Alex Goldmark

Strasbourg Downtown Square (Flickr user ChristinaT)

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) The city of Strasbourg in northeastern France has announced a plan to reduce vehicle speed limits throughout the city to 30 km per hour, or just 18 m.p.h.

Treehugger reports the city, the capital of Alsace, is already one of the most bike-friendly cities in France, and much of the city already operates on an 18 mp.h. limit. One goal of the measure is to reduce crashes, particularly those involving pedestrians and bikes, but the stated reasoning according to the mayor is a city of shared streets.

Mayor Roland Ries said in a statement translated on Treehugger, "The public roads no longer belong to automobiles alone. They must be re-imagined to be redistributed in a fairer manner between all forms of transportation. The protection of the most vulnerable is thus reinforced in zones in which all users have access but in which the pedestrian is king."

The historic city center is a "pedestrian priority" zone using the "filtered permeability" planning philosophy, which promotes travel by foot or pedal power by reducing the number of through streets for cars while increasing them for pedestrians and bikes. There's also a pretty futuristic looking tram criss-crossing the downtown. For a sense of just how transit-oriented the town is, here's a diagram of the public transport in the city center.

The general public will vote on the speed limit reduction in May.

Full story at Treehugger.

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(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) Mapquest now includes transit directions for many U.S. cities. HopStop began the same service in New York in 2005. Google Maps also has a transit feature.

One tricky element of transit mapping directions has been the walking portion of a trip, specifically distinguishing which roads are best for pedestrians when that differs from driving directions.

Mapquest said in a statement that their new transit and pedestrian options allow "walking travelers to be routed down one-way streets, pedestrian malls, through parks and along designated paths" and " provides train departure and arrival information, helpful hints to alert train passengers, and station search information in designated cities."

The transit feature works in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Boston. MapQuest worked with San Francisco-based, geospatial data and mapping company, Urban Mapping, to develop its transit option, and additional city content is planned for 2011.

HopStop works in 27 cities and metro regions.

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(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) Washington State is looking to levy a special tax on eco-conscious car owners. Road maintenance is typically funded by a gas tax, both federal and local. So the prospect of a growing number of electric cars that wouldn't use gas at all is putting a little worry in the Washington state legislature.

The proposed tax would be $100 a year per electric car. According to The Seattle Times, Mary Margaret Haugen, the lead sponsor of the plan, said, "Electric cars will be driving on the highways right along with all the other cars. One of our biggest issues is preservation and maintenance of our existing highways. We believe they should be paying their fair share."

At an average of $12,000 miles per year and average fuel efficiency, The Times calculates that the average gas-consuming driver pays about $200 a year in gas tax.

Is this just fairness in public finance? Or disincentive for purchasing cleaner cars?

(Via Inhabitat.)

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(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) In Super Bowl XLV there were more car commercials than beer ads, most out of Detroit and many touting the eco-elements of new models. But the most noteworthy was the classy ad for the new Chrysler 200 featuring Eminem.

"Chrysler 200" was the top trending Google search this morning. Not bad for the new name of what used to be the Sebring, a car the Detroit Free Press called "arguably the most maligned vehicle to ever come out of Auburn Hills."

The ad works because it sells Detroit pride as much as it sells the revamped 200. A gritty baritone announcer apparently speaks for all Detroit intoning, "What does this city know about luxury. Huh? What does a town that's been to hell and back know about the finer things?"

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) Traffic deaths are up slightly, but New York is still the safest big city in the country when it comes to traffic fatalities, according to 2010 data released Monday by the New York City Department of Transportation.

According to the DOT, 269 people were killed in traffic crashes in 2010 compared to a record low 258 in 2009. On a per-capita basis that still makes New york the safest big city in the country, according to a statement from the DOT, with a fatality rate about half the national average.

The increase over 2009 was due mostly to a jump in motorcycle accidents, increasing by 10 to a total of 39 fatalities. Motorcycles are involved in 14 percent of traffic fatalities even though they represent just two percent of all vehicle registrations in New York City.

Also contributing to the slight jump in deaths, was bicycles, inching up slightly, but still considerably lower than historic averages. Pedestrian deaths continued to decline though.

