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Tuesday, February 28th

Out of the Car and Into Shape

Countering a crisis with a neighborhood stroll
By Carolyn Kelly
Elm Street Writers Group

Solutions to America's crisis over obesity and its attendant health care costs are not all about shopping, but rather about design, and place, and community. The ingredients for a much healthier life can be right at home.

When I moved to Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side, walking and biking was a matter of practicality: As a student at the University of Chicago at the turn of the 21st century, I didn't have a car. So I walked or biked to classes, jobs, the grocery store, and bookstore.

On Saturday mornings, I dutifully packed Proust's a'la Recherche du Temps Perdu and trudged off to the library. I walked up 56th street, with its quiet houses and gardens, turned on Woodlawn Avenue by the red stone Baptist church and walked to the Unitarian church on the next corner. Then I'd double back along 57th Street to rifle through the box of free used books outside of Powell's Bookstore or buy a cinnamon roll at the Medici bakery. By the time I reached the Midway, a sweeping boulevard with playing fields at the center and flanked by long stretches of white blossomed trees, I would have been procrastinating for at least three-quarters of a mile.

I'm 23 years old now, and unlike most Americans, even people my age, I'm still walking. As a student I avoided the "Freshman 15" because exercising wasn't a matter of discipline, it was just how you got around. As an editor, living in a rural village in northern Michigan, I'm just as slim even though I now have a car and it's harder to stay fit, especially in the deep snow, cold, and dark of winter.

MORE

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.28.06 @ 04:30PST

Monday, February 27th

Critical Mass in Sweden: A Report
From Ian Fiddies:

Gothenburg is only Sweden's second largest city, but it's home to the country's biggest regular monthly Critical Mass and has by far Sweden's worst air pollution.

One recent Friday evening as temperatures crept below freezing a score of well wrapt-up cyclists braved the poisonous air to celebrate the freedom of the bicycle. This was the second Critical Mass with the theme of air pollution, and we placed warning signs in some of the city's worst affected places.

Areas of the Gothenburg city centre are so polluted that in January asthmatics and people with heart and lung problems were warned not to go outside on one occasion. The warning was a bit late and came out on the day after the record high levels of the toxic NO2 were measured, which didn't make matters any better.

The problem with pollution in Gothenburg is usually blamed on a metrological phenomenon called inversion. This is where warm air sits over the colder air at ground level, trapping the pollution over the city like a lid. According to the local authorities, the reason that Gothenburg is Sweden's most polluted city is because of the weather. I think its time to point out to them that it's cars that are causing the fumes. Under normal weather conditions when there is no inversion the NO2 floats away into the atmosphere and falls back to earth as acid rain, poisoning the Swedish forest.

Critical Mass is not just about cycling, it's also about cities. The cities of today are noisy, dusty, unhealthy, polluted places. The inhabitants move around in constant fear of being run over, a fear instilled in the first years of life by rightfully nervous parents and road safety classes in nursery schools. It's a constant threat we have all leaned to live with. Anyone who has children or pets is doubly nervous.

As the amount of urban traffic increase the numbers of asthmatic children soar. The average European life is shortened by over half a year by pollution. Did you know that exposure to traffic noise increases the risk of heart attack? Think about it the next time you're out walking in a city and go from a road with heavy traffic into a pedestrian street. The difference in stress levels and general well being is enormous. The carnage that the automobile causes every day on a global level puts the deeds of the warmongers Bush and Blair into the shade. Why aren't we protesting the deaths inflicted on innocent victims of cars? Passive smoking is mainly a thing of the past in Sweden. When will protection from passive driving get the same status?

Cities are places for people; they are places of social interaction and relaxation, or just living, working, and having fun. What we need to do is to chase the cars out of our city centres. That is what a few of us did on Friday evening for a short time; through active cycling we reclaimed some of the city's streets from the autoholics who usually monopolise them--and I tell you it felt good. One day soon we shall have the freedom of our city's streets all of the time and not just on the last Friday of the month. Until then, long live Critical Mass!

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 02.27.06 @ 12:29PST

Sunday, February 26th

The Time It Takes to Get There....
A quote:

"In our natural rebellion against the restrictions imposed by the 'driver's seat,' we are doing more and more inappropriate and distracting things in moving cars.... The result has been a decline in road safety for everyone. The fact that people court disaster by attempting to do something (anything) useful or entertaining to relieve the tedium of driving, indicates that we are on some level painfully aware of the consumption of our time, and are trying to 'have our cake and eat it too.'

