Showing posts with label Downtown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Downtown. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
From Lincoln Financial Groups Weekly Fort Wayne Update Newsletter
Celebrate ‘Bike to Work Day’ on Friday, May 18
Did you know that May is National Bike Month?
The League of American Bicyclists founded bike month in 1956 as a fun way to
promote the benefits of cycling. Did you also know that May 18 is “National
Bike to Work Day”?
Lincoln’s participating in
National Bike to Work Day, so plan now to join other employees who’ll bike to
work on May 18. As part of the event, employees who bike to work can:
·
Park
in the Executive Garage off Brackenridge
Street (open 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.; if you wish
to lock your bike, you must provide your own lock)
·
Use
the Fitness Center to freshen up and change
·
Enjoy
a free, healthful breakfast
·
Win
prizes in a drawing
Those who ride a bike to work or run errands
reap multiple benefits. For example, bicycling is much more economical than
maintaining and fueling a car, especially with the high price of gas. Biking is
much better for the environment, as it creates no harmful emissions and
requires no toxic materials like batteries or oil. Besides being enjoyable and
stress-relieving, the other big advantage of biking is the health benefits you
can experience. Biking is a low-impact form of exercise that is safe for all
ages. By riding 30 minutes to work and then 30 minutes home at a leisurely
pace, an average 150-pound biker can burn 400 to 500 calories – about the
number of calories in a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder!
If you plan to bike to work on May 18, please
complete this brief survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CPD2KTR
For more information about bicycling to work
at Lincoln,
including information about parking your bike, please contact Facilities at
Ext. 3050. In addition, visit CHRIS for information regarding bicycling perks.
For example, Independence Blue Cross members are eligible to receive up to $25
back on the cost of a bike helmet.
If
you’re a regular bike commuter, you may want to see how you stack up against
other bike commuters in Fort Wayne
and register for the 2012 Fort Wayne Bike Commuter Challenge taking place this
month:
It
is really nice to see how much Lincoln is getting into Bike to Work Day. I had a recent conversation with a member of
the Facilities staff and she said that they have 38 bike commuters signed up
for Lincoln's bike commute program! The program has been going on for two years
and includes covered parking for bikes and use of the sweet fitness center for
showering even if they aren't members.
Great job Lincoln! Thank you and
the next time I need an annuity, I will think of you first!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
April Bike to work Friday
Yes folks it happens again this Friday the 27th of April. We usually meet at the Dash In at around 7AM for some coffee and camaraderie.
Join us!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Bike Art Downtown Fort Wayne
Love this.
In the alley by Pint n Slice.
Anyone know who did this?
Saw a photo of another one on the Twitter yesterday but I don't know where it was.
Cool nonetheless.
Monday, April 16, 2012
1st ever Spring Cycle Fest.
Spring Cycle | Fort4Fitness Health Festival - Fort Wayne Indiana
Lots to see and do if you aren't lucky enough to have a place at "the lake". Check it out. Should be a good time.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Greenway detour re-routed | FortWayne.com - Fort Wayne IN
Greenway detour re-routed | FortWayne.com - Fort Wayne IN
Most of you are probably aware of this but just in case, here you go.
Most of you are probably aware of this but just in case, here you go.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Making the jump to 9 miles
By Tim Harvey (including image)
Steady pressure on the pedals and a gentle downward slope whips my speed up towards 25 mph. Pavement, trees, and mailboxes whiz past in a blur. I press on faster and top 26 mph, exultant. This is the closest I'll come to flying and it feels incredible.
This stretch of road near Stellhorn Road is one of my favorite spots on the new commute. I love the speed and chance to pour every ounce of energy I've got into going as fast as possible.
February marked a big change for our family, moving from downtown Fort Wayne near Taylor street to a neighborhood near 469 and Maplecrest. What used to be a casual 1.1 mile jaunt is now a more epic 8.6 mile trek each way. Gone are the days of arriving at work 7 minutes after walking out the front door. The new ride comes in at close to 40 minutes.
