Monday, April 11, 2011

The 6 Surrenders Of Vukan R. Vuchic

Something the pro-transit environmental movement has been advocating for decades is the idea of the intermodal transit system of trains and buses. Some of us would like to add Personal Rapid Transit to that short list.

Such a system, if pervasive enough, would allow people to travel around cities without driving. And if deployed in conjunction with thoughtful land use planning, redevelopment, and urban growth boundaries, the transit system could assist in correcting decades of sprawl made possible by, and in service of, the automobile -- or as I call it, the Private Travel Appliance.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

New NMFS contact policy on orcas compromises good science

The good news is that boaters will now be required to stay at least 200 yards distant from Puget Sound orca whales, under new rules issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

However, NMFS decided to not make the waters west of San Juan Island a no-go area in summer time, bowing to local objections including marine dependent businesses. In other words, not having a no-go was based on commerce, not science.