Atlanta & Cincinnati Streetcars

http://designinghealthycommunities.org/atlanta-getting-new-streetcar-line/ U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and local officials have kicked off construction of a new 2.6-mile streetcar line that will run through the heart of Atlanta’s business, tourism, and convention corridor, bringing jobs and new development to the city and reflecting President Obama’s blueprint for an America that’s built to last. [...]

In Toronto, a Major Victory for Light Rail

It was an $8.4 billion question that had simmered all year, but finally boiled over this week at Toronto City Hall during a no-holds-barred debate that may well determine the future of city’s transit expansion.* http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/02/toronto-major-victory-light-rail/1202/ For years, Toronto struggled to modernize and expand its transit system, which now carries about 500 million riders annually, [...]

Review of Light Rail/Tramway costs

A Federal Parliamentry Review of Light Rail/Tramway/Transit costs must be carried out!  Both Fang & Zwei have posted articles in the past weeks on the high costs of Canadian Light Rail, Tramway & Transit schemes. Vancouver, Toronto and Waterloo. Design, Utility relocation, Financing vehicles (ie P3) Project management, Construction management, Land purchase and now the concern that  Canadian [...]

What’s the Best Way To Get Users To Embrace Mass Transit?

Make it pleasant? Or make it efficient? An article in Slate magazine http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2012/01/jarrett_walker_s_human_transit_are_we_thinking_about_urban_planning_all_wrong_.html Make it pleasant? Or make it efficient? by Tom Vanderbilt A few months ago, at an urban mobility conference in Frankfurt, the British consultant Charles Leadbeater presented a sort of x-y matrix for thinking about how to manage and design cities. The [...]

Transportation Planning – A North American view

An interesting extract from a commentary comparing current North American practice with European `In Vancouver, over a decade ago at the grand opening of the heritage streetcar project, a chap from Bombardier singled me out. What he said after a few niceties, astounded me. To paraphrase, he claimed that: Vancouver’s SkyTrain greatly retarded sales of Bombardier built [...]

The fictitious war on cars

Why the automobile is not — and has never been — endangered Jennifer Good — The Brock Press (Brock University) Canadian University Press http://cupwire.ca/articles/50669   Bike lanes don’t slit cars’ tires. There’s no war zone here. (Photo courtesy of Paul Krueger/Flickr Creative Commons.) ST. CATHARINES (CUP) — “The War On Cars.” It’s a slogan that I first [...]

Trams, Pedestrians & Bicycles + buses & cars in Amsterdam

Trams, bicycles, pedestrians also buses, motorcycles & cars happily co-existing in Amsterdam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JeWED7Zilo Just to reassure  the  retarded  dingbats amongst Skyscraper,  Skytrain for Surrey, Translink &  Vancouver activists that it can be done  and that no one was killed or injured during the making of this video a Happy New Year to one & all…. the toast is `Shiney [...]

Christmas Greetings

Seasonal Trams & Christmas lights from: Budapest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzLNouWQlWg&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 Vienna http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wixBopxlTUI Graz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDANZba5Qxc&feature=related Munich http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXGVFcwE7C0&feature=related and the Budapest Christmas Tram !http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcEZvwMlKMs&feature=related

Toronto Meet Your New Ride

New Toronto Streetcars http://lrv.ttc.ca/  is the website from the TTC on the new streetcars. The Toronto Transportation Society’s December newsletter has some interesting thoughts on the vehicle as well as photos of the half mock-up. The first 80 cars will have both pole and pantograph with the remaining  (109 or 116 depending on the order) [...]

Light Rail runs in inclement weather

Trams and Streetcars "Stuttering & Crapping out" not a chance brother! As in the winter of 2010/2011 when Light Rail & Trams continued to run across Europe as well as in Calgary, despite heavy snow falls, when Skytrain ground to an ignominious halt, likewise recent floods in Europe & Australia haven't stopped the Trams! Montpellier, France [...]