Cars
Basics
CA Guv Hopeful: Let’s Not Extend Parking Meter Hours in a Recession
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has snagged some high-profile support for his nascent California gubernatorial bid, but he may have some trouble with the transit-riding, congestion-weary constituency. My colleagues Matthew Roth and Bryan Goebel have the story over at Streetsblog San Fran:
October 2, 2009
Obama Bans Texting While Driving for Guv Workers — And There’s More
The U.S. DOT's distracted driving summit came to a close today with the unveiling of an executive order from President Obama that prohibits federal employees from texting behind the wheel of a government car or using a government-provided messaging device while driving any vehicle.
October 1, 2009
U.S. DOT’s Distracted Driving Summit: Follow it Live
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is hosting a summit on the issue of distracted driving -- specifically, driving while texting -- with an eye to marshaling support for a national ban on the practice.
September 30, 2009
The Assumption of Inconvenience
Early this week, I noticed a number of my favorite bloggers linking to this Elisabeth Rosenthal essay at Environment 360, on the mysterious greenness of European nations. The average American, as it happens, produces about twice as much carbon dioxide each year as your typical resident of Western Europe.
September 30, 2009
Rezoning Tysons Corner: It’s Hard To Teach Old Dogs New Tricks
Streetsblog has previously covered the effort to transform Tysons Corner, a bustling but car-oriented and traffic-plagued jobs center in Fairfax County, Virginia, into a walkable, transit-oriented corridor based around four new Metro stations -- similar to the immensely successful redevelopment of the Wilson Boulevard corridor in Arlington, just a few miles to Tysons' northeast.
September 18, 2009
The New White House Fuel Efficiency Rule: Count the Loopholes
The final fuel-efficiency rule released by the Obama administration this morning includes what some lobbyists have nicknamed "the German provision," giving automakers that sell less than 400,000 vehicles in the U.S. an exemption for 25 percent of their fleet.
September 15, 2009
White House Releases Fuel Efficiency Rules — Will the Loophole Make it in?
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson will head to the White House briefing room this afternoon to release the final version of fuel-economy rules that will bring the nation's auto fleet to an average of 35.5. miles per gallon by 2016.
September 15, 2009
California County Now Offers Ride Insurance to Car-Free Commuters
Transit and bike commuters in many cities are able to rush home quickly if an emergency strikes -- but for commuters looking to give up their cars in less dense areas, an emergency often means a pricey cab ride. One California county that falls in the latter camp, Santa Cruz, has come up with a unique solution: "ride insurance."
September 14, 2009
What Should We Learn From Moses and Jacobs?
There is probably no more beloved figure in urbanism than Jane Jacobs, who fought to preserve some of New York City's most treasured neighborhoods and who gave urbanists some of the field's fundamental texts. As Ed Glaeser notes in the New Republic this week, Jacobs died in 2006 "a cherished, almost saintly figure," while her principal antagonist, Robert Moses, remains popularly reviled as a villain.
September 9, 2009
Was the Auto Industry Bailout Legal? It’s Debatable, Oversight Panel Says
The Treasury Department sent $81 billion in taxpayer-subsidized aid to General Motors and Chrysler -- which is unlikely to be recouped in full -- using legal authority that "is the subject of considerable debate," according to a report released today [PDF] by the congressionally appointed bailout oversight panel.
September 9, 2009