From Springwise...

Launched late last month, Connect by Hertz now offers car sharing in London, Paris and New York City. In New York, members can choose from among three plans, depending on how often they drive. All three give consumers 180 free miles per day and free gas;…

Bob Yaro, who continues to lead on good regional planning from his post as head of New York's Regional Plan Association, has prepared a statement to the new administration on the economic stimulus plan that outlines a five step program for infrastructure investment as part of the America 2050 Coalition:

Congress for the New Urbanism CEO John Norquist warns the President-elect on the pitfalls of moving without consideration on the portion of the economic stimulus package calling for new roads and bridges. He writes:

With six weeks to go before he moves into the White House, Barack Obama is…

There are some big names on the list, including former Sec. of Transportation Norman Mineta and Virginia Gov. Tim Kane.  One pleasant surprise?  There's a lot of talk about rail.  Deron Lovaas, the Federal Transportation Policy Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, urges: "Rail mileage should double so that…

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom released the following letter today to congressional leadership. The mayors are advocating for Congress not to reallocate funds intended for advanced transportation technology innovation and identify a different mechanism to finance efforts to improve the viability of the American…

Ryan Avent (if you're not reading him you should be) celebrates the new excitement about infrastructure.  He reports for Grist, "Last week, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) introduced the High-Speed Rail for America Act, a bill that would authorize $23 billion in bond sales…

Our colleague Joe Cortright sent us the photo below from an above the fold story in the Living section of the Oregonian about different kinds of bike accesories for hauling kids and cargo. 

Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Oregonian

Read the…

Take a look at Pittsburgh's Citiwiki that invites citizens to offer their own ideas to develop an intelligent, easy-to-use transportation system that works for people of every stripe?

The goal of the Wiki is to harness the considerable intellectual firepower of the Pittsburgh region's thoughtful citizenry to help transform…

That will be an important sign of whether bus rapid transit, the value-priced alternative to light rail, actually works, according to Alan Hoffman, a San Diego-based transit consultant.  It may not be politically correct to say so out loud, he said , "but it's what I call the 'AYF Factor.'…

Newly hired president of Portland State University Wim Wiewel will join the throngs of downtown bike commuters tomorrow when he reports for his first day on the job. Wiewel will join Commissioner (and Mayor-elect) Sam Adams on the ride and a small reception will follow in the South Park Blocks.

If you haven't discovered Ryan Avant's blog, you should.  Here's a recent gem:

"The two big challenges for fighting poverty are: 1) reducing, as much as possible, geographic segregation of socioeconomic groups, and 2) the tendency to choose affordability over proximity among the poor, which significantly affects expected income.…

Oil prices are, indeed, causing panic.  And as Lee Raymond, the former head of Exxon told The NY Times, "Once you panic, it is way too late."  He characterizes our policy to date as a "no-action policy."

Nearly 70 percent of the 21 million barrels of oil Americans consume…