The bottom line is that the car subtracts enough hours from our lives that even with its occasional bursts of high speed, the lifetime average miles per hour is just not that impressive. Not enough 'time efficiency' is gained to justify the extraordinary inefficiencies of weight and energy use."

The full article: It All Depends on What You Mean by "Efficient"

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 02.26.06 @ 09:58PST

Saturday, February 25th

A Third Place and a Home Run
Something very simple happened today. In any other urban neighborhood, coffee shops come and go. Here in Pittsburgh's North City Flats, a coffee shop was a long time coming.

Today was the first day of operation for Beleza. The place had gotten some good buzz locally. Not in the press so much, but the word certainly got around. There was my neighbor Bob who was heading over to help the entrepreneur's prepare. Casey, who said her friend who lived in an abandoned building was involved. Dave, who doesn't even live in North City, sent an email telling everyone Beleza was soon opening. It seemed everyone knew about the new coffee shop.

Beleza opened at 8 this morning. I arrived at 11:30. A young women was sitting out front with her dog. Three people stood on the opposite corner taking photos. Inside I was greeted with warm colors and aromas. A few sat in their solitary corners, but for many others it was like walking into a friendly living room. I had the sense that all these coffee-starved folk knew of each other, had exchanged friendly glances, but had few opportunities to interact.

"Where do you live?" the person at the counter asked. Hell, I thought, that may be a rather rude question in Starbuck's, but here it seemed normal, even welcomed. "Over by the Schoolhouse," I said. She lived up the block on Buena Vista.

Sometimes it seems day by day each of our little pockets we call "neighborhoods" are entrenched in their own provincial corners. We're stuck on Deutschtown being somehow distinct, if not better than the Mexican War Streets or Allegheny West. Today those lines were not the only ones to blur. Today those lines that kept us seperated by the sense of personal space on a city street were blurred by this third-place where we can meet and interact from today on as neighbors.

A side note, Beleza serves Peace Coffee

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.25.06 @ 14:08PST

With or Without Casino's
With or without gambling, it may be possible for much good to come from Casino dreaming. Pittsburgh will soon have a casino. Several developers have proposals on the table, but there will be only one casino license. In the end, it would seem a shame for all the plans to go to waste for lack of license. Faced with the prospect of not getting a license, the dreamers seem to be asking: "do we really need a casino to make this work?"

It's a good question to ask, and more often the answer seems to be "no."

Word is Forest City may develop South Shore condos with or without the Casino license. Likewise, after pulling his bid for a North Shore Casino near PNC Park, a man named Merrill Stabile now wants to develop anyway.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (which undoubtably must find some joy in the new parking garage rising in front of the competition's sign), Stabile and Kratsa Properties are putting together plans for a proposed residential, retail, entertainment and hotel development at the site.

More often than not, what developers and planners are coming up with are dense mixed-use developments with casino's in them. These kinds of developments, sometimes known as cities, have existed for centuries. We are perhaps now realizing they will work with or without casinos.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.25.06 @ 12:28PST

Friday, February 24th

Great American Cleanup Kicks Off
The State of Mississippi will host Keep America Beautiful for the kickoff of the organization's signature event, the Great American Cleanup. The nationwide event, now in its 21st year, mobilizes millions of volunteers each spring to clean, beautify and improve their communities.

The 2006 Great American Cleanup kickoff event -- the Hurricane Katrina Restoration project -- will take place on March 2, 2006, at the Biloxi Town Green. The project is an effort to clean up, fix up and beautify a community that was ravaged by the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

The primary objective of the work done in each area is to make a visible difference in the community in one day by cleaning and replanting to achieve coastal restoration and a more beautiful Biloxi. Ongoing Great American Cleanup activities in the Biloxi area this spring will include additional debris removal and tree plantings, household hazardous waste collection, the collection of electronic debris for proper disposal and recycling, and roadway/waterway litter cleanup.

In 2006, the Great American Cleanup is expected to involve 2.5 million people, who will volunteer more than 8 million hours to clean, beautify and improve 15,000 communities during 30,000 events from coast to coast in all 50 states. Activities will include beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.

Last year 2.4 million Great American Cleanup volunteers collected a record-breaking 208 million pounds of litter and debris; planted 4.2 million flowers and bulbs; cleaned 176,000 miles of roads, streets and highways; and cleaned 10,250 miles of rivers, lakes and shorelines. According to a 2005 Keep America Beautiful survey, 92 percent of Great American Cleanup organizers noted that their communities, neighborhoods and residents felt safer after volunteers united to clean and beautify their local environment.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.24.06 @ 11:58PST

Thursday, February 23rd

Sidewalk Speed Limits
I received this note today and thought I'd pass it along. Haven't seen hide nor hair of these devices in Pittsburgh, but perhaps it's a problem elsewhere.

