The Hub 12/6/19: 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: Gov. Wolf appoints Yassmin Gramian to replace outgoing PennDOT secretary – Yassmin Gramian, the current executive deputy secretary of PennDOT, will take over as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Transportation. Outgoing PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards recently stepped down to become the General Manager of SEPTA, starting in January.

 

StrongTowns: Highlights from #BlackFridayParking 2019 – Strong Towns asked readers to photograph under used retail parking lots on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. The submissions document the over supply of parking throughout the U.S. Doing away with mandatory parking minimums in zoning codes could free up vast tracts of land for a myriad of other uses.

 

Mobility Lab: To maximize the impact of Bike to Work events, a year-round bike education program is key – It’s great to encourage people to bike to work once a year, but more can be done to activate cyclists year round. A study from the University of California shows that once a year cycling events alone have little long term impact on people’s commuting decisions. However, the study also shows that annual bike to work events are still impactful when paired with ongoing bike education programs and infrastructure improvements.

 

StreetsBlog: A BILL OF GOODS: Why are We Putting Up With Parking-Protected Bike Lanes? – In many American cities, parking protected bike lanes are hailed as best practice for bike lane infrastructure. In European cities, planners opt for physically separated bike paths. While parking protected bike lanes are a start, they still prioritize space and safety for cars.

 

Image Source: Strong Towns