The city DOT says many traffic deaths are caused by speeding cars. A car going 40 mph that hits a pedestrian, for instance, will cause death in four out of five cases.  But a car going 30 m.p.h -- the legal limit in the five boroughs -- is lethal less than a third of the time. So the DOT has embarked on a public awareness campaign to encourage slower driving. The agency is also trying to target specific trouble spots with catered changes like more lighting and removing parking spaces to increase visibility at intersections with high rates of left turn crashes.

Traffic deaths are up slightly, but New York is still the safest big city in the country when it comes to traffic fatalities, according to 2010 data released Monday by the New York City Department of Transportation.

(Albany, New York--Azi Paybarah, WNYC) New York City Mayor Bloomberg was once  an advocate for congestion pricing in his city, but since his plan to ease city traffic was never approved by the state, he's never formally tried again to pass it.  (Though when asked, he's consistently said he thinks its a good idea.)

Today, he told state lawmakers it’s up to them to push for congestion pricing, or whatever alternative they can come up with. Because he won’t.

During the mayor’s testimony in Albany about the governor’s budget, Bloomberg was asked what he thought about congestion pricing this year. The bill, which he heavily lobbied for in 2007, was narrowly passed in the New York City Council, and was sent up to Albany.

It died in the Assembly when the Democratic conference decided not to let the bill out of committee. (It’s unclear if there were enough votes for it to pass the Republican-controlled State Senate).

“I’m not going to come back and fight that battle,” said Bloomberg, citing the political risk City Council members took in supporting it, only to see it die in Albany without a vote.

Later, when asked if congestion pricing as a “dead” issue, Bloomberg told reporters it’s up to state lawmakers to come up with a way to fund the state’s mass transit’s needs, saying, he is “not going to stand up and campaign for it.”

For more NY politics coverage, visit WNYC's Empire blog.

(Wikimedia Commons)

(New York City--Alva French and Alex Goldmark, WNYC/Transportation Nation) The cheap intercity curbside pick-up buses--also known as Chinatown buses--may get regulated in New York City. That's if one politician gets his way.

State Senator Daniel Squadron is introducing a bill that would allow New York City to issue permits and designate official pick-up and drop-off points. Currently the buses use just about any open curb space. There is also a law allowing any bus to pick up or discharge passengers at any bus stop.

Speaking on a corner in New York's Chinatown where the buses often stop, Squadron said he wants lawmakers, the community, and bus companies to address the chaos and congestion on busy streets.

Paris Metro Platform with Glass Barrier. (Getty Images)

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) Should New York subway platforms get barriers to protect people from falling onto the tracks or littering on them?

The Daily News reported yesterday that the MTA is seeking proposals from third parties to build sliding-door barriers like those already in place in some stations in London, Paris and Tokyo. Today, the MTA is taking heat for the idea.

Kevin Ortiz of the MTA told the Daily News, "We are very early in the process of looking at the possibility of installing platform doors that would go a long way toward enhancing passenger safety and station appearance."

Today, one State Senator is criticizing the idea in a sharply worded statement and letter to MTA Chairman Jay Walder. Senator Diane Savino points out, a mere ninety passengers out of the system's 1.6 billion annual riders fall onto the tracks. Only .00005% of the subway riding public.

“Much to my surprise the MTA found the notion [of platform barriers] intriguing.  To even contemplate this nonsense is self-evidently a waste of time, effort, energy and yes - money; money the MTA does not have.  The cost to install the barriers would be astronomical. The cost to maintain the doors in good operating condition would be even higher,” Savino said.

Conductor: www.mta.me from Alexander Chen on Vimeo.

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) Forget riding the subway, try playing it. Conductor: mta.me is an impressive digital art project inspired by the New York City subway system.

Artist Alexander Chen recreated, and then animated, the famous Massimo Vignelli subway map. He combined real data from the MTA made available as part of their effort to encourage the creation of more third party transit apps for mobile phones and the internet. They were thinking more like HopStop, but this is certainly creative use.

Each time a train leaves the station in the MTA dataset, so does a dot on Chen's interactive map, trailing a line the color of the train line. The music comes in when two train lines cross. Each intersection causes a twang, like a plucked string on viola, for example--Chen's chosen instrument.

The data isn't 100 percent accurate though. The system has changed since 1972 when Vignelli made his map so Chen made the K train and the old Third Ave El train run as well. But only on a limited schedule.

