Streetsblog SE – Page 86 – Connecting people to information about how to improve walking, biking, and transit

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Community Foundation of Louisville to Transform Hillerich & Bradsby’s Old Smoketown Factory-Turned-Parking Lot

By Branden Klayko | Sep 21, 2015 | No Comments

This week, we detailed the history of Hillerich & Bradsby’s old Smoketown home—a block bound by Preston Street, Finzer Street, Jackson Street, The post Community Foundation of Louisville to transform Hillerich & Bradsby’s old Smoketown factory-turned-parking lot appeared first on Broken Sidewalk.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | Sep 21, 2015 | No Comments

U.S. DOT Awards Loan for Charlotte LYNX Extension (Progressive Railroading)
U.S. DOT Signs Off on Richmond to Raleigh HSR Environmental Impact Study (The Hill)
Study: Converting Alabama Bridge for Pedestrians Would Boost Tourism (Free Times Press)
Texas Developer to Buy Atlanta Civic Center for Mixed-Use Development (Atl Biz Chronicle)
University of Mississippi Bans Cars From Observatory Loop for Pedestrian Safety (DJournal)
T4A Chair and Former Meridian Mayor Touts Passenger Rail to Dallas (Meridian Star)
Palm Beach Airport to Offer Free Shuttle to Tri-Rail (Palm Beach Post)
Huffington Post Covers News-Press Bicycle Advocacy Reporting

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Preservation, Urbanism, and Transportation Collide at the Kentucky Heritage Council’s Strong Towns Conference

By Branden Klayko | Sep 18, 2015 | No Comments

We talk a lot about issues that affect the way we live in the city here at Broken Sidewalk. Big issues like The post Preservation, urbanism, and transportation collide at the Kentucky Heritage Council’s Strong Towns Conference appeared first on Broken Sidewalk.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | Sep 18, 2015 | No Comments

NC State Budget Provision Makes NC Light Rail Growth “Impossible” (WNCN)
Chattanooga Narrows Possible Transit Hub Sites, Incorporating Potential Light Rail (Nooga.com)
One Gwinnett Resident Leads the Push for MARTA (Peach Pundit)
Atlanta’s WXIA Perpetuates the Stereotype of MARTA Safety Issues
Cobb Businesses Praise Pedestrian Bridge Delay Due to Potential Lost Parking (Atl Biz Chronicle)
Miami: More Likely to Suffer From Climate Change, Least Likely to Do Anything About It (GreenBiz)
Huntsville NASA Scientist Gets Intergalactic Recognition for Helping Local Kids With Bikes (ABC)

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North Carolina Lawmakers Try to Sabotage Durham-Orange Light Rail

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 17, 2015 | No Comments

A rendering of the proposed Durham-Orange light rail. Image: Our Transit Future State lawmakers in North Carolina launched a sneak attack this week on plans for light rail between Durham and Orange County — and nobody’s sure exactly who’s behind it or why they did it. Leaders in Durham and Orange are counting on the state to deliver about 10 [...]

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Friday: Sip Bourbon to Help Combat Louisville’s Urban Heat Island Problem

By Branden Klayko | Sep 17, 2015 | No Comments

We’ve known for a while that Louisville struggles with its urban heat island effect—spurred on by swaths of parking lots and other The post Friday: Sip bourbon to help combat Louisville’s staggering urban heat island problem appeared first on Broken Sidewalk.

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Two Atlantas: Separated by Race, Class, and Now Health

