Car Culture

As attention turns to the next federal transportation bill, and livable streets fans scan the platforms of presidential candidates for glimpses of what to expect from Washington over the next four years, Alex Steffen, editor and CEO of the blog WorldChanging, has posted an essay-in-progress called "My Other Car is a Bright Green City." Steffen says that reining in fuel standards and auto emissions, for instance, is not nearly as important to present and future generations as developing communities that behave more like cities, which are, by environmental measures, much cleaner than commute-intensive suburbs and exurbs. Here are some excerpts.

WNYC had a short piece on the upcoming congestion panel vote this morning. It's a series of "word on the street" comments. Some of them are funny, others not so much. The gist is that a lot of people still don't know -- or don't believe -- that pricing revenues will be invested in transit.

 This is part two of a two-part series on where candidates for president stand on transportation issues, authored by Streetsblog Los Angeles correspondent Damien Newton. Damien currently runs the blog Street Heat, which is soon to become Streetsblog L.A., our first foray into foreign territory. Damien was New Jersey coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign before relocating to California last year. Yesterday he examined the platforms and records of the Republican presidential candidates; today, the Democrats.

Mitt Romney at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit

The eight-and-a-half foot long, 1,800 pound smart fortwo has arrived in the US, with the first American owner taking delivery here in New York. As it happens, he's a friend of the folks at car blog Jalopnik, who took it for a drive. Here's some of what they had to say.

Streetsblog commenter BicyclesOnly attended last night's DOT neighborhood parking workshop at Temple Israel on E. 75th St. Here is his account (originally posted here):

With "Reality TV" producers plumbing the depths for every conceivable confrontational scenario, it's a wonder it took so long to strike the rich vein that is the put-upon motoring public. But thanks to "Parking Wars," the wait is over.

Speaking of the upcoming second round of citywide parking workshops, the summary of Round 1 is now online at the Department of Transportation's web site. To get a sense of why it's so essential for non-car owners and livable streets advocates to attend the second round of parking workshops (especially in Queens), download the summary memorandum.