Weekend links: A Sunday stroll around the nation

by Eric Fidler • June 19, 2011 10:03 am

Photo by West Baltimore Squares on Flickr.

Charm City is walkable, too: A Baltimorean reflects on his past year without a car. He lost weight, saved thousands of dollars, and discovered new parks. (via Streetsblog)

Walking on the dock of the bay: San Francisco approved development plans to turn Parkmerced and Treasure Island into compact, walkable neighborhoods. The projects will add 13,000 housing units to SF. (Arch. Newspaper)

Jan Gehl explains walkable cities: Design features can make walking more enjoyable. Small store fronts, path twists, and stair landings all reduce the perception of distance. (Streetsblog)

So. Maryland gets smart about growth: Maryland is seeking comment on its plans for growth and conservation in southern Maryland. The state sets "priority funding areas" so as not to leave the taxpayer on the hook for sprawl. (Gazette)

Klein dreams big for Chicago: In an interview, Gabe Klein laid out his plans for Chicago. Many of the non-automobile improvements, he notes, are relatively cheap to implement. (Chicago Tribune)

Senate skeptical of ethanol subsidies: The Senate voted symbolically to end ethanol import tariffs and $6 billion in annual corn ethanol subsidies. The fuel, which takes a tremendous amount of energy to produce, also raises food prices. Despite this, the subsidy remains politically popular. (Reuters, CBO, Seattle Times)

Can cars be "green"?: Despite Sweden's massive push for "green" cars, the country's transportation sector has increased its CO2 emissions. (Common Dreams)

Atlantans warming to rail: A survey commissioned by suburban Cobb County, Georgia, found that residents prefer improved rail connections to Atlanta over highway building. (Atlanta Business Chron.)

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Eric Fidler has lived in DC and suburban Maryland his entire life. He likes long walks along the Potomac and considers the L'Enfant Plan an elegant work of art. He also blogs at Left for LeDroit, LeDroit Park's (only) blog of record.

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RE: Ethanol
This one simply drives me nuts and is a perfect example of why many politicians are ill-positioned to drive economic policy.

RE: Atlanta
Let's see an actual implementation plan and see what people really think. Everyone wanted Metro to Dulles until they realized that Phase II would cost over $4 Billion and would not even have express service.

by movement on Jun 19, 2011 11:06 am • link • report

Thank goodness we're implementing so many of those inexpensive changes in DC, especially in the last 7 months.

Oh, wait...

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jun 19, 2011 12:20 pm • link • report

Cobb County wants rail. That's funny. Cobb Countians fought very hard to keep MARTA rail out of Cobb County when the system was being planned. All the ne'er do wells from Atlanta would ride transit out to Cobb, commit their felonies, and then escape back to Atlanta by transit.

by ksu499 on Jun 19, 2011 3:17 pm • link • report

@ksu499:
The last (and only) time Cobb County voters were allowed to vote on MARTA was in 1965. I think it's fair to say that things may have changed since then.

by Matt Johnson on Jun 19, 2011 3:19 pm • link • report

On the one hand, the Atlanta elite tend to underestimate what people want. OTOH, most the ATL suburbs including most of Cobb don't elect particularly farsighted representation. The anti-development faction that one in Cherokee County--a more affluent jurisdiction only last a single term. Corrupt DeKalb County (where a losing candidate for sheriff took out a hit on the victor) fought Wal-Mart in an area destined for something more, but still lacks real vision.

by Rich on Jun 19, 2011 8:41 pm • link • report

RE: SF

I live in San Francisco, not far from Park Merced. I totally disagree that adding thousands of units in this area is acceptable given the pathetic public transit options. The M-line isn't close enough to the area to get people out of cars and on transit. BART is even farther.

Same goes for Treasure Island (Go Landfill!). A ferry service just doesn't run frequently enough to consider it effective public transit. Think Alameda...what percentage of people who take the ferry service on that island own a car?

by Mark on Jun 20, 2011 8:34 am • link • report