National: Free Parking Comes at Price
New York Times
In our society, cars receive considerable attention and study - whether the subject is buying and selling them, the traffic congestion they cause or the dangerous things we do in them, like texting and talking on cellphones while driving...
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(August 16, 2010)
Bay Area: If You Build a Transit Village Will They Come?
Capricious Commuter
A new parking garage is going up at the Richmond BART station as part of a trend of building transit-oriented development near rapid transit stations. Work began Tuesday on a six-story parking garage that will free up space for construction of 100 homes at the station, reports Katherine Tam in the Contra Costa Times....
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(August 16, 2010)
Blogosphere: How Much Do You Spend on Transport?
Grist
Two questions: How much do you spend each month on rent or a mortgage payment? And how much do you spend each month on transportation? Chances are you can answer the first question instantly. But the second? Hmm ... Transportation costs are trickier, since you don't pay them all at once or all to the same place, and they can vary month to month. But they're a significant expense for most households, and a seriously overlooked one....
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(August 12, 2010)
Blogosphere: What Constitutes City vs. Suburb?
Next American City
I'm a little late to the game on this one, but last month Joel Kotkin had a widely-panned Wall Street Journal article attempting to debunk what called "the myth of the back to the city migration." He did this by way of pointing out that the downtown condo markets in Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas have been downright abysmal since the start of the housing bust, and just as abysmal as suburban markets, if not worse...
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(August 12, 2010)
Twin Cities: Growth to Sprout on Hastings Corridor
Minneapolis Star Tribune
When the Red Rock commuter train begins rolling between Hastings and the Twin Cities by the end of the decade, a surge in economic development will be going along for the ride...
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(August 11, 2010)
Blogosphere: Public Sector and Financing for TOD
Crossroads
A few months ago, a colleague - and friend to RenewLV - forwarded a great post from Streetsblog on a transit-oriented development case study from the Portland area. The story concerns the leadership of Metro (Portland's regional metro government) in pushing for mixed-use, high-density development in a suburban area along Portland's light-rail line. This was a development that, before Metro intervened, was slated for low-density retail amid a huge parking lot...
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(August 11, 2010)
Blogosphere: Public Sector and Financing for TOD
Crossroads
A few months ago, a colleague - and friend to RenewLV - forwarded a great post from Streetsblog on a transit-oriented development case study from the Portland area. The story concerns the leadership of Metro (Portland's regional metro government) in pushing for mixed-use, high-density development in a suburban area along Portland's light-rail line. This was a development that, before Metro intervened, was slated for low-density retail amid a huge parking lot...
Read On
(August 11, 2010)
Portland: I-205 LRT Should Have Been Build on 82nd
Portland Tribune
Although federal, state and local officials lined up to praise the Interstate 205 MAX light-rail line when it opened last September, Metro Chief Executive Officer Michael Jordan thinks it should have been built instead along 82nd Avenue...
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(August 11, 2010)
San Francisco: Our City Could Use "Manhattanization"
San Francisco Chronicle
For San Franciscans of a certain age and/or mind-set, "Manhattanization" is synonymous with everything bad in urban life. After my most recent visit to New York, I'll go to the other extreme: A shot of 21st century Manhattanization is what San Francisco needs...
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(August 11, 2010)
Seattle: New Streetcar Plaza for Westlake
Post Intelligencer
By next spring, transit riders and downtown shoppers will have a new outdoor plaza to enjoy where the South Lake Union Streetcar ends outside Westlake Center. The plaza is part of a longtime plan to establish Westlake as a seamless transportation hub for people connecting to the streetcar, light rail or the monorail, and to add an active, pedestrian-friendly urban space to downtown...
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(August 10, 2010)
