Monday through Friday, SDOT sends out a compilation of local and national transportation related news links. If you’d like to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the list, just send an email to allie.gerlach@seattle.gov
Here’s a sampling of some of the more interesting transportation news stories out there this week:
10.4 billion trips taken on U.S. public transportation in 2011
That’s the Second Highest Annual Ridership Since 1957!
The American Public Transportation Association reports that Americans took 10.4 billion trips on public transportation in 2011. Due in part to high gas prices, as well as the improving job market and economy, 2011 marked the sixth year in a row that more than 10 billion trips were taken on public transportation. It’s a trend that is expected to continue into 2012 and beyond. More and more people depend on transit to get where they need to go. What about you? Taken any trips on the bus, streetcar, or light rail lately?
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Seedy Hollywood alleyway becomes a welcoming pedestrian thoroughfare
EaCa Alley (for East Cahuenga) is Hollywood’s first pedestrian thoroughfare and it’s a success!
Hooray for Hollywood! They’ve cleaned up the passage between Selma and Hollywood Boulevard and created an exciting new urban space. Hopefully, the first of many such spaces.
Seattle’s most famous alley is probably Post Alley (home of the Bubble Gum Wall as well as lots of cool shops and restaurants). But Pioneer Square’s Nord Alley is working to give Post Alley a run for its money. With its artwalks and special event parties, Nord Alley, which was just designated a “festival street,” is rapidly becoming one of the hippest places to hang out. Did you know Seattle is home to the Alley Network Project? Their goal is to transform Pioneer Square’s alleys into one of its unrivaled assets. Do you have a favorite Seattle alley or know one that could benefit from a makeover?
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Q+A with Gil Penalosa on Livable Cities
The father of Ciclovia Open Streets in Bogotá, talks about resistance to change and innovation, budget restrictions, and healthy, dynamic cities.
“The street doesn’t have to have the same use 24-7. It can have different uses according to the time of the day, the day of the week, the season of the year. This is something to make people realize that things can change. We have been building cities for over 5,000 years, but it’s only the last 60 or 70 that we have been thinking more of car mobility than people’s happiness.” — Gil Penalosa @ Broken Sidewalk.
Did you know Seattle’s Summer Street Program is celebrating its 5th Anniversary this year? Mark your calendars now and remember to come out and play in the streets!
Ballard—Friday, May 18, 2012 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Alki—Sunday, May 20, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Greenwood/Phinney —Friday, August 10, 2012 from 6 to 10 p.m.
Rainier Valley—Saturday, August 18, 2012 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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The Go-Nowhere Generation
Teens + the Internet + the Recession = Fewer Newly-Minted Drivers. But are they really going nowhere fast?
This New York Times opinion piece examines the issue of “Generation Why Bother?” and their mobility challenges and wonders: What’s it going to take to get our kids back on the road?