Archive
Assorted Links of the Day
1. Street Cars are Making a Comeback, Thanks Largely to Obama
2. Applying Highway Concepts to Transit
Really great article about how some of the theories which apply to highway design also lend to urban transit design.
Meh… Not sure of the value of this idea…
The High Cost of Free Parking
San Francisco has some of the highest housing costs in America, for people that is… San Fran recently completed a “Parking Census” which involved the pain staking task of counting every available parking space. The census revealed that there were over 280,000 on-street parking spots with only 10% of those being metered. The total area of free parking is around 940 acres, nearly as much as Golden Gate Park! The Next American City, has more about the census and the strategies San Fran will adopt to benefit from this currently wasted space.
A parking census would be a useful tool for any city wanting to use space more effectively, and possibly make some revenue. Calgary could benefit greatly from a parking census. There are areas in Calgary (Kensington, 17th Ave, etc.) where the space allotted for on-street parking greatly exceeds the size of the sidewalk. The narrow, often obstructed sidewalks in Kensignton make it difficult to navigate on foot or bike. While I have no data to back this up, I assume that most people in Kensington walked or biked there, and the minority drove. If we plan to subsidize one form of transportation over the other, I would think we should favor the former methods, walking and biking.
My suggestion: get rid of one of lane of parking, use chicanes to calm traffic and to alternate which side you can park on. With the newly found space: expand the sidewalks, move lights and other street furniture towards the edge, and BUILD BIKE LANES!!!
Any Comments?
Waterfront Toronto Unveils New ‘Underpass Park’
Toronto has long been scarred by the Gardner Expressway, much in the way Calgary is scarred by the rail line running through 10thish ave, only Toronto’s is much worse. Their waterfront is largely inaccessible by foot or car because of the Gardner expressway. City Council has long been trying to find a way to “fix the problem”. Here is there attempt. The intention is that “the park will remove a psychological barrier by converting the derelict space beneath the ramps into a bright, new neighborhood destination. “. While I am inclined to agree with them, I can hardly imagine wanting to go hang out beneath an overpass.
While I hope to avoid editorializing, I think the problem is the Gardner, not the shadow it casts. You can’t polish a turd nor can you make a freeway a “bright, fully accessible urban neighbourhood amenity that will contribute to the success of the developments being built in the community.”
You can read the release here.
The high cost of living in the suburbs
We’ve know about the high cost of living in the suburbs for quite sometime now, but the folks over at the Center For Neighborhood Technology have mapped it. The Human and Transportation affordability indexes measures “the true affordability of housing based on its location”. This interactive info-graphic is an interesting and useful tool for any TOD advocate.
The blue areas are where cost of transportation is more than 45% of the household income. 
Free Burger!
Hey everyone,
The year-end * SU Clubs BBQ* will be held this Friday, April 9th from 11am to 2pm. It will be in the MSC Ballroom. All UrbanCSA members are entitled to a free burger and drink when they present their club membership card.
* Burger most likely looks nothing like this.
