Shelby Street Bike Track under construction
Posted by Curt Ailes in Bicycling on Jul 5th, 2011 | 15 comments
Earlier this year, Chicago elected a new mayor; Rahm Emanuel. Upon entering office, he wasted no time going to work on his campaign promises of improving mobility for citizens. Among his first visual changes, were the introduction of a new cycle track along a half mile stretch of downtown street; Kinzie Ave from Milwaukee Avenue to Wells Street.
Upon being in office for only a few short weeks, Emanuel has demonstrated his firm commitment to transportation alternatives.
When you look at what “IT” actually was, bike lanes were striped to create a reasonable barrier between motorists and...
Myrtle Beach & its focus on Walkability
Posted by Curt Ailes in Pedestrian on Jun 23rd, 2011 | 6 comments
When one mentions that they went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC, visions of complete streets and urban design do not spring to mind. For years, I remember friends who’s parents took them to Myrtle Beach on summer vacation. I had never attended until recently, when my wife proposed that we take a summer trip there. I am a major lover of the beach, and sunburns, so it did not take any amount of arm twisting.
We spent 5 nights just south of the major N/S split along Ocean Blvd, so we were front and center for what I observed to be the changing of a familiar built form; that being one that gives...
State lawmakers scuttling transit projects
Posted by Curt Ailes in Transit on Mar 9th, 2011 | 12 comments
What started as a squeak in November has turned into a low roar. What is this low roar? The dying gasp of transit projects across the nation. In case you have not noticed, there is a bit of political turmoil going on here in America. It seems that no one is immune to the affects of the recent election. Regarding transportation, the problems started when NJ Governor cancelled the ARC project that would have increased commuter train access into NYC. Then, Wisconsin and Ohio’s new GOP Governors rejected Federal funding that was awarded to the previous administration for High Speed Rail....
Rebuild Indy: What are we rebuilding?
Posted by Curt Ailes in Neighborhoods on Mar 3rd, 2011 | 7 comments
In 2010, Mayor Greg Ballard used bonding capacity against equity in our water/sewer utilities as well as future rate increases to fund a program that is called, Rebuild Indy. The first injection of funds came in to the tune of $55 million. It was used to jumpstart the program and largely includes resurfacing streets, repairing some sidewalks, and constructing a trail on the NW side of Indianapolis by adding a trail from Cold Springs Road to Kessler Boulevard along Michigan Road. A couple of weeks ago, $32 million more in projects were announced. Some bridge reconstruction work is planned for Meridian...
Why Mode Matters for Indianapolis
Posted by Curt Ailes in New Development, Transit on Feb 28th, 2011 | 12 comments
When does perception become reality? When a preconceived notion trumps all logic and becomes the first thought associated with a specific topic. Why is it then, that “light rail” seems to be the favored quarter when it comes to alternative transportation modes? Last week, I tackled the first half of why we perceive light rail to be superior to commuter rail when I wrote about, “Why Route Matters for Indianapolis”. In that post, I highlighted that it isn’t neccesarily the mode that gets you there, but where a transit route goes that drives ridership...
