Greater City Providence

News & Notes

Little. Yellow. Dangerous. “Children at Play” signs imperil our kids. [Slate]

There are several reasons engineers don’t like the signs. The first, and most simple, is that if you are driving in an area where children are actually playing, you will, it is hoped, notice them before you notice a sign warning you of them. Or, more to the point, that you will have noticed that you are driving in an area (say, a residential street) where there are likely to be children about. “I find it amazing that people think that a 30-in X 30-in square sign (that is only a little less than 6.25 square feet of sheeting material when you make the corners rounded) will make a difference in driver behavior,” one engineer complained on an Internet forum. “If the driver does not notice the characteristics of a neighborhood as they drive down the street, why would they notice a sign as they pass it, or remember it for more than a few seconds once they have passed it.”

The physical make-up of the street, more than anything, influences how motorists drive. A street built for slow traffic will result in slow traffic.


In Defense of the Corner Market [Next American City]

The argument about food deserts seems to be premised on the assumption that supermarkets – suburban-style, big-box, corporate chain stores with plenty o’ parking – are inherently superior to walkable, family owned food markets that serve low-income populations. The media portrays these corner markets as liquor stores or “discount” stores carrying little fresh produce and lots of Hostess cupcakes.

While there is certainly a class of convenience store that lacks healthy food options, many analyses have completely ignored the presence of small, family-owned food markets and their important role in feeding urban populations.


After Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Of Public Subsidies, Barely Used Yankees Parking Garages Face Financial Collapse [Transportation Nation]

In the far North Bronx, near the Yonkers border, right fielder Stephan Alamies of the All Hallows High School varsity baseball team is batting against Mount Saint Michael. This is a home game for All Hallows – but they’re playing on their opponents’ field. They drove 45 minutes by bus to get here. Coach Edgardo Guttierez says the team used to play four blocks from school.

“Unfortunately, the Yankees built their parking lot on the field that we used to practice on,” he said.

In other words… Yankees Suck!


Transitways can run on top of grass [Greater Greater Washington]

Quick photo-essay of transitways that are grassy. Some small sections of our Core Connector may run on seperate transitways which could perhaps be grass rahter than paved.


Amtrak looks to private investors for high-speed rail [The Hill]

The rail service has seen usage spike for the last several months amid high gas prices. Much of the jump in traffic has been in the Northeast between Boston and Washington, D.C. The Northeast Corridor is one of the busiest passenger lines in the U.S., according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Amtrak Vice President for High-Speed Rail Al Engel on Thursday said the company would seek proposals from private investors to help finance the project, which would create a 220 mile per hour train on a line running from Washington to Boston.

Greater City Providence

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1 comment

  • I’m so glad we still have Joe’s Meat Market here in Providence. And it’s funny, I generally get my produce down at Price Rite. But I notice the same people I see at Price Rite shopping at Joe’s too.

    It will be a sad day when they shut their doors.

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