The Hub 11/30/18: 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.
Philly.com: Is free December street parking a boon or bust for Philadelphia? – Free metered parking on Saturdays in center city during the holiday rush is meant to stimulate the economy and encourage people to spend their money at local businesses. Critics of this practice contend that the economic impact is negligible and the practice merely incentivizes driving over other modes of transportation. Studies do show that higher parking turnover translates to more sales, so perhaps it’s time to reassess the value of this practice.
Strong Towns: A Forest on the Freeway: “Innerbelt National Forest” Swaps Concrete for Community – Akron, Ohio had a crosstown freeway that had been decommissioned in 2016 for lack of use. The League of Creative Interventionists has created a 32-acre forested park on the abandoned highway. This concrete scar on the urban landscape has become a community gathering space. Goat yoga, picnics, concerts and other programming is bringing life back to Akron’s post-industrial downtown.
Smart Cities Dive: Report: Vehicle emissions are keeping California from reaching climate goals – The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has reports that the state is not on track to meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2045. Though California is a leader in renewable energy, the ARB has stated that major changes to transportation systems will be needed in order to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Next City: Autonomous Vehicles Are Coming and There’s No Roadmap (Yet) – There has been much speculation about how autonomous vehicles will change our urban landscape. A shift in the transportation labor market seems inevitable. Though the economic and social impacts remain to be seen, how we plan for them will inform how equitably and sustainably these changes occur.
City Lab: A U.S. Transit Atlas That Ranks the Best (and Worst) Cities for Bus and Rail – Trains, Busses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of U.S. Transit compares 47 transit systems across the U.S. using standardized metrics of success. Frequency, reliability, and ridership by mile are all taken into account. The in depth analysis of specific transit lines could pave the way for more efficient, better used transit.
Image Source: Strong Towns
