Cities and Countries

As many as four million people are expected to descend on the National Mall today for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th President. Contending with that mass of humanity has left officials with no choice but to implement temporary policies to get people in and out of the city as efficiently as possible. All of which has been great fodder for DC's thriving livable streets blog scene. Some are hoping today will prove to be what Obama might call a teachable moment, showing residents what downtown Washington feels like with fewer cars and more freedom for pedestrians, cyclists, and buses.

Looks like New York legislators aren't the only ones willing to pass up big money for transportation improvements if it means putting a fair price on private auto use.

I'm pleased to announce the launch of Streetsblog San Francisco. We opened the doors to the site yesterday and, from now on, you'll be able to find it at this RSS feed and this address:

This week's StreetsWiki entry highlights an intriguing storyline that our colleagues at Streetsblog San Francisco will be covering in the months ahead. The Better Streets Plan aims to establish a citywide template for street improvements:

Last week the Federal Transit Administration finally approved the Silver Line, a long-awaited addition to the capital region's transit system that will extend to suburbs in northern Virginia. There are still a few hoops to jump through to secure the necessary funding, but it looks like some relief is in sight for the area's crushing congestion.

The Chicago City Council has approved by a vote of 40-5 a deal to privatize the city's 36,000 metered parking spots for the next 75 years, trading meter revenues for an upfront payment of $1.15 billion.

Let's give a warm Streetsblog welcome to Mr. Theo, the newest member of the Livable Streets Network. You may recognize Theo as the star of the Louisville, Kentucky transit system's YouTube hit, "Bikes-on-Board." Sure, some LSN members will criticize him for uploading a photo of himself standing next to a vehicle that gets about 7 miles per gallon and runs on leaded fuel. But give the man some credit for supporting urban infrastructure investment; his personal web site is BigDiggity.com. If you're looking for a transit-oriented M.C. in the River City area, Mr. Theo is available for hire.

At a groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco yesterday, Mayor Gavin Newsom asserted the project will be "so much more extraordinary than Grand Central Station."