You can also use your mouse to pluck strings/subway lines on the site, though not on the video above sadly. For all you techies who want to know who he did it, Chen explains it all here.

See if you can tell what portion of the map is visible in the animation.

(Via Mashable.)

(Terracotta soldiers at the Forbidden Gardens, by Flickr user etee)

The road to the Grand Parkway goes through, and over, the Forbidden Gardens. The Houston area is undertaking a $5 billion road project to circle the city with the Grand Parkway. But that planned road will pass right through a currently quiet cultural center in Katy, TX--about 25 miles west of Houston--called Forbidden Gardens. The museum owners say that would destroy the intended purpose of their organization.

KUHF's Wendy Siegle took a serene visit to the Forbidden Gardens. Listen to the full story here.

The museum is scheduled to close in the middle of February and is looking to sell its collection of 6,000 miniature terracotta soldiers.

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NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman

(Washington, D.C. -- Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) Our country’s aging infrastructure poses a safety risk, according to Deborah Hersman, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) -- and spending cuts could come with safety consequences.

“We stand at a very important crossroads right now,” she told Transportation Nation.  “Safety is not discretionary. Safety deferred is safety denied...We can either pay now, or we can pay later.” Paying close attention to the recommendations of the independent federal agency can reveal stark tensions between budgets and safety.

“The fact is the outlook for increased funding and infrastructure projects is grim,” Hersman said earlier Wednesday to a conference of transportation researchers. “Many of those projects are in jeopardy as we face funding cuts. And right now the question for all of us is not what is going to happen, but how hard it is going to hit us,” adding: “When it comes to investing in safety, we can pay now, or pay later.”

Many infrastructure projects in America are already past their intended lifespan, and that will pose an increasing risk--especially if proper records aren’t kept on maintenance histories, original design, and necessary repairs. Hersman said poor record keeping often exacerbates dangers. She painted her role as one of truth teller.  “As an agent of reality,” she said, “I think it’s my job to tell you that the concept of a life cycle for transportation projects no longer exists. Just because the train or plane that you design is built for 30, 40, or 50 years, doesn’t mean it” that it won’t be in operation for 75 years or more.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

[UPDATED] (Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) The 2011 Sustainable Transport Award goes to Guangzhou, China in large part for a successful and highly popular bus rapid transit system that integrates with bike lanes, bike share and metro stations, "raising the bar for all cities" according to the Institute for Transportation Development Policy that gives the award every year.

Here's the ITDP write up on the city's BRT system, which carries 800,000 people each day.

Accepting the award, Lu Yuan, a Guangzhou government official said, "It is a big honor to win this award ... and in the future we will continue to grow green transportation" systems to create a "sustainable, low-carbon and happy Guangzhou."

The other cities in contention for the prize were: Tehran, Iran (which inadvertently caused a minor international incident); Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico; Lima, Peru; and Nantes, France. Previous winners include Ahmedebad, India; Bogota, Colombia; and New York City.

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) The technology research arm of the Department of Transportation launched a competition  to spur new ideas on how cars should talk to each other to increase safety, sustainability and congestion. The cars can also communicate with bikes or anything else actually, as long as they use Dedicated Short-Range Communications technology.

The Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge, “invites problems solvers, and innovators to develop new applications, devices, products, services and business solutions—any operational concept” based on the new kind of technology known as DSRC that lets moving vehicles communicate with each other and with intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood reaffirmed that distracted driving will remain front and center in the  DOT's safety campaigns. At a press conference in Washington today, LaHood again referred to distracted driving as an "epidemic" and hinted at further public-private partnerships to combat the phenomenon.

LaHood said, "We've been on a rampage against distracted driving for nearly two years," adding that "we can and must address all three: driver, automobile, and roadway safety."

US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood

The message seemed to be that the DOT will not forget about dangerous driver practices while the agency also pursues more conventional safety initiatives, like improving automobile crash performance and safer roadway planning.

The data support that approach. Drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be in a crash, and an estimated 1.4 million-- 23 percent of motor vehicle crashes -- involve drivers using cell phones, according to the anti-distracted driving organization FocusDriven. While other behaviors may be more dangerous, the group says, cell phone use contributes to the greatest number of crashes.

(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) A tiny milestone in the march towards an electric car market just crossed the Transportation Nation news desk. The very first rental of a Chevy Volt occured today, according to Hertz.