By way of introduction my name is Cynthia Booker and I am a member of Innovative Mobility a student research group in Ontario, Canada. Our members all students come from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, very generally we are ※working for safe sidewalks, better cycling, walking, public transit and fewer cars. While many of our projects continue to be a work in progress, the one that I am writing to you about today is the threat of the ever increasing number of Electric Personal Assistance Mobility Devices (EPAMD) being developed for use on the sidewalks. The Segway was the first EPAMD developed exclusively for sidewalk use and we believe it is amazing and phenomenal technology but it does not belong on any public pedestrian infrastructure due to the hazards that motorized vehicles present to other sidewalk stakeholders.

Four years after the introduction of the Segway there are lots of really cool ※fun vehicle§ available that have been designed for sidewalk use from pocket crotch rockets to electric tricycles to the newest the ※levitating hover scooter§ in this rapidly emerging market. Innovative Mobility does not believe that any vehicle that is capable at speeds of 12.5 mph and beyond should be approved for sidewalk use whether driven by an able bodied or a person of disability.

Here in Ontario, we want to avoid the situation that has developed in the United States; whereby, the Segway lobbyists shoved through state, county and municipal committees a hodgepodge of statutes and ordinances that ※anomalously define the Segway operator as a pedestrian§. For example ※the Segway laws of New Hampshire, the Segway home state, demonstrates what can occur when corporate lobbyists set about to rewrite the traffic laws for their own purposes.§ (Reference is John S. Allen＊s excellent article of December, 2003 ※The Segway 每 Corporate Lobbyists Write the Law§.)

The ※bloom is off the rose§ for Segway in Ontario because there are many pedestrian rights groups like Innovative Mobility that have actively lobbied the politicians not to buy into the Segway spin and hoopla. As a result, no municipality across Ontario has approved the use of Segways on public sidewalks or roadways; they are only permitted on private property.

All of Innovative Mobility＊s presentations both at the municipal and provincial level have been published in the form of blogs:
1. Segways Caveats for Municipal Council Consideration at this link
2. Segway Is Not A Disability Device at This link
3. Segway For Ontario (An Antithesis) at This link
While our blogs have a distinct Ontario Canada flavour, they are sufficiently generic that they will have relevance to any global community considering the approval of Segways or any other EPAMD for use on the sidewalk.

These forementioned blogs are not intended as ※original work§ by Innovative Mobility but rather an assemblage of information sourced from internet resources by our team members. Within these documents every attempt has been made to give credit for intellectual property that is someone else＊s. Some of the most important resource material originated from authors:
﹞ John Allen
﹞ Steven B. Goodridge
﹞ Charlotte Sorenson
﹞ Todd Litman
﹞ Robert Blair, and
﹞ Barry Schiller
Innovative Mobility thanks these individuals for their work that made our assemblage documents possible.

We recommend that you check out our blogs and feel free to link to them from your internet pages. Thanks for your kind consideration in preserving the sanctity of the sidewalk; ※Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city＊s wealth of public life may grow.§ - Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.23.06 @ 09:34PST

Wednesday, February 22nd

Housing & Transit in the Bay Area
From the San Fancisco Examiner:

Ringing the Bay with medium- to high-density housing is the best way to save on mounting infrastructure costs and reduce commuter congestion as the region's population grows, according to a plan being shopped around by regional transportation experts. [...] What that development might look like ranges from skyscrapers in metropolitan downtowns to two- to five-story buildings along the Peninsula, according to officials. "There won't be a one-size-fits-all solution, so the type of growth that would fit in San Francisco or Oakland wouldn't necessarily make sense in less urban areas," said Janet McBride, planning director for the Association of Bay Area Governments."

The complete article: Area Growth Plan: Build Near Transit

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 02.22.06 @ 07:03PST

Sunday, February 19th

NAR: Metro Home-Price Appreciation Stays Hot
Numerous metropolitan areas showed double-digit annual home price appreciation in the fourth quarter, although the overall pace of growth has cooled slightly, according to the latest survey by National Association of Realtors. In addition, annual appreciation in metro area condo prices was mostly in the double-digit range.