I'm loving every. single. minute.
Truth be told, I wasn't always so enthusiastic about cycling. I grew up riding a BMX bike around the neighborhood like many other kids in Southwest Allen county. It was a taste of freedom before you turned 16.
But loving the bike died suddenly when I started working to drive, or driving to work. It was a bit of both at first.
Fast forward a decade and some change and you'd find me in Grabill with a family, busy job, and a beautiful countryside to explore. Realizing that we *still* need to get fit after many attempts, my wife Sara and I started thinking about bikes. We started at Summit City Bikes, and got some of the best cycling advice ever..."If you're not sure about spending $400-500 on a bike that will last, go get something for $60 that will break down and frustrate you. Come back after that happens and you'll love what you find here."
While I wanted to convince myself that we'd ride every day (work was only 300 yards away and Grabill is a great place to ride), we both knew ourselves better than that. We went with the Wal-Mart bikes.
Sadly, I missed out on a lot of beautiful riding in the Grabill area. My web design consulting business changed gears and I started working with Squaremouth.com in Fort Wayne, so we moved again. We loved the idea of urban living, being conscious of the environment, and living frugally. I started walking a mile to the office, which took about 20 minutes.
And thus, my love of cycling began...with a walk. Eager to spend as much time with the family as possible, I pulled out my bike. It was rickety, weighed a ton, and shifted to the sound of machine gun fire. But I tell you what, whizzing through the streets of Fort Wayne of it were magic. Popping up and over curbs, whipping past traffic, and charging through downtown was fantastic.
With work so close and biking/walking seeming to fit, we dropped down to one car. Now that I was going to rely on my bike for transportation, we decided to invest in a bike that would last, and even just work properly. :)
I scoured the Net for information and settled on a Trek Valencia, due in a large part to the bikegurus.com blog. He raved about his Valencia and I wanted every bit of the fun he talked about in his series of review rides (here's one of them: http://www.bikegurus.com/2008/12/trek-valencia-review-ride-1-first-impression.html).
Back to Summit City Bikes I went and this time was ready for the investment. They were exactly right, after riding a $70 bike for a while, the new Valencia felt like a Porsche. It was fast, light, shifted like a dream and felt great.
Riding to work was a joy and was helped considerably by the accommodating nature of the office I work in. Cycling really took off for me when my boss, Matt Outten, started pouring gas on the fire. He got me thinking about riding more than just to work. Pretty soon, I was doing 5 miles rides on the greenway around Fort Wayne.
Matt, a cyclist himself, challenged our team of 3-4 to ride all the way to Squaremouth's other office in St. Pete Beach, FL. Not literally, but we'd all total our mileage together to see how long before the four of us could rack up 1,100 miles. The competition at the office pushed me over the edge! Pretty soon I was doing 20-30 mile rides before work around the greenway. Up to IPFW, over to New Haven, down the south Wal-mart, over to the Towpath trail, everywhere I could find! If I remember right, we combined for 1,100 miles in less than 3 months, and I had a couple 300 mile months.
Cycling remains the first, and only exercise I've ever really enjoyed and been able to stick to. I feel like I've barely begun to ride, but this summer will mark 2 years of cycling as an adult. I've lost 30 pounds and feel great. My kids used to tire me out. Now, I can run with them till they're ready to drop. Riding has become such an integral part of life that when we decided to move close to our best friends, being able to stay on one car was a major factor.
I explored the various routes as we looked at houses and evaluated whether the increase in mileage would be feasible. While 20-30 mile rides were common for me to do, I wasn't sure about doing 20 miles each day being mandatory. Fortunately, I have a couple route options. I start out on Evard, and can then take a designated bike route (Reed Road to Lakeside Park) or Shoaff Park greenway to IPFW and down into town.
It's been about 6 weeks since we moved and it's worked out better than I could have imagined. Several weeks, I've been able to ride 4 out of 5 days. It takes a bit longer than I originally expected (I tested the routes on my road bike with no laptop or gear in the summer), but I'm getting faster. The traffic on Reed Road is consistent but manageable, with motorists being surprisingly patient and giving me plenty of room. I've yet to have anyone wave the 1-fingered gesture of friendship, so I call that a win.
