Monday, December 21, 2015

Podcast: The End of Planning by Pitchfork in Houston

This week on the podcast we're joined by Jay Crossley of Houston Tomorrow who discusses Houston's new general plan.  It was the largest city without on in the United States, and we'll talk about how it will guide future decisions in the Bayou City.  You can also find it at Streetsblog USA.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Podcast: Matt Johnson's 101 Rail Transit Systems

This week we chat with Matt Johnson of Greater Greater Washington fame about the 101 rail transit systems he's ridden and which ones he thinks are the best.  We also talk about the origins of the #NerdTrain.  You can also see a spreadsheet of all the lines at StreetsblogUSA.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Podcast: Gabe Klein's Start Up City

This week Gabe Klein joins us to chat about themes from his new book Start Up City.   It's a great conversation with lots of insights into the things that Gabe has learned as the head of transportation for both DC and Chicago.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Podcast: Live from Rail~Volution

At Rail~Volution we recorded a podcast in front of a live audience.  We talked with Catherine Cuellar of Dallas about the arts district and her love of transportation alternatives as well as Dave Unsworth about the new Portland bridge which doesn't allow cars along with a whole host of other transit projects.  Hope you enjoy it.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Most Read from November 12th

Here are Yesterday's Top Stories from The Direct Transfer Daily

 Image courtesy of New York Times

- Do self driving cars dream? If so, what will they see? New York Times

- A sunken plaza was designed for BART, but it was all a big mistake - SF Chronicle

- The Anatomy of a NIMBY.  Seattle's housing fights explained - Seattle Weekly

Bonus Seattle Quote -

"Our neighborhoods are shadowed by tall, bulky buildings. Gardens are being cemented, trees cut down. Those who can’t carry their bags of groceries up and down the hills are not invited into this dystopia." 

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Most Read from November 11th

Here are Yesterday's Top Stories from The Direct Transfer Daily

Photo-Illustration by Darrow; © Richard Cavalleri/Shutterstock

- TRB Research: Linking Transit Agencies and Land Use Decision-Making Guidebook

- Boating is cool in Venice, Not so cool in Miami Beach.

- Turns out self driving cars are a plot for robot imprisonment.  So says Scott Adams

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Most Read from November 10th

Here are Yesterday's Top Stories from The Direct Transfer Daily

 
Image via Lyft

- "Dallas doesn’t principally have a parking problem. It has a downtown Dallas problem"

- LA City Council will have to revote on mobility plan, critics hope it's their chance.

- Maybe Lyft only wants to be friends with rail lines, not buses?  That's what the image says to me 

Bonus Quote

"This experience has let me know that architecture can speak to and touch people and change things, regardless of what academia or what the old guard may want you to believe"

 - Germane Barnes




Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Podcast: Dr. Richard Jackson on Built Environment and Public Health

This week I'm joined by Dr. Richard Jackson who talks about how public health is connected the the way we live.  We talk about trees, the Surgeon General's suggestions about walking, indoor air quality, social capital in the age of the internet and climate change.  Hope you join us.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Podcast: Mike Lydon Talks About Pattern Cities, Tactical Urbanism

This week we're joined by Mike Lydon who chats with me about Tactical Urbanism and Pattern Cities. It's a fun conversation with some insights into how we can do small things to change our cities.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Weekend Reads from The Direct Transfer

Some recommended reads for the weekend or those with a reading budget. ;)

Politico Magazine dives into the topic of TOD and Evanston Illinois. It's long form so make sure to leave some reading time.

Governor Hogan has proposed a frequent bus network in Baltimore to replace the Red Line, but not everyone is happy, especially the mayor which you can see in the Quote of the Day.

And finally, if you were wondering what all the fuss is about for the Paris climate talks, Good Magazine has a short primer.  I'm sure we'll be hearing more about COP21 as it gets closer.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Podcast: Measuring Carbon Emissions at Street Level

This week we're joined by Dr. Kevin Gurney of Arizona State University to talk about measuring carbon emissions at a more human scale including at the street level.


Find out more at Streetsblog.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Most Read from October 12th

Here are Yesterday's Top Stories from The Direct Transfer Daily

Img via Kotaku

- A History of City Building Games: Sim City and Beyond | Ars Technica
 
- Better Buses Make a Better City | David Alpert in the Washington Post
 
- Nashville's Mayor Tried to Build a BRT Line, Didn't Expect the Extraordinary Opposition
 
 
Bonus Quote - Oh That Pesky Traffic

"The main problem Plano Tomorrow’s opponents keep coming back to is that it could technically allow high-density apartments to be built almost anywhere in the city. They say apartments are associated with a host of social ills like poorer school quality, stunted home values and more traffic." 