The association＊s fourth-quarter metro area single-family home price report, covering 145 metropolitan statistical areas, shows a record 72 areas with double-digit annual increases in median existing single-family home prices and only six areas posting price declines. The previous record for areas showing double-digit price appreciation was 69 metros in the third quarter of 2004.

The national median existing single-family home price was $213,000 in the fourth quarter, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier when the median price was $187,500. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. In the third quarter of 2005, the annual rate of home-price appreciation was 14.7 percent.

Beginning with this report, NAR is launching a new series on metro area condominium and cooperative prices, covering changes in 51 markets; co-ops are a very small market share and are included with condo data. In the fourth quarter, the national median existing condo price was $228,200, which is 12.3 percent higher than a year ago. In all, 27 areas showed double-digit annual gains in the median condo price; there were seven areas with declines.

The biggest single-family price increase in the nation was in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area of Arizona, where the fourth quarter price of $268,400 rose 48.9 percent from a year earlier. Next was Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at $293,100, up 48.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004. Orlando, Fla., with a fourth quarter median price of $261,800, was up 42.0 percent in the last year.

Median fourth-quarter metro area single-family prices ranged from $63,800 in Danville, Ill., to nearly 12 times that amount in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area of California where the median price was $747,000. The second most expensive area in the United States was the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area at $718,700, followed by the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine area (Orange Co., Calif.) at $699,800.

Other low-cost markets include, Elmira, N.Y., the second least costly metro area at $78,800, and Decatur, Ill., with a fourth-quarter typical resale home price of $84,500.

None of the areas with price declines had previously experienced rapid price growth. Generally, these were lower-cost areas experiencing one or both of the conditions necessary for temporary price softness 每 local economic weakness, mainly in jobs, or a large supply of homes available in the local market.

As for condo prices, the strongest gains were in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area, where the fourth quarter price of $175,600 jumped 50.9 percent from a year ago. In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area of Florida, the median condo price of $185,400 rose 37.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004, while the Honolulu area, at $300,000, increased 36.4 percent. In all, 52.9 percent of the available markets experienced double-digit annual condo price appreciation. The condo price series will be expanded in the future as more data becomes available.

Metro area median existing condo prices ranged from $105,700 in Bismark, North Dakota, to $616,800 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont. The second most expensive reported area for condos was Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, at $406,600, followed by the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos area of California at $390,300.

Other low cost condo markets include Rochester, N.Y., at $108,800, and Greensboro-High Point, N.C., at $109,000.

Regionally, the strongest increase in the median existing single-family home price was in the West, up 18.2 percent over the last year to $328,500 during the fourth quarter. After Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, the strongest increase in the West was in the Tucson area, at $245,200, up 32.3 percent, followed by Salem, Ore., at $194,100, up 28.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004, and Honolulu, at $620,000, up 26.5 percent.

In the Midwest, the fourth-quarter median existing single-family home price of $167,600 rose 11.0 percent from the same period in 2004. The strongest metro increase in the Midwest was in Peoria, Ill., where the median price of $112,700 was 18.4 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2004. Next was Bismark, N.D, up 16.0 percent, and Danville, Ill., at $63,800, up 12.5 percent in the last year.

In the South, the typical existing single-family home price was $185,300 in the fourth quarter, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier. After the Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Orlando areas of Florida, the strongest increase in the South was in Ocala, Fla., at $161,100, up 41.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004. Next was Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, where the fourth quarter median price of $223,000 was 32.3 percent higher than a year ago, and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area of Virginia and North Carolina, at $220,500, up 31.5 percent.

In the Northeast, the median resale single-family home price during the fourth quarter was $240,300, up 8.0 percent from a year ago. The strongest increase in the region was in the New York City-Wayne-White Plains area of New York and New Jersey, at $537,300, up 19.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004, followed by Reading, Pa., with a median price of $143,200, up 16.9 percent, and the larger region of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, at $459,600, up 16.0 percent.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.19.06 @ 08:39PST

Warmest January On Record Heats Up Housing Construction
A temporary sag in interest rates and the warmest January on record nationwide combined to bring about a 14.5 percent surge in new home construction for the month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.

The January pace of new-home construction rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.276 million units, the highest on record since 1973. The pace was 4.0 percent above a year ago.

Single-family housing starts rose 12.8 percent to a new record pace of 1.819 million units for the month. This was 2.8 percent above a year ago.

All four regions reported strong increases in housing starts for the month. Construction of new homes and apartments rose 29.2 percent in the Northeast, 23.7 percent in the Midwest. 8.7 percent in the South and 16.9 percent in the West.

