The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized seven communities with its 2012 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. The Smart Growth awards are given for creative, sustainable initiatives that better protect the health and the environment of our communities while also strengthening local economies.
The 2012 award winners are being recognized in four categories: Overall Excellence in Smart Growth, Equitable Development, Main Street or Corridor Revitalization, and Programs and Policies. This year’s winners and honorable mentions were selected from 47
applicants from 25 states. The winning entries were chosen based on
their effectiveness in creating sustainable communities; fostering
equitable development among public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders;
and serving as national models for environmentally and economically
sustainable development. Specific initiatives include improving transportation choices, developing green, energy-efficient buildings and communities, and providing community members with access to job training, health and wellness education, and other services.
The 2012 winners are:
Overall Excellence - Winner
BLVD Transformation Project, Lancaster, California
The redesign of Lancaster Boulevard helped transform downtown Lancaster into a thriving residential and commercial district through investments in new streetscape design, public facilities, affordable homes, and local businesses. Completed after eight months of construction, the project demonstrates how redesigning a corridor guided by a strategic vision can spark new life in a community. The project has generated almost $300 million in economic output and nearly 2,000 jobs.
Equitable Development - Winner
Mariposa District, Denver, Colorado
The redevelopment of Denver’s historic and ethnically diverse La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood is turning an economically challenged area into a vibrant, transit-accessible, district. The community’s master plan preserves affordable housing while adding energy-efficient middle-income and market-rate homes. Because of extensive community engagement, development will include actions to improve the health of residents, reduce pollution, and control stormwater runoff.
Main Street or Corridor Revitalization - Winner
The Cooperative Building, Brattleboro, Vermont
The Brattleboro Food Co-op, the town’s only downtown food store, made a commitment to remain at its downtown location by constructing an innovative, four-story green building on Main Street with a grocery store, commercial space, offices, and affordable apartments. The Main Street location provides healthy food, new jobs, and housing within walkable distances of downtown businesses and public transit.
Programs and Policies - Winner
Destination Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia
The city of Portsmouth revised its comprehensive plan and undertook a broad review of its development and land use regulations. As a result, Destination Portsmouth prepared a package of new plans, zoning ordinances, and other development policies in collaboration with community stakeholders. The overhaul of the city’s codes encourages development in targeted growth areas and helps businesses to locate in the city while also protecting the character of Portsmouth’s historic neighborhoods.
Equitable Development - Honorable Mention
Northwest Gardens, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Through safer streets, job training and education programs, and high-quality, affordable homes, the once struggling Northwest Gardens neighborhood is rapidly becoming a model for economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The redesigned neighborhood offers a range of energy-efficient, affordable housing choices and is one of the first communities in the nation to receive LEED for Neighborhood Development certification. A local housing authority program also provides disadvantaged youths with construction training as they complete their GEDs.
Main Street or Corridor Revitalization - Honorable Mention
Larkin District, Buffalo, New York
Community organizations and a local developer partnered with the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning to help revitalize the Larkin District, an old manufacturing district located one mile from downtown Buffalo. Architectural students worked with the developer and the city to create a master plan for an urban village that now features new office space, restaurants, apartments, parks, and plazas. New sidewalks, lighting, crosswalks, bicycle lanes, and bus shelters reduce pollution from vehicles by making walking, biking, and public transit more appealing.
Programs and Policies - Honorable Mention
Bay Area Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Fund, San Francisco, California
The Bay Area Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Fund is providing loans for developers to build affordable homes near public transportation. At this point, the fund has provided loans for a 153-unit high-rise for low-income families located two blocks from a major transit station, and for a 64-unit building for seniors close to a light rail station that will provide free transit passes for all residents.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm
Showing posts with label mass transit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mass transit. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Bikes on BART
BART releases bike pilot survey results
A rider survey about BART’s commute period bike pilot, when blackout restrictions were lifted on five Fridays in August, found varied results.
Riders responding to the survey were equally split on what to do: 37% wanted to keep the blackouts; 37% wanted to end them; and 25% favored reducing the blackout periods to one hour from two. Other data from the survey suggest similarly divided feelings.
