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They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. But the people who shape the future of greater Detroit — despite all the urban flight, sprawl, and decline they’ve seen – just can’t seem to acknowledge that they have an addiction to big highway projects. On the agenda Thursday for the regional planning commission, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, are two highway expansion plans that will cost an astounding $4 billion combined.

The last thing greater Detroit needs is $4 billion worth of freeways. Image: Mlive.com

On the one hand, some Detroit power players are starting to embrace sustainable transportation. Regional leaders recently brought together urban and suburban officials to create the first unified regional transit system for the area. The city of Detroit is working to add 100 miles of bike lanes this year. And then there are the plans for downtown light rail and bus rapid transit to the suburbs. Efforts like those provide hope that the Detroit region will reverse its decline and emerge stronger than ever.

But amid the signs of progress are two highway projects that threaten to undermine the region’s recovery. The worst of the two, perhaps, is the $2.7 billion plan to widen I-94 through Midtown. SEMCOG and the political leaders who appoint its members apparently believe that ramming more than half a dozen new highway lanes through one of the city’s most promising neighborhoods will help stabilize Detroit.

If you ask the experts, they strongly disagree. Model D Media reports that not only will this project soak up nearly $3 billion that could be used to advance the region’s transit ambitions, it will actually impede mobility for city residents. The project will eliminate 14 freeway crossings in the city, making walking and biking more difficult for city residents with limited options. “After removing these bridges, there will be a mile of impassable expressway,” Todd Scott of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance told local website We Are Mode Shift.

Local resistance to this project is, not surprisingly, increasing. The city of Detroit and Washtenaw County, home of Ann Arbor, recently passed resolutions opposing it. Similar legislation is being considered by Ferndale and Hazel Park, two inner suburbs.

On Thursday, SEMCOG will vote on I-94 and another highway plan to expand I-75 through wealthy, suburban Oakland County. Together these projects represent $4 billion in planned spending. There is some concern that if the region were to reject these projects, it would forfeit federal money. But regional transportation officials have indicated that this money could be spent repairing the city’s existing roads, which are in terrible shape. Last year, a survey of the region’s residents found more than 90 percent said the roads are in fair to poor condition. Maintenance costs have doubled in recent years, local officials report, while the population has shrunk.

Imagine how much good $4 billion could do the Detroit region if directed toward some of the region’s biggest problems.

Model D Media points out that amount of money could fully fund Governor Rick Snyder’s $500 million bus rapid transit plans, and the remaining $3.5 billion would be enough to purchase a moped for every resident of the seven-county region (not that that qualifies as sound transportation planning). Or SEMCOG could restore the $7 million it recently stripped from the Detroit Department of Transportation (which runs the urban bus system) every year for the next 507 years.

City residents in Detroit are still trying to cope with hours-long waits for the bus. Extravagant highway projects through city neighborhoods should be a non-starter. With this vote, greater Detroit has an opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, to demonstrate that the region is looking ahead, that it has the vision to solve its formidable problems. Unfortunately, SEMCOG does not have a reputation for leadership or vision. The agency was recently subject to civil rights litigation for failing to represent the interests of the region’s black residents.

Will regional leaders take this opportunity to forge a new path, or will they continue with their destructive asphalt habit?

The BTA and Bud Clark have re-imagined the famous 1978 poster.

Former Mayor Bud Clark is no stranger to Portland public art or bicycling. In fact he has reached iconic status for both. Clark, who was our mayor from 1985-1992, is known for his promotion and participation in Bike to Work Day and his appearance on the "Expose Yourself to Art" poster made him a household name in the 1970s. (Disclaimer: I had a copy of the poster on my bedroom wall through high school and college without even knowing anything about Clark or Portland).

Now Clark is set to lead the Expose Yourself to Art Ride as part of Pedalpalooza.