By ATL Urbanist | Sep 17, 2015 | No Comments

A new article in City Lab covers a study that has produced a heat map of obesity in US neighborhoods. Read about it here: Where America’s Obese Live When it comes to this condition, place matters. Researchers believe that there are conditions in these neighborhoods that influence this health problem:Through spatial cluster analyses, the researchers at RTI point out that these hot spots aren’t just random occurrences—they’re statistically significant. In other words, there’s something happening in these particular neighborhoods that’s fueling the high obesity rates.You can view the interactive mapping tool from the study here. Above, you can see a capture of Atlanta’s map. The neighborhoods with high percentages of obesity (in red) are clearly separated from the ones with low percentages (in blue). Notice how the spatial placement of the two extremes mirrors the Racial Dot Map’s display of black and white communities here:And it also mirrors the separation of economic classes (as defined by job type) in the city:The divided geography of class and race in Atlanta has a long history; so long that we’ve come to accept the segregation as inevitable. But consider the effects on health: we’ve got a large swatch of the city where obesity is all around, and this is a health epidemic in our country that is related to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Also consider the effects on economic mobility: Atlanta is dead last in the US among big cities when it comes to the chances for a child born in poverty to rise in economic class. The time has come for leaders to engage in thoughtful, sensitive conversation on the topic of this geographic separation, what factors influence it and how to undo the damage that is caused by it.I’ll have more to say on this in a few weeks. I’m working on a long-form post on the subject.EDITED TO ADD: A Washington Post piece this week addresses the link between economic class and obesity. Here’s a good quote, emphasizing they way that the benefits of the healthy eating movement are exclusive to the wealthier classes:The food divide seems to be headed in the same, disconcerting direction that wealth inequality has. “So far, the healthy eating movement has mostly changed the eating habits of wealthier Americans,” said [Tatiana Andreyeva of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity]…The wealthy, in other words, will continue to eat better and the poor won’t. And the gap between them will only become more difficult to bridge.

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | Sep 17, 2015 | No Comments

Nashville Neighborhood Pledges to Go Car-Free for One Week (Nashville Biz Journal)
NOLA and Baton Rouge Leaders Discuss Passenger Rail Link (Times- Picayune)
Atlanta Regional Commission Looks to Millennials to Solve Problems (Saporta Report)
Macon Won’t Prevent Pedestrian Deaths as Long as Police Blame Victims (Telegraph)
Miami Celebrates Grand Opening of Affordable Housing Project Near Rail Line (Miami Times)
Orlando Developers: If You Build Large Office Towers, They Will Come (Orlando Biz Journal)
Lack of Sidewalks Means Naples Children Take Buses to School, Costing $500K Annually (BikeWalkLee)
Palm Beach Post: Some People Actually Like Trains

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Americans Applaud as Cities Build Protected Car Lanes

By Michael Andersen | Sep 16, 2015 | No Comments

A proposed protected car lane on Board Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets. Driving is a dangerous activity. As a result, many Americans find it stressful and unpleasant. “I’m interested in driving but it doesn’t really seem [...]

Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | Sep 16, 2015 | No Comments

NC DOT Rail Plan Builds on Record Passenger Train Ridership (News & Observer)
North Carolina Budget Contains Provisions to Limit Light Rail Funding (John Locke)
Atlanta Receives Federal Grants to Spur Development Along BeltLine (AJC)
Cobb County Delays Plans for Pedestrian Bridge to Braves Stadium (MDJ)
Greenville Looks to Roanoke as Example of Expanding Passenger Train Travel (Greenville Online)
Columbia Journalism Review Examines How Florida’s News-Press Advocates for Bike Safety
Developers: Regionalism Key to Nashville’s Success (Brentwood Home Page)
Charlottesville Adopts Bike/Walk Master Plan, Lines Up Funding (Charlottesville Tomorrow)

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Today’s Headlines

By Ashley Robbins | Sep 15, 2015 | No Comments

Cobb Leaders: Braves Don’t Need Pedestrian/Transit Bridge, Just More Parking (AJC)
From Every Corner Of the State, Georgians Want Transit (Curbed)
Georgia Mayors See High Speed Rail to Atlanta as Connection to Prosperity (Augusta Chronicle)
“Walking Dead” Terminus Could Be Atlanta’s Next Development Hit (Saporta Report)
Only Way SC Can Reduce Congestion Is to Change Its Attitudes on Transportation (The State)
All Aboard Florida Wins 2015 City Solutions Innovation by Design Award (Palm Beach Post)
Tri-Rail Has Free WiFi on All Trains (Washington Post)

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How America’s Staggering Traffic Death Rate Became Matter-of-Fact

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 14, 2015 | No Comments

How did more than 30,000 annual motor vehicle deaths become something that most Americans accept as normal? A new paper by Boston University professor Itai Vardi tries to answer that question. A 1933 publication by Traveler’s Insurance Company pins the blame for traffic deaths on individual decisions without noting structural factors like the skyrocketing rate of driving [...]

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