90% of respondents aware of the pilot who rode during the commute reported they did not personally experience any problems related to it. (Of the 10% who did experience problems, the most commonly cited problems were bikes blocking aisles, doorways and seats; bikes entering crowded trains; and bikes running into or brushing up against people.)
Asked how lifting the blackout affected their BART trip, 17% said it made their trip worse. (9% said it made their trip better, and 74% said it had little or no effect.).
The public will have an opportunity to discuss the results when the BART Bicycle Task Force has a meeting on Monday, Oct. 1, at 6 pm.
Additional details available on the BART website.
A rider survey about BART’s commute period bike pilot, when blackout restrictions were lifted on five Fridays in August, found varied results.
Riders responding to the survey were equally split on what to do: 37% wanted to keep the blackouts; 37% wanted to end them; and 25% favored reducing the blackout periods to one hour from two. Other data from the survey suggest similarly divided feelings.
90% of respondents aware of the pilot who rode during the commute reported they did not personally experience any problems related to it. (Of the 10% who did experience problems, the most commonly cited problems were bikes blocking aisles, doorways and seats; bikes entering crowded trains; and bikes running into or brushing up against people.)
Asked how lifting the blackout affected their BART trip, 17% said it made their trip worse. (9% said it made their trip better, and 74% said it had little or no effect.).
The public will have an opportunity to discuss the results when the BART Bicycle Task Force has a meeting on Monday, Oct. 1, at 6 pm.
Additional details available on the BART website.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Get on the bus!
There's no question: the Dutch love to cycle.
Built by Tolkamp Metaalspecials, and sold by the De Cafe Racer company, this school bus (BCO in Dutch) is entirely pedal-powered...unless you encounter a large hill and decide to kick on the electric motor. It has eight sets of pedals for the kids (ages 4 to 12), a driver seat for the adult, and three bench seats for freeloaders. The top speed is about 10 miles per hour, and features a sound system and canvas awning for rainy days.
Read more, including a Q&A with Thomas Tolkamp, who built the BCO, about its origins and how the idea is catching on around the world.
From Fast Company's Co.Exist blog.
Built by Tolkamp Metaalspecials, and sold by the De Cafe Racer company, this school bus (BCO in Dutch) is entirely pedal-powered...unless you encounter a large hill and decide to kick on the electric motor. It has eight sets of pedals for the kids (ages 4 to 12), a driver seat for the adult, and three bench seats for freeloaders. The top speed is about 10 miles per hour, and features a sound system and canvas awning for rainy days.
Read more, including a Q&A with Thomas Tolkamp, who built the BCO, about its origins and how the idea is catching on around the world.
From Fast Company's Co.Exist blog.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
NIMBY or YIMBY?
As both Berkeley and Oakland debate their downtown plans, there is growing recognition that the fight against global warming requires greater urban density.
Robert Gammon, East Bay Express, July 1, 2009
Environmentalists who think globally say suburban sprawl and the destruction of rural farmland must stop. But the lack of urban growth in Berkeley and in parts of Oakland during the past few decades also has contributed to suburban sprawl and long commutes. And all those freeways choked with cars are now the single biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Some activists who have fought developers for years are now embracing them and calling for so-called "smart growth" or "infill development" — dense urban housing near mass transit. They note that downtown Berkeley and Oakland, along with the major transportation corridors between the two cities, are nearly perfect for transit-oriented development.
Greenbelt Alliance, an environmental group that has been fighting suburban sprawl for decades, recently pinpointed the inner East Bay as one of the region's top potential growth areas. The group estimates that the inner East Bay, west of the hills, could accommodate at least 106,000 new housing units by 2035. The group based its estimate on data from the Association of Bay Area Governments and UC Berkeley's Institute of Urban and Regional Development.
But for the inner East Bay to grow the way it should, it will have to overcome the region's well-developed not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) sensibilities. In Berkeley and North Oakland, in particular, residents who view themselves as environmentalists have been blocking dense housing developments for decades. They have complained about traffic, overcrowding, and the potential destruction of neighborhood character.
In Berkeley, where NIMBY sentiment is especially strong, a group of developers and activists who advocate for smart growth sometimes refer to themselves as YIMBYs (Yes, In My Backyard). "Our goal is to shift the idea of what it means to be an environmentalist when living in a city, away from the protection of land to the more efficient use of land," explained Erin Rhoades, the volunteer executive director of Livable Berkeley. For several years, her group has been battling a small but very vocal coalition of city residents who simultaneously view themselves as green while staunchly opposing urban housing development.