Clark posed for the famous poster in 1978 and he has remade it for the BTA with a more bicycle-centric theme. Clark, who owns the Goose Hollow Inn bar and restaurant in southwest Portland, has remained a part of the community since retiring from public office. He has ridden in the annual, invite-only "Policymakers Ride" a few times and he pops up at bike-related and other events throughout the year.

Bud Clark in 2008. (Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Tomorrow's ride is co-sponsored by the BTA and the Regional Arts and Culture Council. It leaves from the 2nd Floor mezzanine of the Portland Building (1120 SW 5th) at 6:00 pm (get there a bit early if you can).

The verdict is in. And it looks like Hollywood won.

The Los Angeles City Council just voted unanimously to replace the Spring Street green bike lanes with a new treatment hashed out behind closed doors — without hearing a single comment from the many bike riders present in the room.

Instead, the lanes will be restriped in white, with a narrow, four inch line of reflective dark green paint inside each line.

Hardly the highly visible lanes Downtown bike riders now enjoy, and which have resulted in a significant increase in bicycling on the street.

The council members called it a compromise that works for everyone. But many bike advocates walked out of the room feeling like they’d lost.

And knowing they hadn’t been heard.

More details to follow.

Bill de Blasio’s mayoral campaign released a wide-ranging policy book today, with a transportation platform that emphasizes the expansion of Select Bus Service, a “Vision Zero” approach to street safety, and the continued growth of the city’s bike lane and bike-share networks. De Blasio also pledges to target upzonings and new housing near transit and to build more permeable street surfaces to absorb stormwater.

Bill de Blasio.

The transportation platform is the most unequivocal expression of support for safer streets, better surface transit, and increased bicycling so far from de Blasio, who as public advocate has professed skepticism about street transformations like the proposed 34th Street busway, the pedestrianization of Times Square, and protected bike lanes. Some of the goals would require assistance from Albany and the feds, but for the most part they’re within the realm of what City Hall can influence: the allocation of street space and city funds.

A few highlights:

• Tops on de Blasio’s list is the establishment of a “World-Class Bus Rapid Transit” network and a pledge to phase in more than 20 BRT lines. He refers to several BRT corridors proposed by the Pratt Center for Community Development and says he would commit city capital funds to implementation.
• Taking a page from a 2011 Transportation Alternatives report, de Blasio endorses the “Vision Zero” ethic and says the city should strive to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. On his agenda are the expansion of 20 mph zones to more residential areas, taming wide, high-speed roads like Bruckner Boulevard and Queens Boulevard, and wresting control of speed camera deployment from Albany (obtaining home rule power over automated enforcement would first require state legislation).
• De Blasio explicitly commits to growing the bike lane network and expanding bike-share farther from the downtown core, setting the goal of 6 percent bicycle mode share of all trips citywide by 2020 (currently, according to the Census, around 1 percent of NYC workers primarily commute by bicycle, though that doesn’t include the lion’s share of trips New Yorkers make). Like mayoral campaign rival Christine Quinn, de Blasio has sought to differentiate his bike policy from Mayor Bloomberg’s in terms of the process he would employ, and in the policy book he expands on that thought, saying that through ”fliers and door-to-door outreach,” he will work to “address feedback before projects are installed.”

• On land use, de Blasio says he’ll work to focus new housing and high-density development near transit hubs while “preserving lower density neighborhoods located further from mass transit.”
• He supports the Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan — designed to reduce truck traffic, especially in low-income neighborhoods — including the 91st Street Waster Transfer Station, which became a hot-button issue after running into resistance from Upper East Side residents and hasn’t always had his support.

The funding components of the platform are less impressive. De Blasio voted against congestion pricing as a City Council member but later came out in favor of East River bridge tolls pegged to the subway fare, and his platform doesn’t mention road pricing. To keep MTA fares from rising, he says he would try to get Congress to enact transportation legislation that prioritizes urban needs instead of sprawl — a fine goal but not something the mayor of New York can influence. Another shaky idea is a proposal to fund the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel using city pension funds, which need to generate a higher return than more conventional borrowing options, like plain old bond issuance.

