Tuesday, April 29, 2014

What is the cost of not having #freetransit?

The Cost of Fixing Bertha? Could Be One-and-a-Half Times What It Cost to Build Bertha. So: How Else Might We Spend That Money? | Slog: "This is a pretty stunning bit of tunnel news. It cost $80 million to build Bertha, the downtown tunnel-boring machine that's taking a year off for repairs. Now we learn it could cost $125 million to fix Bertha."

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Transportation director calls traffic 'public health threat'

portland tribune : "Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Leah Treat declared war on cars Tuesday, saying her top priority was providing more alternatives to automobiles for city residents.

"We have a growing public health crisis in Portland — traffic," Treat said .... Citing statistics that show more Portanders are being killed in traffic accidents than by homicides,"

Young people speak out about the pain of car-dependency

BikePortland.org: "Nicole Johnson, OPAL's youth organizer and another person on Monday's panel, was especially eloquent Monday in drawing on her experience growing up in Portland in the 00s to explain the importance of non-car transportation to young people:"

Friday, April 18, 2014

Bus cuts will add 30,000 cars to daily commute

A vote against bus funding is a vote against equity and a healthy environment | Crosscut.com: "The benefits of transit extend even to those who do not ride it. Transit reduces congestion on the streets and pollution in the air. King County estimates that 30,000 cars will be added to the daily commute if Proposition 1 does not pass."

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Utah Transit Authority is a greed machine

Salt Lake City News: "How can we say this politely? The Utah Transit Authority is a greed machine. Ridership and public service are secondary to the jingle of cash in the pockets of management and the developers they nurture. Now we hear, again, that UTA executives are getting nice, fat bonuses—double what they got last year. And this is on the heels of an effort to increase taxes, to buy up more transit-oriented development space, to add lines and, of course, cut back service. How does any of this make any sense? Because UTA is an agency without control. It takes from the public coffers and pads its internal machine. Citizen advocate Claire Geddes has it right: “We must have stupid written all over our faces.”"

Friday, April 4, 2014

Pierce, King and Snohomish County residents - Vote YES on Proposition 1: Mass Transit Now!

Futurewise: "This transit-only package will offer immediate relief to commuters by increasing intercity express bus service by as much as 30% in 2009, while building on our regional high capacity transit system with 34 more miles of light rail and improvements to north and south commuter rail lines—all for a half cent sales tax increase totaling about $69 per person per year - less than the average tank of gas!"