News & Notes

A Distant Mirror: 40 Years of Urbanism in Vancouver [Raise the Hammer]

We owe it to ourselves to examine other cities that seem to have done most things right. By all accounts, Vancouver is one of the few North American cities that has.

I don’t necessarily want to live in Vancouver, but I would like to live in a better Hamilton. This article includes an historical overview of urban development in Vancouver over the past few decades and a photo essay showing what Vancouver is doing today.

The Picturesque Moodna Viaduct [I Ride The Harlem Line]

Have we ever linked to I Ride The Harlem Line here before? I don’t remember. Anyway, it is one of our daily reads (or whenever it is updated reads), and is run by Cat Girl who as the title says, rides the MetroNorth Harlem Line and is full of terrific current and historic photos of stations, rail infrastructure, and other great railfan stuff.

Check out Cat Girl’s stunning photos of the Moodna Viaduct. I want to go to there now.

Two Light Rail Extensions for Salt Lake, with More on the Way [The TransportPolitic]

Much thanks to federal spending, the Salt Lake City metropolitan area practically doubled the size of its TRAX light rail network this weekend, adding two extensions a year early and 20% under budget. Though estimates predict relatively modest ridership on the new lines, the routes provide the city and its suburbs one of the most comprehensive transit systems in the country, with frequent bus and rail corridors spread out in a grid across the immediate urban core.

And with two other light rail extensions, a commuter rail line, a streetcar, and a series of bus rapid transit corridors on the way, the region is far from finished.

After passing a local sales tax increase in 2006 for the UTA transit agency’s $2 billion Frontlines 2015 program, millions of dollars flowed in from Washington as the government agreed to fund 80% of the new Mid-Jordan extension through a New Start grant as part of a significant downpayment on system expansion.

Can we haz federal monies please?

Have We Seen the Last of the Federal Gas Tax? [Infrastructurist]

Politico recently brought to our attention the possibility that lawmakers may let most the 18.4-cent federal gas tax expire at the end of September. Now it reports that this possibility has real legs – something we’ll all need if the tax is allowed to expire and the country’s roads lose their primary source of funding:

Stalled Manhattan Construction Site Transformed into Riverpark Restaurant Farm [Inhabitat]

If New Yorkers were able to make a few changes to their beloved city, more green spaces and less stalled construction sites would be at the top of their lists. One such construction site is the Alexandria Center on East 29th Street – but unlike the many eyesores that litter the city, those involved in this project are making the best of the situation. Instead of letting the site be a blight on their landscape, the stalled space has been transformed into an urban farm to grow veggies for NYC’s Riverpark restaurant!

One of the temporary uses we’re talking about in Downtown – Knowledge District Zoning Committees for the 195 land and other under-used lots.