From SPUR.org: "After a number of delays, the wheels are finally turning on a bike-sharing program for the Bay Area. Earlier this month, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) signed a contract with Alta Bike Share, which runs successful programs in Washington, D.C., and Boston. A Bay Area pilot program will launch this summer for two years of testing with 700 bikes at 70 locations from San Jose to San Francisco."
Bike sharing is on its way to the Bay Area. Photo credit: Sharon Mollerus. Used under Creative Commons license.
From SFBike.org: "[This week], Supervisor John Avalos introduced a resolution at the Board of Supervisors urging BART to permanently lift the blackout ban and make it easier for Bay Area residents to commute regionally by bike. The resolution was unanimously approved by the full Board of Supervisors, and shows growing support for opening up all day access for bikes by City leaders."
From Metro.net: "Interesting but not shocking report: In five metro areas studied, home prices fared better when the homes were near transit. The five metro areas are Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, and San Francisco.
Fueled by demographic change and concerns over quality of life, there has been agrowing interest in communities with active transportation modes. The recession added another dimension to these discussions by emphasizing the economic implications of transportation choices. … Moving beyond the traditional arguments that good schools and neighborhood amenities impact housing prices, emerging research has indicated that urban form and transportation options have played a key role in the ability of residential properties to maintain their value since the onset of the recession.Studies have shown that consumers are willing to pay more for housing located in areas that exemplify new urbanist principles or are “traditional neighborhood developments.” These neighborhoods are walkable, higher density, and have a mix of uses as well as access to jobs and amenities such as transit."
From DNAinfo.com: "Residents of [Chicago's] 45th Ward will have some tough choices to make later this month and in May when they get to vote on 18 projects seeking funding from Ald. John Arena'sdiscretionary budget. Among the choices will be plans for a new playground at Roberts Square Park, a new artificial-turf field for Beaubien Elementary School and dozens of other projects designed to spruce up Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Old Irving Park and Gladstone Park. Arena will host three project expos that will give residents a chance to learn more about the items on the ballot — and give their proponents an opportunity to campaign for votes."
From Streetsblog.org: "At its annual membership meeting last night, Transportation Alternatives unveiled its transportation policy platform heading into the thick of this year’s election cycle. Primary day — September 10 — is less than six months away, and TA is calling on candidates in the mayoral and City Council races to include these principles in their campaign platforms:
- Safe Neighborhood Streets For All
- Transportation Choice On Commercial Streets
- Zero Tolerance Traffic Enforcement
This map shows draft locations for Citi Bike stations. Photo credit: NYC DOT. Used under Creative Commons license.
From Streetsblog.org: "We’ve known since December that Hurricane Sandy shrank the initial rollout of bike-share from 420 stations to 293, with an expansion promised by the end of 2013. … Now, an updated bike-share map (via reader@J_uptown) on DOT’s website shows that the initial rollout will encompass Manhattan south of Central Park and an area of Brooklyn bounded roughly by Atlantic Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Flushing Avenue, and the East River. The second phase will include LIC, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bedford Stuyvesant east of Nostrand Avenue. Three stations in Manhattan, at Pier 42, on 60th Street near First Avenue, and on Fifth Avenue at 63rd Street, are also part of the second phase. Site selection for a third phase, which would bring the system up to the original goal of 10,000 bikes at 600 stations, is still in progress…"
