This week: Experts discuss the downsides of sprawl, chatter about potential service expansions at all levels, and top US policymakers ride the European rails.
More helpful articles for connecting transportation decisions with the layout of our communities:
As these maps illustrate, urban areas have small carbon footprints thanks mainly to reduced automobile dependence and convenient transit. It also goes to show that not all suburbs are created equal: many “satellite” towns are well-served by transit, and developers are becoming increasingly alert to marketplace demand for pedestrian- and transit-friendly development.
An urban studies professor discusses how federal transportation and housing policies subsidized the suburbs, plus a look at how transportation costs affect the affordability of housing.
Pediatricians say sprawl isn’t good for kids’ health.
Amtrak President Joe Boardman reiterated his preference for an incremental approach to service improvements in speeches in Richmond and Ashland, Virginia, last week. BNSF CEO Matt Rose takes a different tack, saying the federal high-speed rail funds shouldn’t be spread too thin. Other private railroads are receptive to more passenger trains on their tracks, with top speeds up to 90 mph. Union Pacific has agreed to 110 mph on parts of the Chicago-St. Louis line, where freight traffic is relatively light. As a general rule, however, the railroad industry views speeds above 90 mph on shared tracks as problematic.
Many newspapers and blogs around the country have been discussing the potential for new passenger trains in various locales this week. USA Todayreports on prospects for reintroducing Amtrak’s North Coast Hiawatha, the Illinois state legislature has approved capital funding to return Amtrak to Dubuque, IA, via northwest Illinois, and clamor is growing for service along the 3-C (Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland) Corridor in Ohio. Meanwhile, as more cities around the world add rail connections from downtown to the airport, Trains4America explains why airlines should see high-speed trains as a complement, not competition.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and recently-confirmed Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo visited Europe last week to meet with representatives of rail equipment manufacturers eager to enter the emerging US market. Trains4America has more, and The Overhead Wire has a great photo.
Couldn’t resist another great countercharge to George Will.
LCL: China infuses wads of cash into its budding high-speed rail system; Wisconsin college students take to the streets for high-speed trains and a CBS Evening News correspondent editorializes on the subject; Amtrak is leasing space atop Baltimore’s Penn Station for a hotel; on-board WiFi is coming to Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor in north-central California; the Motor City could become a hub for rail manufacturing; debate continues on future of Amtrak service in Vermont, a compilation of Tweets from train riders; and a guy who can’t get enough of sitting in traffic.
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