A company spokesperson tells TN, "Hertz rented the first Volt in its fleet from its East 64th Street location in New York City. The company plans to make additional vehicles available in other locations over the next few months." As we reported last month, Hertz began renting all-electric Smart cars through its Hertz Connect hourly car sharing program. The Volt is a gas-electric hybrid with a much longer range and thus a more likely candidate for wider adoption for conventional car rental.

Chevy Volt for Rent at East 64th Street in Manhattan. (Photo: Hertz)

Zipcar has dabbled with renting EVs and electric hybrids in the past. Spokesperson Ashley Cheng told TN last month, “We were the first major car sharing company in the US to have EVs. We had them in Boston starting in 2003 and we currently have them in London and San Fransisco. We clearly have experience with  EVs and continue to evaluate the technology… as are the world’s largest automakers. We welcome Hertz to the space.”

The Volt has been getting considerable attention since earning four "car of the year" awards in recent months.  EVs as car share options are a strong sign of corporate confidence in electric cars, and they offer an opportunity for potential buyers to test out the technology. We'll keep you posted on on EV rental expansion as it happens.

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Official Government Photo of John Mica

Transportation Nation's Todd Zwillich spoke with Republican John Mica, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, about rumors of raiding the Highway Trust Fund, stretching infrastructure money farther, and why the new chairman is so optimistic he can get a transportation bill passed in a partisan congress.

"The Highway Trust Fund will remain the purview of the Transportation Committee and can’t be used for other uses."

Listen to the interview here:

TRANSCRIPT:

Todd Zwillich: Thank You Mr. Mica. With the new rules coming in with the new Congress, you have heard Democrats ... warning that the Highway Trust Fund will be raided under the new budgetary rules that were passed by Republicans… Is that a real fear?

Congressman John Mica: Well

Urbanist, Alex Marshall has a proposition for New York City Transit: add a conversation car to subway trains. In his gentle modest proposal published in the Daily News, Marshall waxes nostalgic for a day before iPods and kindles invaded the frenetic but friendly subway.

"Subway cars now resemble libraries or monasteries. That's why the recent altercation over New Jersey Transit's Quiet Commute program, with commuters arguing over the precise definition of what constitutes "quiet," is especially silly. With a pair of earbuds, we can all have as much solitude as we'd like.

"But what about someone who wants to engage in an activity that used to be normal: talking to the stranger next to him or her? What if, instead of treating your morning commute like a yoga retreat, you actually wanted to take a (wholesome, noncreepy) interest in one or two of the several thousand human beings around you. Where's the car for that? Where, on your bus or train, do you go for decent conversation?"

Have we lost a social space in the subways? What do you think?

Read the rest of his argument here.

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(Alex Goldmark, Transportation Nation) A new report compares almost 8,000 potential high-speed rail corridors to find the best routes for future investment. The study estimates potential ridership for each, and suggests predicted passenger demand should be the most important factor in determining where to build the next round of high-speed rail lines. According to the numbers, the lines already under construction aren't at the top of the list.

The study, "High Speed Rail in America," was issued by America 2050, a pro-high-speed rail research and planning organization. The most popular existing rail routes—connecting the biggest, most dense cities—come out on top, with New York to Washington cited as the best candidate for HSR in the nation. Some unexpected routes, like New York to Albany, do especially well, while the Tampa-Orlando line already under construction doesn't rank as high—suggesting that it was chosen for reasons beyond rider demand.

The report is a follow-up study to the group's 2009 report, “Where High-Speed Rail Works Best,” which analyzed 27,000 potential corridors (or “city pairs”) but did not consider the cities in between each pairing. A key advantage of rail compared to air travel is the ability to make intermediate stops, potentially creating a regional network for smaller feeder cities and corridors.

To be clear, this is a high-speed rail study from a group that is a huge supporter of high-speed rail so it's conclusions are how to build rail, how whether or not to do so. “America 2050 strongly believes that investments in HSR will be essential to the long- term economic success and mobility of the nation and its megaregions, and supports the Obama Administration’s efforts to lay the foundation for a national HSR network serving these places,” said Robert Yaro, president of Regional Plan Association and co-chair of America 2050. What these rankings do is suggest where to start that network. More details after the jump.