The Hub 2/8/19: 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.

 

Philly.com: Go ahead, cross in the middle of the block — if you dare – Mid-block crosswalks are few and far between in Philadelphia. The ones that do exist were built by private entities. Crosswalks are generally placed with what makes sense for drivers in mind. In dense, urban neighborhoods it makes more sense to design streets on a pedestrian scale. After all, Philadelphians are going to cross in the middle of the block whether there are crosswalks or not.

 

Strong Towns: Where Bicycles Meet Race: A Conversation With Dr. Adonia Lugo – Bike commuting may have a trendy name these days, often associated with young white eco-conscious professionals. However, the bicycle has long been the vehicle of low income workers who don’t have other transportation options. Dr. Adonia Lugo advocates shifting the conversation away from how cycling infrastructure will change our urban landscape to how it can serve the people who already live in a place.

 

Curbed Philly: Open Thread: What would your ideal Philly subway system look like? – Curbed Philly is following up last week’s article about one man’s 1913 plan for Philadelphia transit with an open forum. This thread asks Philadelphians for their opinions about the subway map.

 

Mobility Lab: Bus riders take cars off the road. But when traffic backs up, they suffer the most. – Busses are a much more efficient means of transporting people than single occupancy vehicles. Every person who chooses to take the bus eases congestion for drivers. It continues to be a struggle for transit agencies to time bus routes accurately because of ever-worsening urban congestion.

 

City Lab: Ready or Not, Here Comes the Micromobility Revolution – The Micromobility Conference brought together scooter enthusiasts, e-bike entrepreneurs, and whimsical investors to explore the future of lightweight battery powered vehicles. The conference’s goal is to advance these bike-lane scale vehicles and decrease automobile use. One thing everyone seemed to agree on is that these technologies will only grow as long as they are safely regulated.

 

Image Source: Philly.com