There are far fewer NIMBYs in Oakland when it comes to downtown issues. The Oakland City Council is scheduled to debate its new downtown plan on July 7. In downtown Oakland, the biggest impediment to growth over the years hasn't been NIMBYism but crime. The widespread perception that downtown is dangerous has stymied development. But in recent years, Oakland's Uptown area, just north of downtown, has launched a comeback, particularly since the renovation of the historic Fox Theater.
Read the complete article in the East Bay Express.
Robert Gammon, East Bay Express, July 1, 2009
Environmentalists who think globally say suburban sprawl and the destruction of rural farmland must stop. But the lack of urban growth in Berkeley and in parts of Oakland during the past few decades also has contributed to suburban sprawl and long commutes. And all those freeways choked with cars are now the single biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Some activists who have fought developers for years are now embracing them and calling for so-called "smart growth" or "infill development" — dense urban housing near mass transit. They note that downtown Berkeley and Oakland, along with the major transportation corridors between the two cities, are nearly perfect for transit-oriented development.
Greenbelt Alliance, an environmental group that has been fighting suburban sprawl for decades, recently pinpointed the inner East Bay as one of the region's top potential growth areas. The group estimates that the inner East Bay, west of the hills, could accommodate at least 106,000 new housing units by 2035. The group based its estimate on data from the Association of Bay Area Governments and UC Berkeley's Institute of Urban and Regional Development.
But for the inner East Bay to grow the way it should, it will have to overcome the region's well-developed not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) sensibilities. In Berkeley and North Oakland, in particular, residents who view themselves as environmentalists have been blocking dense housing developments for decades. They have complained about traffic, overcrowding, and the potential destruction of neighborhood character.
In Berkeley, where NIMBY sentiment is especially strong, a group of developers and activists who advocate for smart growth sometimes refer to themselves as YIMBYs (Yes, In My Backyard). "Our goal is to shift the idea of what it means to be an environmentalist when living in a city, away from the protection of land to the more efficient use of land," explained Erin Rhoades, the volunteer executive director of Livable Berkeley. For several years, her group has been battling a small but very vocal coalition of city residents who simultaneously view themselves as green while staunchly opposing urban housing development.
There are far fewer NIMBYs in Oakland when it comes to downtown issues. The Oakland City Council is scheduled to debate its new downtown plan on July 7. In downtown Oakland, the biggest impediment to growth over the years hasn't been NIMBYism but crime. The widespread perception that downtown is dangerous has stymied development. But in recent years, Oakland's Uptown area, just north of downtown, has launched a comeback, particularly since the renovation of the historic Fox Theater.
Read the complete article in the East Bay Express.
Friday, May 8, 2009
May 14th is Bike to Work Day
Annual Bike to Work Day in the SF Bay Area is Thursday, May 14th
Bike to Work Day takes place all over Northern California with all nine Bay Area counties participating in the celebration. The event is just one of many taking place in May as part of National Bike Month.
Take the Bike to Work Day pledge to bike at least once to work (or play) during the month of May for your chance to win a new Larkspur Bicycle by Marin Bikes, Novara Commuter Kit from REI, and many other bike-related prizes. Register by May 31st to enter and win.
The East Bay Bicycle Coalition has lots of information and links on their website, including a list and map of Energizer Stations in Alameda County that will provide free beverages, snacks, and good cheer to bicyclists (tip: there will be pancakes at Frank Ogawa Plaza).
San Francisco Energizer Stations are listed here.
Los Angeles County has a cool bike-to-work calculator on their website that estimates how much gas and carbon dioxide emissions you save by choosing to bike instead of drive.
There are no special events listed for Orange County, but don't let that stop you folks down in Newport Beach. The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 11 - 15 and national Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 15. So get your bike out, form a convoy, and start rollin'!
(Hey Newport Beach: Want to generate some bike-to-work momentum in your community? This planning guide can help.)
Bike to Work Day takes place all over Northern California with all nine Bay Area counties participating in the celebration. The event is just one of many taking place in May as part of National Bike Month.
