Portland Transport

Centering in on the Public Realm

Tonight Metro held another in their series of Get Centered events, this one featuring Fred Kent from the Project for Public Spaces on the topic of public squares. Many of the models of great public squares were European of course, but Pioneer Courthouse Square compared favorably. Esther Short Park in Vancouver was also discussed in…

August 11, 2005
Site Changes

We’re making a few editorial changes on the site. First, we’ve changed the tagline to “A conversation about access and mobility in the Portland/Vancouver region”. The change is intended to recognize that access is just as important as mobility (as discussed in a number of threads) and to include our friends across the river, since…

August 10, 2005
Bookshelf: The New Transit Town

Link to book at Amazon.com Link to book at Powell’s Link to book at Multnomah County Library List Price: A great overview of Transit Oriented Development principles and practices. Covers issues from planning to finance including case studies based on actual projects. Explains why many TOD projects to date have failed to meet expectations (some…

August 10, 2005
Bicycling and Walking in H.R. 3 SAFETEA-LU

Congress has passed H.R. 3, SAFETEA-LU, and submitted it to the President for his signature. The legislation amends Titles 23 and 49 of the United States Code and authorizes the expenditure of $286.5 billion dollars over the next five years (2005-2009). Bicycling, walking, and transit seem to have done pretty well. DeFazio, Blumenauer, and others…

August 9, 2005
Is there an American Transportation Policy?

In 1991 the Congress declared the end of the decades long public works program we know as the Interstate Highway system. Inspired by the German autobahn and horrified by the efficiency of the Nazi war machine, President Dwight Eisenhower envisioned a high speed network of roadways between cities to allow fast deployment of armies in…

August 8, 2005