Monday, October 12, 2015

Podcast: Thinking About the Western US without a Car

This week I'm joined by Tim Sullivan to talk about his new book Ways to the West.  To write the book he took a three week road trip without a car and discusses the transportation and city planning history of many western cities.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Most Read: 82 Foot Buses for the Orange Line

Yesterday's most read article was about a piece of legislation (bill text) that would allow 82 foot buses on the Orange Line BRT in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.  The article mentions that 65 foot buses have been in operation since 2007 when the longer buses were first tested and put into service.

Metro 65 Foot Bus via Flickr User L.A. Urban Soul



In doing some research looking for the bills that allowed the original change from 60 to 65 feet, I found a few strange things including no record of a bill passing that would allow for 65 foot buses.  SB 650, which was the original legislation, reached a third reading and was vetoed by then Governor Schwarzenegger.  But by veto time, the subject of 650 had changed.

The California Vehicle Code still says that articulate buses have a limit of 60 feet but according to the MTA, "Metro has been granted an exemption from Caltrans to permit operation of the 65-foot vehicle exclusively on the Orange Line transitway."

So they finally passed the bill to make 82 feet totally legal, without exemptions, and with 17 extra feet.
This bill would authorize the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to operate articulated buses that do not exceed a length of 82 feet on the route designated as the Orange Line in the County of Los Angeles. The bill would require the authority to establish a route review committee prior to operation of those buses, as specified...
The question is, why wasn't it legal before?  And why an arbitrary length such as 82 feet?  Well 82 feet equals 25 meters.  So it seems as if it's cluing off of international standards. But then there are 30 meter (over 100 foot) buses used in Dresden, so I'm not sure why not go all out if they might be available.

Auto Tram Extra Grand Used in Dresden



We've seen longer bi-articulated buses in action in places such as Curitiba on dedicated right of ways and in European cities but why haven't they found their way to the United States?  If I were to venture a first guess, it would be that we don't have many lines that necessitate the length.  The few that do are on busy city streets where turning and visibility with much smaller vehicles becomes an issue.

Research in the US (TCRP 75) focused on higher capacity buses found that articulated buses or "artics" were good at some tasks but not others.  The one task that agencies said overwhelmingly that standard articulated buses in their fleets were better was turning radius.  They found however that the buses were underpowered and poor at climbing hills and fuel economy.  The under-powering in one instance led to longer running times on corridors.  Another issue brought up was maintenance, with managers saying that another axle meant more repairs and less reliability.

However a case study of King County Metro in 2007 found that the buses were more cost effective per seat mile and had less maintenance issues than their 40 foot siblings.

Safety issues reported were instances where older articulated ends had a propensity to slide out wide on turns in addition to difficulty seeing boarding passengers towards the rear of the vehicle.

It was hard to find information on buses longer than 60 feet or even safety discussions, however in TCRP 90 it was noted that articulated buses have larger turning radii and overhang.  There also is a need to have longer bulb outs and stops to accommodate longer vehicles, which of course would increase costs. Maintenance facilities need to be set up for longer buses as well and I've heard that if maintenance managers had their way, they would get rid of trains and artics and just run 40 foot buses everywhere. Unfortunately for many of them they have customers.

I know this isn't a completely exhaustive look at longer buses but I was curious about them, after making claims without researching before that it was a safety issue that was keeping longer vehicles off the roads.  It still feels like this would be an issue when operating along side autos, bikes, and especially pedestrians, but for now, this is what I know.

I'm interested to see how LACMTA will implement this new rule on the Orange Line, and whether it will lead to increased ridership, as well as increased fighting on the bus vs rail argument.  As a frequent bus and train rider here in San Francisco, I will say I will always choose the rail route if possible.  But we can discuss preferences at another date too....    




Monday, October 5, 2015

Podcast: Learning About Louisville

This week on the podcast, Branden Klayko of Broken Sidewalk comes on the blog to talk about Louisville Kentucky.  Learn about this history of the city, the 8664 freeway fight, and local urbanist Grady Clay.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Direct Transfer's Most Read for September 29


Quote of the Day

On USC's cancelling of thier successful transit pass program

" ...this is just a pay cut for anybody at USC who has a disability that prevents them from driving and the university’s lowest wage workers." - USC Professor Lisa Schweitzer

Most Read #1

Yesterday San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee sent a letter to the board of supervisors saying that he would veto an Idaho Stop law that had enough votes to pass.  His reasoning?  He "will not trade away public safety for convenience"  You mean like the five times he's been caught doing it himself with his city funded car?

Most Read #2

Adam Gopnick writes in the New Yorker that cities just can't win.  In their lowest times they are horrific places to be and on high they are unaffordable and unjust.  But his main point is to review a book on the New York City grid.  He notes "The grid, useful as an accelerant for pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles, ended up being unintentionally well-adapted to the imperialism of the car." 

Most Read #3

Kevin DeGood of the Center for American Progress writes about three white elephant transportation projects and how they are making a mockery of the federal process.  He argues for a competitive process, I'm not sure I can argue against him. 

Bonus Read

Telecommuting works best in moderation.  Too bad we can't say that work itself is best in moderation.