Multifamily housing starts increased by 21.9 percent for the month to a seasonally adjusted pace of 457,000 units. This was 9.1 percent above the pace of a year ago. ※Our surveys of multifamily builders show that the rental market is firming up to some degree, with declining vacancies and rising rents,§ said Seiders.

Issuance of total building permits increased 6.8 percent to a seasonably adjusted rate of 2.217 million units for the month. Single-family permit issuance was up 2.4 percent to a pace of 1.685 million units for the month. The pace of multifamily permit issuance increased 23.7 percent to a pace of 532,000 units for the month.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.19.06 @ 08:35PST

LISC Initiative Aims At Commercial Development in Underserved Areas
ShoreBank Corporation and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) recently announced the creation of an initiative designed to help fuel retail and commercial development in underserved urban neighborhoods. LISC will operate the new service, LISC MetroEdge, out of its Chicago office.


LISC has identified business and economic growth as critical elements in neighborhood revitalization, and sees the research MetroEdge provides as a significant tool to help municipalities and neighborhood groups attract retailers and other businesses to communities they might have otherwise overlooked.

MetroEdge is designed to fill the information gap in inner-city markets by combining the collection and analysis of national and local data with the construction of new metrics to gauge market potential in urban areas. ShoreBank Corporation launched MetroEdge in 1998 on the assumption that mainstream businesses were seriously underestimating the consumer, asset and market potential of inner-city neighborhoods. In recent years, MetroEdge has seen increased demand for its services from the nonprofit and government sectors.

For the last 25 years LISC has provided nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) with loans, grants and business expertise to help them build affordable housing, child care centers, schools, recreational facilities and the other buildings and programs that make neighborhoods desirable places to live, work and do business. During that time, LISC has developed strong relationships with those neighborhood groups and their respective municipalities, many of whom are in the market for MetroEdge's services.

Beginning January 6, 2006, LISC MetroEdge will be based in LISC's Chicago office at 1 N. LaSalle St. In the coming year it will work among the 16 neighborhoods in LISC/Chicago＊s New Communities Program (NCP) 每 an ambitious initiative designed to strengthen communities through planning, organizing and human development. LISC MetroEdge will develop market profiles in these neighborhoods. In four of the communities, it will complete comprehensive retail scans, analyzing concentrated buying power, service sector gaps, income diversity, the amount and type of private and public investment, and "float" by retail category (the amount of unmet retail opportunity in a geographic area). Other NCP communities will receive similar analyses in subsequent years.

In addition, it is expected that LISC MetroEdge will begin work in one community outside of Chicago in 2006. Nationally, LISC will incorporate LISC MetroEdge's market research abilities and community consulting expertise to sharpen its new focus on community economic development and to work in concert with LISC's new Research and Assessment unit, which is designed to quantify community development efforts.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.19.06 @ 08:30PST

Sunday, February 12th

New Items Available In Our Marketplace!
Check our marketplace for recently added items. Have an idea for a marketplace item? Send us an email





 

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.12.06 @ 11:42PST

Saturday, February 11th

Harris Poll: Public Wants Rail
A Harris poll released February 8 found that, ※as personal travel and freight transportation grows in the future, the American public would like to see an increasing proportion of that traffic going by rail＃The modes of transportation which the largest number of adults would like to see ＆have an increasing share of passenger transportation＊ are: commuter trains (44%), long-distance trains (35%), local bus service (23%), and airlines (23%).§ The comparable percentage for ※long-distance travel by car§ was just 10%, long-distance bus service 6%.

Freight rail also received strong support in the survey: ※Freight railroads (63%) come far ahead of all other modes that adults would like to see have an increasing share of freight transportation. They are followed by: Air freight (35%), and Trucks (24%).§ 47% of respondents were primarily concerted about safety, while 44% were concerned about energy efficiency and 29% by cost. Survey participants also want to see federal government involvement to continue, ※When it comes to the transportation system ＆in the nation as a whole,＊ two-thirds (68%) of adults believe this should be a responsibility of the federal government.§

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.11.06 @ 14:43PST

Tuesday, February 7th

Study Shows Poor Planning Harms Health in Several Ways
Researchers have shown for the first time that the same pattern of unwise land use can adversely affect a wide range of health indicators, including obesity and air pollution. This comprehensive study is the first to be commissioned by a local government to assess multiple health impacts of the built environment. The study's findings were reported in the winter edition of the Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA), the scholarly journal of the American Planning Association.

