Transportation Dump

I've been doing a ton of research lately on green streets, so that's cause some focus beyond the general bigger picture of transportation. And with all of the upcoming spending on infrastructure through stimulation - it will be interesting to see how much of this will be green, how much will be grey, or at the very least how much will be innovative of some sort. Some interesting visuals and commentary in the realm of transportation, from new robotic bridges, to bike sharing, to new literally green parking.

:: Tiny roadside garden in Tawaramachi, Tokyo - image via Vulgare

This first image cracked me up, as I have a virtually identical sketch in one of my notebooks from our Integrating Habitats study of alternative parking lots configurations. In this case, reducing the paved surface towards the toe of the space, reducing imperviousness by 25 percent but still allowing wheels and people to get in and out... nice to see somebody implemented this idea.

:: Point Frasier Development - Australia - image via Land Relief

I just had to include this image from Karrie Jacob's article in Metropolis about Rethinking the Interstate - the article of which should be read by anyone with a say in infrastructure spending...

:: image via Metropolis

And a well thought out article by Brand Avenue, which offers as well some great thoughts, as well as some images from the Pennsylvania Turnpike postcards... the splendor of our linear transportation system, at least as it was sold to people back in the day.

:: images via Brand Avenue

And it looks as if Jan Gehl's influence on NYC transportation is residual, as new of a Danish bikesharing program kicks of for reals (via Treehugger): "For the last two summers there have been week-long bike sharing trials in lower Manhattan, and NYU now has a new bike share program with 120 riders. The Department of Transportation in New York has put out a request for proposals from companies showing how prospective bike share program would overcome some of the city's idiosyncrasies. One company that will be showing NY Parks and Rec how it would set up bike sharing in the Big Apple is Goodmorning Technology from Copenhagen."

:: images via Treehugger

Another from Treehugger - the ubiquitous argument that drives traffic planners on both sides nuts - on whether the Big Dig was successful in reducing traffic overall: "According to the Boston Globe, while the Big Dig succeeded in increasing "overall mobility by allowing more people to travel at peak times. . .most travelers who use the tunnels are still spending time in traffic jams - just not in the heart of the city, where bumper-to-bumper was a way of life on the old elevated artery." In other words, whereas traffic jams were primarily a downtown phenomenon, "the bottlenecks [have been] pushed outward, as more drivers jockey for the limited space on the major commuting routes."

Actually I don't care - I'll take the latter for urban livability anyday...

:: image via Treehugger

Perhaps we just need to change the nature of what type of traffic is included - such as this link from the Where, featuring: "...a collaboration between the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials and the Adventure Cycling Association, who have created a transcontinental network of interstate bike routes out of more than 50,000 miles of existing trails."

:: image via the Where

And finally, maybe a little over-the-top, but this robotic bridge lift has style... via the Atelier A+D for a bridge in Leeuwarden, Netherlands:

:: images via Atelier A+D