The longer ride hasn't been without challenge. I've had to buy a bit more clothing and some shoes. In February, I found that the clothes I rode in downtown at 0 degrees was barely getting me by at 20 degrees.
The longer distance also required another set of riding clothes so I always have something clean. Yea, I'm one of those people who much prefers to ride with cycling-specific shorts/pants. With clothing sorted, shoes were the only other challenge (and mostly because I'm kinda picky).
Previously, I'd clip in with my winter riding boots on SPD cleats and use regular shoes in the summer. At almost 9 miles, I can't stand to ride without being clipped in. I want to move fast and I like the solid feel of clipping in. So I invested in some lightweight mountain bike shoes that I can walk in, but still use cleats. They've been great!
It's amazing to me that in less than 2 years, I've gone from a flabby desk-driver to a marginally fit bike commuter. I never would have thought we'd have one car and bike to work most days. It certainly wouldn't be possible without the incredible support of my family who drops me off some days or stays home while I have the car.
Including cycling in our lifestyle has meant better health, saving money, meeting incredible new people, and doing some good for the Earth.
Our oldest daughter told me the other day, "Daddy, when I get old enough, I want to bike everywhere like you."
Priceless.
I'm always excited to talk about gear or riding. You can find me on twitter: @tihm. I'm planning to start up a blog about my riding experiences and the stuff I use. You can follow the twitter account if you want to know when I get going: @PedalTransport.
Take a peek at maps of my rides:
Old commute: http://runkeeper.com/user/timharvey/activity/11430393
New commute (longer Shoaff Park route): http://runkeeper.com/user/timharvey/activity/68786108
New commute (shorter Reed Road route): http://runkeeper.com/user/timharvey/activity/75749359
I had met Tim through the Twitterverse and got to chat with him at our January Bike to Work Day at the Dash In. Hearing about where his commute by bike was about to take him I asked if he would like to write a post detailing his experiences. He took me up on it and I am so glad he did. Thanks Tim! If you are interested in writing about your bicycle commuting experiences, please contact me via twitter, @fwbikecommuter or email, fwbikecommuter@gmail.com
This stretch of road near Stellhorn Road is one of my favorite spots on the new commute. I love the speed and chance to pour every ounce of energy I've got into going as fast as possible.
February marked a big change for our family, moving from downtown Fort Wayne near Taylor street to a neighborhood near 469 and Maplecrest. What used to be a casual 1.1 mile jaunt is now a more epic 8.6 mile trek each way. Gone are the days of arriving at work 7 minutes after walking out the front door. The new ride comes in at close to 40 minutes.
I'm loving every. single. minute.
Truth be told, I wasn't always so enthusiastic about cycling. I grew up riding a BMX bike around the neighborhood like many other kids in Southwest Allen county. It was a taste of freedom before you turned 16.
But loving the bike died suddenly when I started working to drive, or driving to work. It was a bit of both at first.
Fast forward a decade and some change and you'd find me in Grabill with a family, busy job, and a beautiful countryside to explore. Realizing that we *still* need to get fit after many attempts, my wife Sara and I started thinking about bikes. We started at Summit City Bikes, and got some of the best cycling advice ever..."If you're not sure about spending $400-500 on a bike that will last, go get something for $60 that will break down and frustrate you. Come back after that happens and you'll love what you find here."
While I wanted to convince myself that we'd ride every day (work was only 300 yards away and Grabill is a great place to ride), we both knew ourselves better than that. We went with the Wal-Mart bikes.
Sadly, I missed out on a lot of beautiful riding in the Grabill area. My web design consulting business changed gears and I started working with Squaremouth.com in Fort Wayne, so we moved again. We loved the idea of urban living, being conscious of the environment, and living frugally. I started walking a mile to the office, which took about 20 minutes.
