The Hub 10/8/2021: 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.
Clean Air Council’s pedestrian advocacy group, Feet First Philly, launched the second round of their public space enhancement mini-grant program. Everyone is encouraged to apply and enhance a public space of their choice. Applications are due on 11/8 by 11:59 pm.
New York Times: Cities Are Rethinking Transit – Cities across the world are electrifying transit. Switching from gas and diesel to electric and batteries will drastically reduce transportation carbon emissions and will slow climate change.
Traffic Safety Marketing: October is National Pedestrian Safety Month – Everyone is a pedestrian and “more than 6 in 10 people walk for transportation, exercise, relaxation, or for other activities.” Protecting vulnerable road users is very important.
Vision Zero: Annual Report 2021 – The City of Philadelphia released its annual Vision Zero report which highlights that the High Injury Network, which is only 12% of roads in the city, contains the most dangerous roads accounts for 80% of traffic deaths and serious injuries. The report shows that fatal crashes increased dramatically in 2020, and that there hasn’t been meaningful progress towards the goal of zero deaths since the program started in 2017.
SMARTCITIESDIVE: Bike Boom Results in Infrastructure Investments – Cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C, and New York are spending more on protected bike lanes and other biking infrastructure since the increase in biking activity across the country. Cities are using the renewed interest in biking to improve biking infrastructure.
CityLab: Problem with Electric Trucks – Electric vehicles have the potential to greatly reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector, but these vehicles pose safety concerns. Electric trucks have expanded in size and weight which causes them to require a longer stopping time and have a greater impact during a collision, which often results in a fatality.
Streetsblog Mass: Ridership Increased to Pre-pandemic Levels – Boston’s 3-month pilot program that suspended fare collection on the 28 bus route has seen an increase in ridership. Riders are able to save money and the route is outperforming other bus routes.
Image Source: Streetsblog Mass