The study examined the impacts the built environment could have on residents' health if it reduces opportunities for active transportation (walking or biking) and encourages more time spent in vehicles that can lead to an increase in vehicle emissions and air pollution. The authors explained that such a built environment could lead to an increased risk for several major chronic diseases, obesity, exposure to pollutants and risk of respiratory ailments.

The findings were generated from two studies conducted in King County, Washington. Use of the same walkability index in each study in the same region allowed for a strong comparison of association across multiple outcomes.

The first study conducted was the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study. It concentrated on the relationship of urban form to physical activity and obesity. The results from this study were consistent with findings of previous studies.

The second study was the King County Land Use, Transportation, Air Quality, and Health Study that assessed the effects of land use and transportation network design on travel patterns and per capita vehicle emissions, which influences air quality.

The authors found that a modest 5 percent increase in neighborhood walkability was associated with 32.1 percent more minutes per week of physically active travel, approximately a one-quarter point lower BMI (about 1.5 pounds), 6.5 percent fewer vehicle miles traveled per capita and lower vehicle emissions (5.6 fewer grams of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 5.5 percent fewer grams of volatile organic compounds (VOC) per capita). These compounds react in sunlight to form harmful ozone.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.07.06 @ 16:36PST

APTA Disappointed With President's Proposed FY 2007 DOT Budget
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) says it is disappointed that the Administration's FY 2007 budget proposes to fund federal transit investment at $100 million below the level approved just last summer by near unanimous votes in Congress and signed into law by the President.

Under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Congress set guaranteed transit funding at $8.97 billion in FY 2007. While transit funding would increase by 4.3%, from $8.50 billion in FY 2006 to $8.87 billion in FY 2007, funding transit below the authorized and guaranteed level means that needed improvements to the transit infrastructure will occur at a slower rate, thus prolonging what the President correctly described in his State of the Union Address as America's addiction to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.

While the budget proposal adheres to the SAFETEA-LU transit program in most respects, it proposes funding only $100 million of the $200 million authorized in FY 2007 for a new program meant to assist the development and construction of smaller fixed guideway projects such as streetcars, trolleys, commuter rail, and certain bus rapid transit systems. With 322 new starts projects in construction or authorized for final design or preliminary engineering in SAFETEA-LU, a cut in this program is indefensible.

In addition, APTA says the budget assumes the imposition of $59 million in fees on commuter railroads in the Northeast Corridor in each of FY 2006 and 2007 to support Amtrak spending, even though the open and transparent process which Congress called for to establish those fees has not yet been completed. These fees if imposed will force commuter railroads to raise fares and reduce service to their customers, thus pushing many back into their cars at a time when the President has identified America's need to wean itself from imported oil.

With recent U.S. Department of Transportation annual needs assessments of more than $20.6 billion for public transportation, APTA believes that the federal government should be invest no less than the level authorized and guaranteed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. APTA will work with the Congress to ensure that transit capital investment is fully funded. Transit investment benefits every community and the nation. It helps to reduce our dependence on imported oil, improve air quality, and reduce congestion.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.07.06 @ 16:25PST

Sunday, February 5th

Pittsburgh and Seattle

The two cities, strikingly similar and yet worlds apart, will face-off in today's Superbowl. Here are some quick stats, but you can explore the cities through our city pages.

Seattle:
Population: 569,101

Demographics: White 70.1 percent, African-American 8.4 percent, Asian: 13.1 percent, Hispanic 5.3 percent.

Median Household Income: $45,736

Persons Per Square Mile: 6,717.0

Median Housing Price: $321,100

Seattle Info


Pittsburgh:
Population: 325,337

Demographics: White 67.6 percent, African-American 27.1 percent, Asian 2.7 percent, Hispanic 1.3 percent.

Median Household Income: $28,588

Persons Per Square Mile: 6,019.0

Median Housing Price: $106,400

Pittsburgh Info

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.05.06 @ 08:49PST

Saturday, February 4th

Even With Decline in Gas Prices in November, Strong Ridership Trend Continues As More Than 25 Agencies Show Double Digit Increases
With high gas prices in the third quarter of 2005, national transit ridership grew by 3.3 % from the same period in 2004, according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). At the same time that transit ridership was increasing during the 2005 third quarter, Americans parked their cars and vehicle miles of travel (VMT) decreased by 0.2%, according to the Federal Highway Administration statistics. Additionally, a recent survey of transit systems conducted by APTA indicates that this growing ridership trend continued in November, despite a drop in gas prices that month.