And thus, my love of cycling began...with a walk. Eager to spend as much time with the family as possible, I pulled out my bike. It was rickety, weighed a ton, and shifted to the sound of machine gun fire. But I tell you what, whizzing through the streets of Fort Wayne of it were magic. Popping up and over curbs, whipping past traffic, and charging through downtown was fantastic.
With work so close and biking/walking seeming to fit, we dropped down to one car. Now that I was going to rely on my bike for transportation, we decided to invest in a bike that would last, and even just work properly. :)
I scoured the Net for information and settled on a Trek Valencia, due in a large part to the bikegurus.com blog. He raved about his Valencia and I wanted every bit of the fun he talked about in his series of review rides (here's one of them: http://www.bikegurus.com/2008/12/trek-valencia-review-ride-1-first-impression.html).
Back to Summit City Bikes I went and this time was ready for the investment. They were exactly right, after riding a $70 bike for a while, the new Valencia felt like a Porsche. It was fast, light, shifted like a dream and felt great.
Riding to work was a joy and was helped considerably by the accommodating nature of the office I work in. Cycling really took off for me when my boss, Matt Outten, started pouring gas on the fire. He got me thinking about riding more than just to work. Pretty soon, I was doing 5 miles rides on the greenway around Fort Wayne.
Matt, a cyclist himself, challenged our team of 3-4 to ride all the way to Squaremouth's other office in St. Pete Beach, FL. Not literally, but we'd all total our mileage together to see how long before the four of us could rack up 1,100 miles. The competition at the office pushed me over the edge! Pretty soon I was doing 20-30 mile rides before work around the greenway. Up to IPFW, over to New Haven, down the south Wal-mart, over to the Towpath trail, everywhere I could find! If I remember right, we combined for 1,100 miles in less than 3 months, and I had a couple 300 mile months.
Cycling remains the first, and only exercise I've ever really enjoyed and been able to stick to. I feel like I've barely begun to ride, but this summer will mark 2 years of cycling as an adult. I've lost 30 pounds and feel great. My kids used to tire me out. Now, I can run with them till they're ready to drop. Riding has become such an integral part of life that when we decided to move close to our best friends, being able to stay on one car was a major factor.
I explored the various routes as we looked at houses and evaluated whether the increase in mileage would be feasible. While 20-30 mile rides were common for me to do, I wasn't sure about doing 20 miles each day being mandatory. Fortunately, I have a couple route options. I start out on Evard, and can then take a designated bike route (Reed Road to Lakeside Park) or Shoaff Park greenway to IPFW and down into town.
It's been about 6 weeks since we moved and it's worked out better than I could have imagined. Several weeks, I've been able to ride 4 out of 5 days. It takes a bit longer than I originally expected (I tested the routes on my road bike with no laptop or gear in the summer), but I'm getting faster. The traffic on Reed Road is consistent but manageable, with motorists being surprisingly patient and giving me plenty of room. I've yet to have anyone wave the 1-fingered gesture of friendship, so I call that a win.
The longer ride hasn't been without challenge. I've had to buy a bit more clothing and some shoes. In February, I found that the clothes I rode in downtown at 0 degrees was barely getting me by at 20 degrees.
The longer distance also required another set of riding clothes so I always have something clean. Yea, I'm one of those people who much prefers to ride with cycling-specific shorts/pants. With clothing sorted, shoes were the only other challenge (and mostly because I'm kinda picky).
Previously, I'd clip in with my winter riding boots on SPD cleats and use regular shoes in the summer. At almost 9 miles, I can't stand to ride without being clipped in. I want to move fast and I like the solid feel of clipping in. So I invested in some lightweight mountain bike shoes that I can walk in, but still use cleats. They've been great!
It's amazing to me that in less than 2 years, I've gone from a flabby desk-driver to a marginally fit bike commuter. I never would have thought we'd have one car and bike to work most days. It certainly wouldn't be possible without the incredible support of my family who drops me off some days or stays home while I have the car.
