelerating development of high-speed rail, a concept that in the past has had mixed political support and little public funding.

"It will be broad and strategic," Karen Rae, acting head of the Federal Railroad Administration, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday about the initiative described by officials as President Barack Obama's top transportation priority.

The Greatest Generation and the Auto Industry

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:04:33 -0400

by Gordon Clark

It was only a matter of time before the imminent failure of one or more U.S. auto makers pushed AIG and the financial crisis off the front pages, at least temporarily.

And now that it's here, and we have to listen to talk of "restructuring" and "automobiles of the future" for the next month or so, I urge you to keep in mind just one historical fact:

The Last Muscle Car

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:57:43 -0400

by Mark Morford

Have you seen this thing? This sexy macho bloated Hot Wheels fantasia dreamgasm of a car-like drunken child's funbot crayon sketch?

No? Because it appears to be a vehicle that at least some across the Big Autosphere are still secretly praying, despite the sudden overthrow of -- despite the deadly ultimatum for -- General Motors, might yet prove to be a savior.