The U.S. Department of Transportation's TIGER grants have just been announced. These are the last bit of federal stimulus funding for transportation--$1.5 billion for which there were over 1,400 applications, totaling nearly $60 billion. What's truly great about Department of Transportation Secretary LaHood's decisions is that most of the funding is being directed toward truly innovative, multi-modal projects that typically aren't prioritized highly. There are few traditional highway projects in the mix. Each state received funding for one project. Many are for rail (both freight and passenger) or transit projects, port improvements, bike/pedestrian accommodations, and even a wind power project were selected. Minnesota's award is $35 million to help renovations for St. Paul's Union Depot which will be the transportation hub for the east end of the Central Corridor light rail project, a relocated destination for local Amtrak passenger rail service, and a station for intercity and local bus connections.
Real, affordable electric vehicles are coming to market soon. Here's a Wired Magazine
story about the
Nissan Leaf, expected to be in production by this fall. With a 100 miles/charge range, these vehicles are an appealing, clean fuel option for those of us who can't afford a
Chevy Volt (to be available by late fall). You'll even be able to rent a Leaf by early 2011. Hertz has recently signed an
agreement with Nissan to make the Leaf available in the U.S. and Europe.
Over the past year, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) has worked with state and regional stakeholders to create a vision for rail services for Minnesota for the next 20 years--both freight system improvements as well as significant increases in passenger rail options for intrastate and regional travel. A draft Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan has been released for public review.
Posted by: Lynne Bly in event on
Nov 23, 2009
At Fresh Energy's first-ever benefit concert on Friday evening, Krista Detor, David Weber, Arbutus Cunningham, and Alice Hurley enchanted Fresh Energy supporters with a program of song and story that made the rafters ring in Macalester College's Weyerhaeuser Chapel. Detor is an international performer whose original songs have been featured at the Cannes film festival, and on NPR,and PBS. Thanks to her remarkable generosity, 60 percent of ticket sales will go directly to support Fresh Energy's work. Alternately tender, thought provoking, and funny, Detor's program was drawn from material commissioned by the Shrewsbury Folk Festival. As one attendee said, "fantastic is huge understatement."
The wonderful, heart-calming news was that my daughter was okay, with only a bruise. The bad news? My car was totaled. When your work is to advocate for clean transportation choices, what's your next step?
If electric vehicles (EVs) are about to be the next big change in how we get around, they have to be available in quantities that meet market demand AND the infrastructure to easily recharge them needs to be widespread. The French have figured it out.
Yesterday, Moving Cooler: An Analysis of Transportation Strategies for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions was released by the Urban Land Institute (pdf) with the support of a strong array of public and private sponsors.
On Transit: Fresh Energy submitted comments to the Minnesota Department of Transportation last week about the agency's draft Greater Minnesota Transit Plan. We called for a clear policy to ensure basic transit access for all, and also suggested that the plan likely underestimates future needs for transit services.
On Rail: The Federal Rail Administration (FRA) is working out the process, criteria, and priorities it will use to award $8 billion in grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for high-speed rail projects. Minnesota has been collaborating with Wisconsin and, at a meeting with FRA in Chicago on June 1, the two states stressed the following key messages.
Dusting off the crystal ball, it looks as though we'll have electric vehicles coming to market in the next few years. Some require owners to plug in the vehicle for battery recharging - either at home, work, or at publicly accessible charging stations like those recently installed in San Jose California. (Here's a link to a related story and photos; scroll down to the January 14 entry.)
As news stories focus on the likelihood of impasses in major funding bills, it's heartening to note the rare coalescence of bi-partisan approval for, of all things, this year's
transportation finance bill. Minnesota Public Radio reported this morning that Gov. Pawlenty has signed the bill, which, among other points, salvages transit services for the Metro Area and for Greater Minnesota. While falling short of a long-term, structural fix for transit operations, the bill cobbled together funds to nearly fill forecast shortfalls.
The bill also forwards efforts to implement some of the land use and transportation recommendations of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, which found that more compact, mixed-use development patterns offer energy savings and lower levels of air pollution, including greenhouse gasses, by helping to reduce the need to drive. The bill tasks the Metropolitan Council with evaluation of land use and transportation planning tools and resources that concurrently help to reduce air pollution, mitigate congestion, and lower local government infrastructure costs. The bill calls for an emphasis on approaches that reduce travel demand and provide access to transportation options. The Council must collaborate with interested stakeholders and local units of government in the effort.
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