Phoenix is updating its bike lanes as part of a federal grant.
Category Archives: infrastructure
Bike Lanes In Phoenix Are Easier To Spot
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A Growing Demand For Public Transit: How People Get Around In Hawaii
Honolulu once abounded with streetcars. Now, public transportation is in strong demand across Hawaii. Photo: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Archives
In this two-part report, Curbing Cars intern Matt Varcak lifts us out of the weather doldrums and takes us to Hawaii, a surprising hot spot for public transportation.
By Matthew Varcak
If you visit the Hawaiian Islands, you will likely enjoy beautiful weather, pristine bodies of water, ancient grounds, delicious food and happy people. I was lucky enough to be one of these people this past summer when I visited the Island of Hawaii (The Big Island).
What struck me the most — beyond that — was how affordable and extensive the mass transit was. Hawaii once had streetcars, and it soon will get a light rail system. Meanwhile, the main way people get around is on buses.
At roughly 4,000 square miles, the Island of Hawaii is the state’s largest island, but it is the second-most populous island behind Oahu. Its major cities are separated by long stretches of winding highways wrapping around Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, two of Hawaii’s volcanoes, which stand at nearly 14,000 feet above sea level.
With a general fare only costing $1, it soon became clear that it would be much more affordable to ride the Hele-On Bus, Hawaii County’s Mass Transit system, rather than drive myself everywhere. Continue reading
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Filed under cities, Driving, infrastructure, public transportation, Travel, urban planning
A Day In The Life Of Montreal’s Transit System
By Micheline Maynard
I’m back from a week in Canada, exploring Toronto and Montreal completely by public transit (plus my feet and a couple of taxis). I’ll be writing more about my trip over the coming days.
But first, I’d like you to watch this mesmerizing video showing a day in the life of Montreal’s transit system. It was published last October, and shows one week day (from 4 am to 4 am) of transit activity in Montreal.
It is based on the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data made available by the three largest transit systems in the area — the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM), Société de Transport de Laval (STL), and Réseau de Transport de Longueuil (RTL).
You’ll see the system crank to life in the morning, and traffic grow busier throughout the day. Then, it fades in the evening, until only overnight buses are left.
That’s just one city, and one set of transit systems. Imagine if there was an activity stream like this for the whole world!
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How Millennials Are Transforming Philadelphia’s Transportation
Philadelphia has been installing bike lanes for over a decade. They’re a big draw for its young residents.
Our latest student-written story comes from a master’s degree candidate in the Business and Economic Reporting program at New York University
By Carl A. O’Donnell
Philadelphia newcomers like Shane Smith, 24, wax rhapsodically about the city’s “deep sense of community” and “awesome nightlife.” For Smith, the city is an escape from suburbia where “there are always large gaps between where you are and where you want to be,” he says.
In Philly, Smith doesn’t need a car because “You can walk out the door and find ten great coffee shops or restaurants on every other block.”
Smith’s attitude reflects a broader generational shift. More and more young people are abandoning suburbs and cars, prompting a migration to cities, according to the advocacy group U.S. PIRG.
This has had a dramatic impact on Philadelphia. In the past decade, the city has gained 50,000 residents aged 20 to 34, spurring the first net gain in population since the 1950s, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
By 2035, Philadelphia anticipates another 100,000 new residents, said Gary Jastrzab, executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
As this flood of newcomers gradually reshapes the city, alternative modes of travel are experiencing a renaissance. Biking, car sharing and public transit have all seen significant bumps in usage. In some cases, this is shifting political or market forces in favor of new transportation investments. In others, it’s simply placing strain on an aging system. Continue reading
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Filed under bicycling, infrastructure, public transportation, urban planning
The Great Big Picture Of American Transportation
By Micheline Maynard
Americans spend more on transportation than any other household item except housing. Now, The Brookings Institution has quantified the massive size of what Americans, and government officials spend on transportation.
Writing in the Journal of Economic Literature, Clifford Winston, a Senior Fellow of Economic Studies, sums in up in terms of both money and time.
“Consumers spent $1.1 trillion on gasoline and vehicles commuting to work, traveling to perform household chores and to access entertainment, and traveling for business and vacations, and spent an astronomical 175 billion hours in transit,” he writes.
This averages out to about 100 minutes per day for each and every American (or a little over an hour and a half), valued at some $760 billion.
Meanwhile, companies spent $1 trillion shipping products using their own and for-hire transportation, while the commodities that were shipped were valued at roughly $2.2 trillion. Local, state, and federal government spending on transportation infrastructure and services contributed an additional $260 billion, bringing total pecuniary spending on transportation up to $2.4 trillion, or 17 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2007.
This is as much as Americans spent on health care, and with the total spending on everything transportation related amounting to $5 trillion. Continue reading
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Filed under infrastructure, public transportation
Watch San Francisco’s New Bridge Come To Life
By Micheline Maynard
When I was in California last fall, I headed for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to continue my journey to Palo Alto. Traffic never moves very quickly, so I got lots of time to study the construction project next to me.
Now, that construction project has become a reality. The new eastern span of the Bay Bridge opened this week. It’s supposed to be earthquake proof, and it cost a bundle: $6.4 billion over nearly 12 years.
The wonderful video, from EarthCam, shows the bridge’s progress during the past five years. Thanks to our friends at Jalopnik for this cool discovery.
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Filed under Driving, infrastructure