The 2005 third quarter report shows that all types of public transportation showed increases. Light rail showed the largest increase at 8.8%. Some cities and one state had larger light rail increases than the national average: Minneapolis (70.9%), Tampa (22.1%), Sacramento (18.2%), Los Angeles (15.9%), San Diego (15.1%), Houston (14.8%), and New Jersey (14.1%).

Commuter rail showed the second highest national ridership increase for the 2005 third quarter of 4.6%. Larger individual ridership increases were experienced in the following areas: Chesterton, IN (10.4%), Philadelphia (9.9%), Harrisburg (8.9%), San Carlos, CA (7.9%), New Jersey (6.7%), Los Angeles (5.7%).

Heavy rail (subway) lines across the country averaged a 4.3% increase. Some major increases in heavy rail ridership were experienced in the following localities: Cleveland (7.8%), Los Angeles (7.7%), Philadelphia (7.6%), Boston (7.3%), Washington (6.3%), Chicago (6.2%), Jersey City - Port Authority of NY/NJ (5.4%), and Staten Island (5.0%).

Other types of public transportation showed the following increases: Bus (2.5%), Demand Response (3.2%) and Trolleybus (0.2%).

APTA recently conducted a survey of 86 large and small U.S. transit agencies regarding November ridership figures to see if ridership trends continued, even as gas prices declined. This survey indicated 88% of the agencies reported transit ridership continued at higher rates than a year earlier, despite the fact that gas prices went down in November. In some places, transit systems reported increases in double digits. These include Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City among others.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.04.06 @ 09:04PST

Record 4.6 Million Passengers Ride Amtrak California Trains In 2005
A record 4.6 million passengers rode Amtrak California trains in 2005. Passenger traffic on all intrastate Amtrak trains in California showed strong gains nearly every month during the year. The combined ridership on Amtrak's three state-supported routes, the Pacific Surfliner, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins was up 4.9 percent in 2005 over the previous year. Amtrak attributes the increase to a strong economy, rising gasoline prices and continued growth of the San Joaquin valley.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains provide 12 daily roundtrips between San Diego and Los Angeles, with five roundtrips extending to Santa Barbara and two continuing to San Luis Obispo. In 2005, Pacific Surfliner ridership was 2.5 million passengers, a 4.6 percent increase over the previous year. More than 312,000 passengers rode between Angeles and San Diego, an increase of 6 percent.

Amtrak San Joaquin trains offer four daily roundtrips between Bakersfield and Oakland and two daily roundtrips between Bakersfield and Sacramento. Ridership during 2005 was 771,409 passengers, a 3.2 percent increase. Ridership between Bakersfield and Fresno was up 17.6 percent over the previous year with 82,064 passengers.

Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains provide service between Sacramento and the Bay Area (San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose) with 12 daily roundtrips. In 2005, 1.3 million passengers rode Capitol Corridor trains, an increase of 6.5 percent. More than 110,000 passengers traveled between Richmond and Sacramento, an increase of 9.4 percent over the previous year.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.04.06 @ 08:43PST

Wednesday, February 1st

Booming 1990s Left Black Men Behind
A new book from the Urban Institute Press presents national experts' analysis of how and why the economic boom of the 1990s eluded young black men and suggests policies to improve their economic and social circumstances.

Black Males Left Behind, the eleven-chapter volume edited by Ronald B. Mincy of Columbia University, rivets much-needed attention on a population bypassed by much of the last decade's economic successes and welfare overhaul.

During the 1990s, the employment rate of 16- to 24-year-old black men with a high school education or less fell from its peak during the 1980s economic expansion. In addition, their labor force participation continued the decline of the 1980s, sliding from 1.03 million in 1979 to 898,000 in 2001 and coinciding with rapid growth in the number who were incarcerated or on parole or probation.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.01.06 @ 16:37PST

Applications For All-America City Award Due March 9th, Finalists Will Be Announced April 14th
Cities and communities interested in applying for the All-America City Award have six more weeks to put their hats in the ring for the prestigious community award.

As it has since 1949, the 2006 All-America City Award will recognize communities that are overcoming their challenges through innovative leadership and collaborative problem solving. The All-America-City Award, a program of the National Civic League, is the oldest and most prestigious community recognition program in the country. The Award recognizes exceptional community problem-solving and is earned by communities that work cooperatively to address and overcome challenges.

For the past 56 years, the All-America City Award has encouraged, and recognized, civic excellence. It honors communities of all sizes 每 cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods and regions 每 in which citizens, government, businesses and volunteer organizations work together to address critical local issues. Communities that address their challenges in innovative and collaborative ways can become an All-America City.

