Have you seen one of the 26 HOURCAR hybrids driving around the metro and wondered what it was all about? It makes not owning a car possible! We all know that our beautiful metro area has many great transportation alternatives to the automobile, but sometimes these options don't fit into the demands of modern life and urban sprawl. For those instances our staff, who almost entirely take the bus or bike to work, can now use HOURCAR to get to where they need to go! HOURCAR is easy to sign up for and easy to use. Here's the gist: you sign up online to become a member (nonprofits get a membership for free!), you complete a short orientation online, pay $25 per driver for a traffic background check, and they send you a key FOB and a great t-shirt! To rent the car you either call or go online to book the HOURCAR nearest you at one of the 21 locations. You can rent the car from 45 minutes up to the whole day. At $6 an hour and $0.25/mile (this includes gas) it's a steal of a deal. Our favorite car to rent is located at Selby and Dale - it's an electric car charged by solar power. You can't get much better than that!
With Target Field now open, how to get to a Twins game? At least for the half dozen regular season games that have been held to-date, the answer for many folk is to take transit. Hiawatha light rail and Northstar commuter rail both come directly to Target Field, and Metro Transit has added a special express bus route (Route 679) from stops along I-394 directly to the field.
Ameriprise, IBM, Fresh Energy. Not exactly three Minnesota organizations that most folks would expect to read together, but the three of us were recently named for the same award--Bronze Status as a "Bicycle Friendly Business" by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB). We beat out companies the likes of Union Pacific Railroad, Assurant Health, and (ironically) Live Green Apartments to become one of 51 organizations nationwide to be recognized.
If you've been keeping up with Fresh Energy's Transportations Connections Department, you've probably heard about its push for a state Complete Streets policy. The measure aims to make streets safer and more accessible through various planning measures. This includes sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, and shoulders. But as far as understanding how exactly these road changes would equal improved safety and a cleaner environment, it's a little bit difficult to get from point A to point B--no transportation pun intended. I didn't have a clear understanding of it, myself, until I actually saw it last week.
Representatives and partners of ElectriCharge Mobility visited Fresh Energy yesterday to talk about some exciting developments in the field of electric vehicle transportation. Partner Paul Axt said people often view the development of the industry as a chicken-and-egg problem between the vehicles and their charging stations. What must come first to grow the other? ElectriCharge Mobility and charging-station developer Coulomb Technologies believe we first need to show people charging stations are widespread and accessible, in order for people to purchase electric vehicles.
Complete Streets means that our roads are designed and operated to be safe and accessible for pedestrians, transit riders, bicyclists, and drivers - all users, regardless of age or ability. Why is this important? Because too often we build roads that simply aren't safe for pedestrians, people with disabilities, bicyclists, transit riders, and older drivers. Everyone is impacted by "incomplete" streets, which lead to more injuries, fatalities, and very real barriers in our transportation system.
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.
Transportation generated a lot of discussion at the Minnesota Capitol this year. Topics included discussions around transportation-related economic stimulus spending, the need to solve the Twin Cities transit shortfall, the excitement of high-speed rail and new transitways, and some innovative transportation policy ideas. While there were a number of important steps taken to support cleaner transportation choices, there were several pieces left undone.
During these challenging economic times, we simply cannot afford to make it harder for people to get to work. Yet, transit systems across the country are facing service cuts and fare increases (CNN reports) because of underperforming funding sources.
President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Department of Transportation Administrator Ray LaHood announced the release of a Strategic Plan for high speed rail today.
Fresh Energy Blog 
Have you seen one of the 26 
With Target Field now open, how to get to a Twins game? At least for the half dozen regular season games that have been held to-date, the answer for many folk is to take transit. Hiawatha light rail and Northstar commuter rail both come directly to Target Field, and Metro Transit has added a special express bus route (Route 679) from stops along I-394 directly to the field.
Ameriprise, IBM, Fresh Energy. Not exactly three Minnesota organizations that most folks would expect to read together, but the three of us were recently named for the same award--Bronze Status as a "Bicycle Friendly Business" by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB). We beat out companies the likes of Union Pacific Railroad, Assurant Health, and (ironically) Live Green Apartments to become one of 51 organizations nationwide to be recognized.