Including cycling in our lifestyle has meant better health, saving money, meeting incredible new people, and doing some good for the Earth.
Our oldest daughter told me the other day, "Daddy, when I get old enough, I want to bike everywhere like you."
Priceless.
I'm always excited to talk about gear or riding. You can find me on twitter: @tihm. I'm planning to start up a blog about my riding experiences and the stuff I use. You can follow the twitter account if you want to know when I get going: @PedalTransport.
Take a peek at maps of my rides:
Old commute: http://runkeeper.com/user/timharvey/activity/11430393
New commute (longer Shoaff Park route): http://runkeeper.com/user/timharvey/activity/68786108
New commute (shorter Reed Road route): http://runkeeper.com/user/timharvey/activity/75749359
I had met Tim through the Twitterverse and got to chat with him at our January Bike to Work Day at the Dash In. Hearing about where his commute by bike was about to take him I asked if he would like to write a post detailing his experiences. He took me up on it and I am so glad he did. Thanks Tim! If you are interested in writing about your bicycle commuting experiences, please contact me via twitter, @fwbikecommuter or email, fwbikecommuter@gmail.com
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Bike counting
City of Fort Wayne will be conducting their first ever bike counts on Thursday, October 6th! It promises to be a gorgeous day. Staff will be counting bikes, logging direction of travel, identifying gender and whether or not the riders are wearing helmets at 3 locations between 6:30 am and 3 pm. Staff will be stationed at Wayne/Calhoun, Berry/Calhoun, and Anthony/Niagra (trail).
I'll be at Wayne/Calhoun from 9:30-12:30. Ride by and say hello!
I'll be at Wayne/Calhoun from 9:30-12:30. Ride by and say hello!
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Avoid the door zone at all costs and think twice about a bike lane that puts you in the door zone
This was extremely eye opening for me and I hope that everyone takes this to heart. I never thought about how you fall when "doored". Now we know.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Rush hour.
Good thing they left the streets one way with that high traffic volume.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4
Monday, December 1, 2008
How bad do we want it?
PPS is Project for Public Spaces and I stumbled across this article today.
It makes interesting points that are nothing new.
We all know that we need a more pedestrian friendly downtown. We all know that a sense of place occurs outside of your automobile. We all know that we are going to have to spend a lot of money to make downtown Fort Wayne be what it has the opportunity to be. Namely, a community that we want to get out, see, and enjoy.
We might actually have to park and then, God forbid, walk....I know, it is a bit scary.
I don't know if a light rail system would work here but we could do other things. Like make this the most bike friendly city of its size in the country! Like putting an urban greenway in place that gives everyone who wants it, an enriching experience! It will take an amazing amount of work, money, time and chutzpah to get it done.
Hey, I can dream can't I?
A Smart Investment for Our Future
A wave of new transit projects bring major economic, social and environmental benefits
By Craig Raphael, Associate and Renee Espiau, Senior Associatecraphael@pps.org; respiau@pps.org
On Election Day 2008, American voters made an impressive commitment toward the future vitality of our economy and society, supporting measures that will enhance public health and public transit. From Honolulu to Milwaukee, tax levies and bond measures supporting new and existing public transit systems were approved by local voters. Nearly three-quarters of all transportation initiatives on ballots nationwide were approved 1, resulting in $75 billion towards future transportation investment.
A train station in South Orange, New Jersey served as a catalyst for nearby development.
The significance and timing of this overwhelming support for a new transportation policy cannot be underestimated. The impact of rising congestion levels, volatile gas prices and climate change—direct results of decades of car-oriented transportation planning—have never been more apparent. With an administration coming to Washington in January that is sensitive to the importance of transportation alternatives and the potential of a major reauthorization of the federal transportation bill scheduled for next fall, now is the time to push for wise transportation decisions that will affect our quality of life for years to come.
There is still a lot of work to be done. Only fifty percent of Americans have access to public transit, and for many it is not a convenient option. Zoning and planning practices in most areas still favor low-density, single-use development that renders transit use impractical and discourages the kind of high-quality gathering places that create a strong sense of community.
