Planning Pool

That’s right — the ever-illusive flying car is back, only this time it’s ready for full deployment in the 4th Quarter this year. Of course, flying cars aren’t a new idea, but they’re apparently gaining steam once again. I chose the following as our weekly video because I’m baffled as to what a person does with a flying car. If you’re looking for a fun and frightening exercise, try to imagine what civilization would look like if we all had our own Terrafugia Transition. Read more…

In Vancouver, as in many cities in North America and Europe, June is officially Bike Month. To celebrate, the Planning Institute of British Columbia’s South Coast Chapter presented a summer bicycle tour on June 19 for local planners and cycling enthusiasts.

The theme was “Health and the Built Environment”, so the morning began with a chat about the implications of walkable and bikeable environments for public health. Next, the cyclists took to the streets and bike lanes to tour Vancouver’s cycling infrastructure, lead by a dream team of local transportation planners and cycling advocates.

My twelve favourite pictures from the morning are in the slideshow below…

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Today’s post presents a story about transportation modelling and the real costs of driving, originally covered in this month’s Wired magazine. Congestion pricing isn’t exactly a popular idea in North America, so it’s great to see the science behind it taken seriously in non-planning media.

Thanks to Bernard Garon on Flickr for this great Creative Commons photo of New York Traffic.

The goal of traffic engineering is to maintain the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. It is typically measured in terms of vehicular volume, traffic flow, and incident rates. However, traffic and transit are complicated issues with significant economic, environmental, and social and ramifications. Charles Komanoff, an energy-policy analyst, transport economist and environmental activist, has devoted years to measuring and analyzing New York’s … Continue Reading

Transit service and land use patterns are inextricably linked. Thanks to Wylie Poon on Flickr for this Creative Commons photo showing a transit expansion in Toronto!

One of the session topics on the last day of the CTRF 2010 conference was Urban Transit, which for the transit planner at heart was a great way to close off the event! The first paper was presented by Sybil Derrible, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. The paper, prepared with Bilal Farooq, categorized four types of neighbourhoods based on the type of land use development and corresponding transit potential. The four styles were exemplified by Toronto-based developments, but can be applied to most North American settlement patterns. They are: urban sprawled, … Continue Reading

The second part of the active transportation series included a more specific paper presentation on cyclists which I thought was deserving of its own post due to the appropriate season and continuing push for bike plans across North America.

Cycling as a mode of transport for utilitarian purposes was the focus of Asya Bidodinova’s presentation. Asya is a MA candidate at the University of Toronto, where the research took focus, studying the policies and infrastructure that accommodated for cyclists making utilitarian trips. While her research focused primarily on the downtown campus of the University of Toronto, the implications of her study apply to the city at large and any city seeking ways to encourage bike use to current- and non-users. The study highlighted the concerns of cyclists (and non cyclists) in order of priority to what deterred cycling for utilitarian purposes … Continue Reading

From May 30th to June 2nd, Toronto hosts the 45th annual Canadian Transportation Research Forum, with the theme ‘transportation and logistics trends and policies: successes and failures’. The spectrum of papers being presented this year ranges from container shipping trends and implications, to the benefits of roundabouts for pedestrian safety; needless to say there is no shortage of critical ideas! This series of posts will include brief summaries with critiques and links in hopes to evoke critical discussion and questioning on some of the issues.

Thanks to Arti Sandhu on Flickr for this wonderful Creative Commons illustration of active transportation components. She entitles this photo "The Chase"

The two stage sessions that I attended on Monday were on the topic of Active Transportation. The first set … Continue Reading

In planning news and in the blogosphere, this week brought two great stories from Boston, including a glimpse at the future of open transit data. Other stories address the challenging imperative of energy security, and mark without mourning the end of the public-private partnership that, until recently, operated London’s Underground.

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Daniel Fontaine is a co-editor of CityCaucus.com and an active political commentator with a background in political science, writing and strategy. CityCaucus occasionally teams up with PlanningPool.com to cross-post articles of common interest… like this one, originally published here.

Should taxis be treated the same way as other public transit vehicles?

Thanks to Travis Nep Smith on Flickr for this great Creative Commons photo of a taxi in rainy Vancouver.

For many of us who live in major urban centres and choose not to own a vehicle (or can’t afford one), taxis are an essential form of public transit that helps us to manage our daily affairs. In my own case, our family decided years ago that we’d sell our second car and … Continue Reading

Hearing Dan Burden speak to a Vancouver crowd was like Mariah Carey’s third wedding to the same guy: superfluous, self-congratulatory, and all criticism aside, a great way to renew vows.

Thanks to Christopher Lewis Cotrel on Flickr for this heartwarming photo of a Vancouver bicycle wedding!

Vancouver is an incredibly walkable and bikeable place. We get mixed use right, with small scale neighbourhood grocers and a variety of housing types. We care about the human scale, with tree-lined streets, frequent parks and a never-ending supply of the urban necessity of coffee shops. We fight the good fight in reducing travel lanes and handing them over to people, with the Olympics and the Burrard Bridge as examples. Dan reminded us that not only do we … Continue Reading

Among recent improvements in the site layout here at PlanningPool.com, we’ve revamped the NewsPool feature. This is a continuously updated feed of noteworthy current planning stories found on the Net by PlanningPool contributors. Check it out by clicking the tab at the site’s top right!

A few this week’s stories from the NewsPool are highlighted below, for your end-of-week reading pleasure.

In the world of planning for more sustainable transportation, bicycles are getting well-deserved respect in the US and in Mexico City:

Los Angeles Times – Mexico City Bicycle Program Pedals Uphill
Mexico City’s bicycle-sharing system, Ecobici, challenges assumptions in a car-oriented culture. Its goal is to raise bikes’ mode share from 1% to 5% in the city.

CUNY Sustainable Cities – … Continue Reading