New York City’s public transit system took a big step toward the future today, going 180 degrees on its old policy of keeping transit data behind locked doors. As of today, info about NYC’s ridership stats and arrival times will be available to anyone who wants to use the data to make software apps for […]
Transportation
Posted inTransportation
Portland Suburb Will Vote on Public Transit Ban
Suburban whacko alert! BikePortland reports that an anti-tax group in the little city of Damascus, just 20 miles SE of Portland, introduced a local ballot measure to ban public transit. To “insure that the City of Damascus is open as much as possible to the free flow of vehicular traffic and citizen travel within the […]
Posted inMedia
Report Shows Car and Bus Trips Declined More Steeply than Bike Trips in 2009
The Portland Bureau of Transportation just released its bicycle count for 2009, the important report that annually details the habits of Portland cyclists. The report saw some controversy even before it was released. After getting a draft copy of the report last month, Willamette Week’s Beth Slovic ran a news lead headlined “Backpedaling”, which highlighted […]
Posted inPortland
So it Was Good For Me…
I was at MOMA in San Francisco yesterday afternoon, still on vacation when I found out there were two inches of snow on the ground in Portland. My first thought was, “Well, that’s settled. There’s no way I’m making it home tonight.” My flight would be canceled, bus service nonexistent, the roads impassible just like […]
Posted inTransportation
Who Wants Transit? We Want Transit!
The city wrapped up the most intense part of its Portland Plan public outreach blitz last week, collecting survey data from an estimated 1,000 Portlanders during seven workshops over the last month. You can read all about the workshops on the city’s slick website (or my take here). What jumps out at me from the […]
Posted inGreen
Metro Rejects Mayor Adams’ Greenhouse Gas Idea
Metro’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is a bit embarrassing for the city that’s supposed to be the capital of sustainability. The plan lays out all the transportation projects the region will build over the next 25 years—$20 billion worth of roads, bridges and transit—if it’s not in the RTP, it’s not getting built here in […]
Posted inNews
CRC Showdown Starts With A Bang—Garren: “Hayden Island Is Getting Shafted.”
Summary 12:35 pm— Whew, tense meeting. The points that stood out during the hour of public testimony and hour of bigwig debate are that the CRC made a big mistake rerouting the planned I-5 replacement on a course that demolishes Hayden Island’s commercial core. Also, the decision makers on this seem to be split into […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Overheard on MAX
From a kid on the red line this morning: “Why would anyone go to a play? I’d much rather go to a movie.” The sentiment itself is unremarkable and I’m sure many of the people reading this post agree with it. But here’s the thing: The kid’s comment was inspired by a billboard for “Walking […]
Posted inTransportation
Unlike Portland, Seattle Saves its Bus Lines
While TriMet axed four bus lines in September and starting this month will implement frequent service reductions to patch a $3.5 million budget whole, Seattle’s King County transit system has decided to avoid cutting “core bus service” by raising revenue in new ways. Earlier this year, King County Metro faced a $215 million budget gap […]
Posted inTransportation
CRC Pitches 10 Lanes, Will Politicians Bite?
Why did I drive all the way to Salem this afternoon just to attend one meeting entitled “Informational hearing on the status of the Columbia River Crossing”? Because I’m interested in how backers of the big bridge are pitching the project to state legislators. Last spring, legislators were highly skeptical of funding the then-$4.2 billion […]
Posted inTransportation
When Do Bus Drivers Pee?
I’ve been riding the buses a lot recently and have been wondering how the hell the drivers make it through an eight hour shift with only a couple five minute breaks. Especially when the drivers on my routes seem to spend most of those breaks reading crime novels or smoking cigarettes. Where do they find […]
Posted inTransportation
Pete DeFazio Supports Cutting Down CRC
Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio today joined the chorus of voices that recommend cutting down the size of the Columbia River Crossing Bridge. Portland Tribune has the scoop: “What has been designed so far is sort of the optimal project, and we can’t afford that,” DeFazio says of the planned 12-lane, $4.2 billion version of the […]