Oh Hai Secretary LaHood!

Thanks to Adam P for pointing out this brilliant picture of Ray LaHood on a TGV train.

Via AFP

Connection Links

The most interesting finds of the day:

Train station revival in Redlands. Wonder if ESRI has anything to do with this...
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Peter Calthorpe is working in Toronto along the Subway extensions
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Streetcar expansion in the Big Easy?
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After the rocky start of the Music City Star Commuter Rail line, I'm really really surprised at this possible commuter rail expansion. It's in the long range plan but I thought long range meant 50 years.
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I love love love when I can go on a trip and not set foot inside a taxi. Fortunately a lot more cities are connecting their airports to downtown with transit. I do wish more places would think harder about the long term implications of not having a station in the terminal such as in Dallas or Phoenix. Yeah it meant some tunneling but it makes things so much easier! I know there are a lot of people that hate the BART to the airport connection, but I love it and use it all the time. If you need to charge me more, go for it. USA Today runs the story on rail from airports.

Music Monday: Empire Builder

Empire Builder by Mason Jennings.

Sunset Streetcar Houses

Did you know that in the Sunset District of San Francisco there are houses made out of old streetcars? Yup. You can watch a whole CBS 5 segment on the Sunset here. The streetcar house piece on the district called "carville" starts at about 16:20. Fascinating.

Intervention of Fools

So the losers of the Richmond fight in Houston are at it again. Now they've gotten a lawmaker from El Paso to insert language into a bill that takes away eminent domain from Houston Metro. And its again blatantly obvious what they are doing, trying to kill the whole light rail system plan.

The restrictions mirror the rhetoric of rail critics, who say the location of the controversial University Line down Richmond and Westpark doesn’t conform to the referendum.
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The El Paso Democrat said they convinced him that the transit agency hadn’t complied with the referendum. He said he hadn’t talked with the agency, though, before adding the language. At issue is whether it’s lawful to build a line partially on Richmond when the ballot described it as being on Westpark.

Why is this El Paso Democrat trying to fight a battle that is already over? With all of the lines approved and the ridership estimates dependent on the whole system being constructed, this push against the University Line would effectively kill the system's expansion. While I'm sure that is what these folks intended, it shouldn't even be considered. Specifically because these critics are, as they always have, making things up.

Off the Kuff has more and urges those in the Houston area to contact Rep. Pickett to let him know what you think.

Update: The amendment has been removed.

Memorial Day Links

Have a great Memorial Day, here are some links for good reading.

Urban Transport has an interesting chart of Energy Consumption by sector.
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Alan Pisarski decides to take on the affordability index. The PDF doesn't work, but you can get a gist of the findings and a rebuttal at Streetsblog, where Heritage kingpin Ron Utt has posted in the comments of Elana Schor's post.

It is odd that Elena was unable to get her question in during the 45 minute Q and A, especially as she was sitting next to me -- the meeting's host -- and I was handling the questions. Anyway, I'm excited about the exposure and soon we will be posting Alan's presentation so that her readers can make up their own minds.

It's funny when Heritage folks think that Streetsblog is a forum where they can win friends after continueing to hate the basic premise behind it. Streets are for people. We must be making some headway if they are starting to complain about this stuff now. Good job Streetsblog.
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More parking decks means more development downtown. Didn't you know that?
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Jon Stewart is awesome.
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Richard points out the Dutch form of accessibility planning that pushes zoning to follow the transportation infrastructure available.

Quote of the Day

Ray LaHood says what we've all been thinking and saying for years:

In a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Lahood expressed exasperation with the suggestion from some of his fellow Republicans that redirecting federal transportation money from highways to other modes of transportation amounted to government meddling in individual decisions.

"About everything we do around here is government intrusion into people's lives," he said.

Hitting back at the road socialism that the sprawlagists have been defending for years.

Tucson Springing Up on Streetcar Line

Looks like things are hopping in Tucson. 30 projects, not bad in this economy.

About 150 of “riders” traveled the planned route, though this time it was by bus. The ride took us past 30 projects that are sprouting up from Mercado San Agustin, at West Congress and Avenida del Convento, to the Main Gate of the University. Rio Nuevo is indeed moving forward!

For Every Dollar Spent

A study for the North Corridor in Charlotte shows that for every dollar spent on transit, $3 will be returned in the form of tax base and economic development. But I thought it was all a socialist plot! You can check out the study for the University City Partners here.

Linkfest: A Matter of Fact

Apparently concrete ties are better than wooden ones.
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CATS Cheif Keith Parker is leaving Charlotte for San Antonio (Why?). I wonder if its because they are going to do some rail building.
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Can high speed rail really be called transit? And if not, is the transbay terminal a multimodal transit hub? Just a thought.
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He not only lied about the bike numbers in his recent Newsweek column, he also doubled the cost in his head of the California HSR line. Apparently facts don't matter to George "Jean Shorts" Will.