Author: Chris Smith

  • Around the State Sans-car

    One of the lesser-know efforts of ODOT is the publication of intercity timetables for various kinds of transportation in Oregon. Take a look and stimulate your thinking for ways to get around the state without your own four wheels. Hat tip to Dave Brook for guiding us through the less-obvious-navigation to find this URL.

  • Bookshelf: The Box

    Link to book at Amazon.com Link to book at Powell’s Link to book at Multnomah County Library List Price: Simple ideas make for big changes. I just finished reading “The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger”. The simple idea is to seemlessly move freight from truck to…

  • MAXimum Congratulations

    Even from 3,000 miles away, I can’t help remarking on the 20th anniversary of MAX! 215 million rides is nothing to sneeze at either. Congratulations to TriMet for 20 years of operations and to all the leaders who helped make our light rail system happen.

  • An Ethanol Success Story?

    I’ve been having an e-mail dialog with a reader about the wide-spread adoption of Ethanol (from sugar cane) in Brazil (“As Brazil Fills Up on Ethanol, It Weans Off Energy Imports”), and their ability to reduce dependence on petroleum. The national will and industry to pull this off are impressive. The question I have, on…

  • Making Advocates

    Update: 9/6/06 Note that registration on a scholarship basis (i.e., free to activists) ends on September 13th. Original Post: 8/22/06 It’s time for the PSU/PDOT Traffic and Transportation class again. I can’t say enough about this class. It’s a great way to learn how the transportation bureaucracy in local government works, and where to apply…