Current planning policies prevent many communities from enjoying the benefits that come from transit and mixed-use developments On the other hand, investment in public transit saves people money, which is more critical than ever in these economically troubled times. The average American family spends 19 percent of household income on transportation, while those who live near public transit spend only 9 percent on transportation.
But equally important is the fact that investment in transit spurs other investment in the community. Charlotte, North Carolina (where PPS is involved in plans to create a more livable downtown) has seen major financial returns on their investment in light rail transit, as well as ridership figures that far exceed initial projections. Developers are flocking to the areas around the new stations. In addition to already-built residential, office and retail space along the lines, plans call for 7,000 new housing units. New transit lines in cities as diverse as Portland, Dallas, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City are experiencing similar increases in local property tax rolls.
These experiences show that transit investments are effective in revitalizing communities and encouraging economic development when stations and transit stops are comfortable, welcoming places that are well connected to the surrounding neighborhoods and offer a variety of uses and activities. Project for Public Spaces runs a comprehensive program devoted to making that happen, Thinking Beyond the Station . We worked closely on the "Transit Friendly Communities for New Jersey" initiative, a partnership between New Jersey Transit, various state agencies, and non-profit organizations. PPS provided technical assistance to municipalities on promoting walking, biking, the concept of traffic calming, new types of developments, new zoning strategies, the revitalization of shopping districts adjacent to transit stations, the creation of an effective community visioning process and other changes that could transform transit stations into important community places and stimulate the development around them.
PPS launched our national “Thinking Beyond the Station” initiative, in conjunction with the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, to popularize this approach to transit planning. The work includes training of transit service providers, establishing pilot projects that showcase station improvements, and advocating for policy changes that support the funding and construction of community-friendly transit facilities.
Light rail brings sustainability and urban revitalization to Houston, Texas.
PPS is also a major supporting partner in the Transportation for American campaign (http://www.t4america.org/) , a broad coalition of groups that seek to link national, state, and local transportation policies with efforts to improve economic opportunity, energy security, public health, climate change, housing and community development. Transportation for America publicizes the fact that a shift in our transportation priorities to build new transit infrastructure (much of which has already been planned) would create 6.7 million jobs in 78 metro areas throughout the country.4 These new jobs are producing significant and immediate benefits for local economies.
Federal and state allocation to highway infrastructure spending will certainly continue, but these projects should be carried out in a way that respects local communities, encourages walking, biking and transit, and supports opportunities for Placemaking. Rather than constructing new roads and highway lanes, which only serve to reinforce our overdependence on the automobile, we should focus on making existing roads more conducive to multiple modes of transportation. This strategy will also aid efforts to revive the economy, since road maintenance and repair create an estimated nine percent more jobs than construction of new road capacity.5
The facts are impossible to ignore: focusing on places, health and walkability requires increased public transit infrastructure, which creates new jobs, enlivens neighborhoods, creates local business opportunities and connects communities, both vulnerable and thriving, to vital amenities and resources.
It makes interesting points that are nothing new.
We all know that we need a more pedestrian friendly downtown. We all know that a sense of place occurs outside of your automobile. We all know that we are going to have to spend a lot of money to make downtown Fort Wayne be what it has the opportunity to be. Namely, a community that we want to get out, see, and enjoy.
We might actually have to park and then, God forbid, walk....I know, it is a bit scary.
I don't know if a light rail system would work here but we could do other things. Like make this the most bike friendly city of its size in the country! Like putting an urban greenway in place that gives everyone who wants it, an enriching experience! It will take an amazing amount of work, money, time and chutzpah to get it done.
Hey, I can dream can't I?
A Smart Investment for Our Future
A wave of new transit projects bring major economic, social and environmental benefits
By Craig Raphael, Associate and Renee Espiau, Senior Associatecraphael@pps.org; respiau@pps.org
On Election Day 2008, American voters made an impressive commitment toward the future vitality of our economy and society, supporting measures that will enhance public health and public transit. From Honolulu to Milwaukee, tax levies and bond measures supporting new and existing public transit systems were approved by local voters. Nearly three-quarters of all transportation initiatives on ballots nationwide were approved 1, resulting in $75 billion towards future transportation investment.