Take the Bike to Work Day pledge to bike at least once to work (or play) during the month of May for your chance to win a new Larkspur Bicycle by Marin Bikes, Novara Commuter Kit from REI, and many other bike-related prizes. Register by May 31st to enter and win.
The East Bay Bicycle Coalition has lots of information and links on their website, including a list and map of Energizer Stations in Alameda County that will provide free beverages, snacks, and good cheer to bicyclists (tip: there will be pancakes at Frank Ogawa Plaza).
San Francisco Energizer Stations are listed here.
Los Angeles County has a cool bike-to-work calculator on their website that estimates how much gas and carbon dioxide emissions you save by choosing to bike instead of drive.
There are no special events listed for Orange County, but don't let that stop you folks down in Newport Beach. The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 11 - 15 and national Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 15. So get your bike out, form a convoy, and start rollin'!
(Hey Newport Beach: Want to generate some bike-to-work momentum in your community? This planning guide can help.)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
TransLink Card Now Available
Consider getting a TransLink card to ease your daily commute.
Your TransLink card carries a pre-paid balance, so you can forget about scrounging in the sofa cushions for bus money, and it provides protection of your balance if your card is lost, stolen or damaged. There is no fee for a TransLink card if you set up Autoload at the time you order the card online.
You can order a TransLink card here: https://www.translink.org/TranslinkWeb/getTranslinkOrderCard.do
...and don't let this be you!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Green Stimulus
Environmental Defense Fund
February 11, 2009
Summarized by EDF, these are the primary ways how green initiatives fared in the stimulus bill:
Read more from EDF here: http://blogs.edf.org/greenroom/2009/02/11/stimulus-deal-reached-how-did-we-do/
February 11, 2009
Summarized by EDF, these are the primary ways how green initiatives fared in the stimulus bill:
- By far the largest funding ever for clean energy and energy efficiency
- The Manufacturing Extension Partnership will get funding
- High-speed rail will get $8 billion dollars
- Very large investment in transit ($8.4 billion); includes funds for new construction of commuter and light rail, modernizing existing transit systems, and purchasing buses and equipment to needed to increase public transportation and improve intermodal and transit facilities (states have 787 ready-to-go transit projects totaling about $16 billion)
Read more from EDF here: http://blogs.edf.org/greenroom/2009/02/11/stimulus-deal-reached-how-did-we-do/
What Will it Take to Make the Bay Area the Electric Vehicle Capital of the US?
In November 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced a plan to position the region’s economic and environmental future around electric transportation. They hope to make they Bay area the so-called "Electric Vehicle Capital of the US".
City Visions Radio - Mondays from 7:00-8:00 pm on KALW 91.7 San Francisco - discusses the plans to make the Bay Area more friendly to electric cars.
Guests on the February 9, 2009 show included:
http://www.sfeva.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.gogreenmotors.com/
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.lusciousgarage.com/
City Visions Radio - Mondays from 7:00-8:00 pm on KALW 91.7 San Francisco - discusses the plans to make the Bay Area more friendly to electric cars.
Guests on the February 9, 2009 show included:
- Sherry Boschert, journalist and author of the book “Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America”; president, San Francisco Electric Vehicle Association; vice-president, Plug-In America
- Richard Lowenthal, founder & CEO, Coulomb Technologies
- Nick Rothman, lead technician, Green Gears; http://greengearhead.blogspot.com/; http://www.a123systems.com/hymotion/home
Here's a link to the program: http://www.cityvisionsradio.com/
And learn more about electric vehicles here:http://www.sfeva.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.gogreenmotors.com/
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.lusciousgarage.com/
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Commuter Survey
I am in the process of calculating Northgate’s baseline CARBON FOOTPRINT.
That’s right... We have one. And we don’t know what size of sandals we need for that upcoming vacation in Cabo.
So, please take a few minutes and complete a brief survey about how you get to and from work.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Rb107Zj1sDZrJOT8jMYBWw_3d_3d
Thanks!
That’s right... We have one. And we don’t know what size of sandals we need for that upcoming vacation in Cabo.
So, please take a few minutes and complete a brief survey about how you get to and from work.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Rb107Zj1sDZrJOT8jMYBWw_3d_3d
Thanks!
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