Monthly Archives: December 2012

Today’s stories:

State’s electric-car owners face $100 fee in lieu of gas tax
The Columbian (WA) – December 25, 2012
Owners of electric cars in Washington state don’t pay for gasoline or gas taxes, but they’re soon going to be hit with a $100 fee to own the battery-operated cars.

Memphis-to-Little Rock high-speed rail to be studied
Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN) – December 22, 2012
The State of Arkansas will study the possibility of high-speed trains traveling up to 200 mph between Memphis and Little Rock and Texarkana, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Pittsburgh properties reassessed higher than those in suburbs
Pittsburgh Post Gazette (PA) – December 22, 2012
Reassessment of Pittsburgh properties far outpaced those in Allegheny County as a whole, according to the latest certified numbers released Friday by the county.

Urban planners to unveil long-term framework for Detroit
Michigan Live – December 21, 2012
Urban planners have been crafting maps and strategies for months, and the framework they’ve come up with in long-term component of the Detroit Works Project is set to be revealed on Jan. 9.

Today’s stories:

Bike-share company plans to start in downtown L.A. this April
Los Angeles Times – December 20, 2012
Bike Nation, the Southern California-based company that has pledged $16 million toward Los Angeles’ first bike-share network, will announce Thursday that it plans to begin rolling out its program in downtown this spring.

$500,000 federal grant for improving 2 Camden neighborhoods
Philadelphia Inquirer – December 25, 2012
Two Camden neighborhoods that surround Cooper University Hospital and the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University could see significant transformation in the next decade.

A Suburban Wasteland in Virginia Gets a Modern Urban Feel
New York Times – December 18, 2012
To see Merrifield, Va., today, with its sleek white Target, its narrow 1920s-style streetscape of specialty food shops along Glass Alley and the rest of the $542 million mixed-use Mosaic District is to nearly forget this unincorporated area’s former life as an uninviting industrial suburban crossroads.

The Future of City Driving: Per-Mile Car Insurance
Atlantic Cities – December 21, 2012
Drivers who are similar in age, gender, and residence pay about the same premium even if some drive 5,000 miles a year and others 50,000 miles. The problem is not only that low-mileage drivers end up subsidizing high-mileage ones — it’s that everyone has an incentive to drive as much as they can.

The Learning Curve of Smart Parking
New York Times – December 22, 2012
In its current state, however, “smart parking” is in some ways little different from regular parking. The term refers to a beguiling technology, now being tested in several cities, that uses sensors to determine whether a particular spot on the street or in a parking garage is occupied or vacant.

Today’s stories:

Light rail plan for Los Angeles International Airport advances
Los Angeles Times (CA) – December 18, 2012
Plans to build a light rail connection to Los Angeles International Airport advanced Monday with the unveiling of four potential station sites that would link to a people mover serving passenger terminals.

An opportunity for downtown revival
Boston.com – December 19, 2012
A confluence of events is opening a window of opportunity for the town to revive its dormant downtown area.

How to Make Privately Owned Public Spaces Truly Open to the Public
The Atlantic Cities – December 17, 2012
Some of the best privately owned public open spaces in downtown San Francisco are, by nature, a little hard to find.

Derided by critics, Cordova Hills still seeks ‘smart growth’
Sacramento Business Journal (CA) – December 21, 2012
While proponents and opponents of Cordova Hills disagree over whether the project is in the right place, within its boundaries the development includes a number of smart-growth features.

Today’s stories:

Is the state giving money to ‘well-off’ suburbs at expense of urban areas?
Bangor Daily News (ME) – December 19, 2012
Nearly all of Maine’s population growth in the last decade, as well as nearly 70 percent of the state’s economic activity, has taken place in metropolitan areas. Yet state policies governing funding for education and transportation, state aid to local communities and economic development programs have not caught up to this new reality, according to economists and planners who have studied Maine’s communities and the state’s economy.

Nashville values, development rise with form-based code
Better! Cities & Towns – December 7, 2012
An improved and more workable zoning code was approved by Nashville’s Planning Commission and combined city/county council after more than two years of staff work and public input, in tandem with a new community plan for the downtown area.

Decision clears way for Ill. high-speed rail line
The Pantagraph (IL) – December 18, 2012
The Federal Railroad Administration has taken action that will allow the full build-out of a high-speed rail corridor between Chicago and St. Louis.

Is 2013 the Year of New Transportation Funding?
Governing – December 19, 2012
The 2013 legislative session hasn’t even started, but state lawmakers across the country are already touting the need to find new sources of transportation revenue in the upcoming year.