The Hub 11/2/18: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Round-Up of Transportation News
“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up to date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.
PlanPhilly: Inspired by King of Prussia, West Chester ramps up campaign to restore rail service – The Advisory Ad Hoc Committee to Reestablish Rail Service to West Chester was established by the borough of West Chester in 2014 and has since been working toward its namesake goal. West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, and has been without rail service since 1986. Following in the footsteps of the King of Prussia Rail extension of the Norristown High-Speed Line, West Chester hopes to win funding at the regional and state levels for an economic impact study on extending the Media/Elwyn line to West Chester.
Strong Towns: Getting From Here to There in Rural America – With high poverty rates and low access to opportunity, the issue of rural transportation is an economically complex one. Rural residents are reliant on cars and a small maintenance issue can be devastating for a family with no alternatives. There is some public funding available for door to door micro-transit, but large gaps remain for those unable to drive in rural areas.
Mobility Lab: Autonomous vehicles are not just a transportation issue – There are slews of engineers, programmers, and technicians who are working full time to usher in the age of the autonomous vehicle, however near or far off it may be. As we move ever closer to driverless vehicles, we need to be sure we also have people working on the community impacts of AV technology, and working to ensure the way it changes our built environment is more equitable than the urban renewal highway projects of yesteryear.
Next City: Flying Taxi Trial Coming Soon to Singapore – Volocopter is set to begin trials of its eVTOLs, electric-powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in late 2019. These futuristic vehicles will essentially be drone helicopter taxi cabs. The transportation luxury will be limited to two passengers at a time and fly 18 miles on a single charge.
City Lab: Mapping the Many Tunnels Under Washington, D.C. – Washington D.C. has several networks of underground tunnels, built at different times and serving different purposes. Tunnels carry commuters on metro lines, connect government buildings, and provide utilities to our nation’s capital. “D.C. Underground Atlas” is a web project where you can interact and learn about the networks of tunnels.
Image Source: City Lab