A train station in South Orange, New Jersey served as a catalyst for nearby development.
The significance and timing of this overwhelming support for a new transportation policy cannot be underestimated. The impact of rising congestion levels, volatile gas prices and climate change—direct results of decades of car-oriented transportation planning—have never been more apparent. With an administration coming to Washington in January that is sensitive to the importance of transportation alternatives and the potential of a major reauthorization of the federal transportation bill scheduled for next fall, now is the time to push for wise transportation decisions that will affect our quality of life for years to come.
There is still a lot of work to be done. Only fifty percent of Americans have access to public transit, and for many it is not a convenient option. Zoning and planning practices in most areas still favor low-density, single-use development that renders transit use impractical and discourages the kind of high-quality gathering places that create a strong sense of community.
Current planning policies prevent many communities from enjoying the benefits that come from transit and mixed-use developments On the other hand, investment in public transit saves people money, which is more critical than ever in these economically troubled times. The average American family spends 19 percent of household income on transportation, while those who live near public transit spend only 9 percent on transportation.
But equally important is the fact that investment in transit spurs other investment in the community. Charlotte, North Carolina (where PPS is involved in plans to create a more livable downtown) has seen major financial returns on their investment in light rail transit, as well as ridership figures that far exceed initial projections. Developers are flocking to the areas around the new stations. In addition to already-built residential, office and retail space along the lines, plans call for 7,000 new housing units. New transit lines in cities as diverse as Portland, Dallas, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City are experiencing similar increases in local property tax rolls.
These experiences show that transit investments are effective in revitalizing communities and encouraging economic development when stations and transit stops are comfortable, welcoming places that are well connected to the surrounding neighborhoods and offer a variety of uses and activities. Project for Public Spaces runs a comprehensive program devoted to making that happen, Thinking Beyond the Station . We worked closely on the "Transit Friendly Communities for New Jersey" initiative, a partnership between New Jersey Transit, various state agencies, and non-profit organizations. PPS provided technical assistance to municipalities on promoting walking, biking, the concept of traffic calming, new types of developments, new zoning strategies, the revitalization of shopping districts adjacent to transit stations, the creation of an effective community visioning process and other changes that could transform transit stations into important community places and stimulate the development around them.
PPS launched our national “Thinking Beyond the Station” initiative, in conjunction with the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, to popularize this approach to transit planning. The work includes training of transit service providers, establishing pilot projects that showcase station improvements, and advocating for policy changes that support the funding and construction of community-friendly transit facilities.
Light rail brings sustainability and urban revitalization to Houston, Texas.
PPS is also a major supporting partner in the Transportation for American campaign (http://www.t4america.org/) , a broad coalition of groups that seek to link national, state, and local transportation policies with efforts to improve economic opportunity, energy security, public health, climate change, housing and community development. Transportation for America publicizes the fact that a shift in our transportation priorities to build new transit infrastructure (much of which has already been planned) would create 6.7 million jobs in 78 metro areas throughout the country.4 These new jobs are producing significant and immediate benefits for local economies.
Federal and state allocation to highway infrastructure spending will certainly continue, but these projects should be carried out in a way that respects local communities, encourages walking, biking and transit, and supports opportunities for Placemaking. Rather than constructing new roads and highway lanes, which only serve to reinforce our overdependence on the automobile, we should focus on making existing roads more conducive to multiple modes of transportation. This strategy will also aid efforts to revive the economy, since road maintenance and repair create an estimated nine percent more jobs than construction of new road capacity.5
The facts are impossible to ignore: focusing on places, health and walkability requires increased public transit infrastructure, which creates new jobs, enlivens neighborhoods, creates local business opportunities and connects communities, both vulnerable and thriving, to vital amenities and resources.
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