Since 1949, more than 500 communities have earned this prestigious award. The National Civic League is now accepting applications for the 2006 Award. Cities, towns, neighborhoods, counties, and regions can apply. Applications are due March 9, 2006. The National Civic League will announce the 30 finalists on April 14, 2006. All finalists advance to the 57 th annual All-America City Awards competition in Anaheim, June 9-12. A national panel of judges from all sectors of society will score all 30 presentations and select 10 winners based on the quality of the collaborative projects each community presents.

For more information, or to receive an application for the 2006 All-America City Award, contact Gary Chandler at the National Civic League. Call 303-571-4343, or write to aleksh@ncl.org.

Applications and information are available at www.ncl.org/aac. The 2006 All-America City Award program is sponsored in part by Marriott International and the Marriott Anaheim.

The National Civic League (NCL) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to building community and promoting democracy at the local level. NCL facilitates community processes and conducts and publishes research on political reform and community building.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.01.06 @ 16:33PST

Oil Addiction and Passenger Rail
The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) says it agrees with President Bush that it is a ※serious problem§ that ※America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.§ However, NARP says, addressing this problem requires corrective actions on many fronts.

For example, President Bush＊s FY 2006 budget--to be released next Monday--should include funding to make intercity passenger rail a more attractive and widely available choice. Such funding would give credibility to such statements by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta as, ※The President and I want to save Amtrak and improve passenger rail service§ (St. Louis, March 10, 2005). Amtrak ridership rose in each of the last three years, and in eight of the last nine years. The company is not perfect, but the key problem is inadequate federal funding.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) said at a January 17 news conference announcing his re-election bid, ※Part of my goal, hopefully, is to put a little pressure on the administration, because I don＊t think their [passenger rail] proposal has any credibility at all, and on the House to go ahead and address this issue. And then let＊s get into conference and see if we can get a bill that would be good.§

In a related move, the House Ways and Means Committee at a 1:45 PM session today, in accordance with its chairman＊s mark, is expected to strip tax (funding) provisions from a bill (H.R. 1631) intended to help finance high speed rail infrastructure projects. The same thing happened in 2003. The action reflects the reality that passenger rail needs--but does not currently have--a champion on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.01.06 @ 16:31PST

U.S. Cities Report Improving Fiscal Conditions But Remain Cautious for 2006
Despite overall signs of improving fiscal health in 2005, half of the nation＊s cities have been forced to raise new revenues to address gaps created by rising employee health care and pension costs, as well as increases in public safety and infrastructure needs, according to a National League of Cities (NLC) survey released today.

Results from City Fiscal Conditions in 2005 show that nearly half (48 percent) of the cities surveyed increased fees and charges for city services in order to balance budgets in 2005. Only twenty-six percent say they relied on increases in property taxes, while even smaller numbers increased sales tax rates, income tax rates, and other tax rates.

For the first time since 2001, city fiscal conditions are showing improvements. But ongoing revenue constraints and concerns over potential declines in property tax revenues resulting from slowing real estate markets leave many city officials cautious as they draw up their budgets for 2006. Findings from the survey include:

*More than three in five city officials say their cities were better able to meet financial needs in 2005 than in previous years.

*Nine in ten city finance officers cited employee health benefits and employee wages as the top factors affecting city budgets in 2005.

*Increases in employee health care and wages, public safety needs and pension costs were cited as having the most negative impact on the ability of cities to meet their fiscal demands in 2005. Reductions in state aid were also cited as having a negative effect.

*Three in four officials reported they increased public safety spending in 2005, while half (53 percent) reported increases in spending on infrastructure needs. Forty (40) percent of officials increased spending on human services.

*Finance officers in cities that rely on sales taxes or income taxes were more likely to report improved conditions for 2005 than those cities that rely exclusively on property taxes.

Looking ahead to 2006, finance officers in cities that rely more on sales taxes were most likely to predict improving conditions for 2006, compared to those that rely on property taxes and income taxes.
Finance officers in the largest cities were less optimistic for 2006 than those in other sized cities; with finance officers in the South more hopeful than those in the Northeast, West, and Midwest.

City Fiscal Conditions in 2005 is a national mail survey of finance officers in U.S. cities. The survey is conducted on behalf of the National League of Cities by Michael A. Pagano, professor of public administration and director of the Graduate Program in Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Survey data was drawn from 276 cities, with a representative sampling across city size. This is the 21st year that NLC has conducted the survey.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.01.06 @ 05:44PST