With the exception of Sal Albanese, other Democratic mayoral candidates have also been hesitant to touch the issue of road pricing and realistic sources of funding for the MTA capital program. It’s the allocation of street space where the leading contenders are competing, and in this platform de Blasio sets some ambitious targets on that front.

A large group showed up for the Midnight Mystery Ride on Friday night (this is only half of it). (Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

I have not been out on many Pedalpalooza rides this year. After missing the big opening weekend while I was in Europe, I just haven't gotten into the bike fun groove. I'm also being pulled by the strong magnetic force of home where my two year-old son and growing daughters don't really care much about biking because it's just what daddy does when he's not with them.

I did however get out last Friday night for the Midnight Mystery Ride. This is a monthly tradition that's been going on for over 10 years in Portland. The premise is simple: Show up at the announced meet-up spot, hang out for a bit, then "at midnight we ride" goes the slogan. The destination is only known by the ride leader.

It has been years since I joined an MMR. Besides the fact that it made me feel very old seeing all the new and young faces that had gathered in huge groups along both sides W Burnside and 18th, it felt great to be out on the streets on my bike at night with a huge group of people. The turnout was pretty big, which made it feel even more exciting than usual (the warm skies and "Pedalpalooza bump" were surely to blame).

We took a unconventional route to the final destination — south through town and then up onto SW Terwiliger (disclaimer: I turned back after the first big regroup spot but heard later the ride ended somewhere on the western shores of the Willamette River south of downtown). I bailed out early (my boy wakes up, ready to play at 6:00 am), but still got to chat with a few friends, meet some new people, and enjoy a solitary and wonderful ride home through nearly empty streets.

I hope everyone is having a great Pedalpalooza. Check out a few more pics from the Midnight Mystery Ride below...

Mike Cooley is still in the hospital with serious injuries after a man hit him from behind while he rode on N. Interstate Ave on Saturday night.

Road carnage in America has reached epidemic proportions. Consider the barrage of news I've encountered in the past 24 hours...

— The Portland Police released photos and offered a reward to try and find a man who drove his large pickup truck into 59 Mike Cooley as he rode home from work up N Interstate Avenue on Saturday night. Cooley has very serious injuries and remains hospitalized while the police search for the suspect.

— A major study from the Harvard School of Public Health has found a link between autism and air pollution from motor vehicles. As in, the unborn children of pregnant women that breath tailpipe emissions are impacted by our transportation policies that put the auto access and capacity above everything else. Do we really care more about auto traffic "flow" than the health of our babies?

— Michael Hastings, a young and talented investigative journalist who contributed to Rolling Stone magazine was "killed in a car accident" in Los Angeles. (It struck me how the reporting on his death just accepted the traffic collision as minor fact. As if it was something completely random and ordinary.)

— Also yesterday afternoon, 65-year-old Scappoose, Oregon resident Wayne McCormick was driving his Buick on Highway 30 when 39-year-old Mark Thomas's SUV crossed over the center median "for an unconfirmed reason" and slammed into him. McCormick died instantly and Thomas has life-threatening injuries.

— Scott Van Hiatt of Neskowin, Oregon was arrested Monday for criminally negligent homicide. On May 14th, Van Hiatt drove his pickup into Seattle resident Richard Swanson and killed him as he walked on Highway 101. Swanson had planned to dribble a soccer ball from Seattle to Brazil.

— And this morning, a semi-truck plummeted 65 feet from the top deck of I-84 westbound as it transitions onto I-5 in Portland. The driver, who apparently collided with a small car prior to the wreck, sustained life-threatening injuries and had to be extricated from the cab by rescue teams.

— This is just a sampling of the carnage that hits my inbox and Twitter feed every day. It's disgusts me and it's embarrassing as an American citizen to know that this happens in my country. It's also got me wondering... Why isn't there a massive civil response or national dialogue about the rampant traffic deaths and destruction we experience every day? Look at the national movement to defeat and cure cancer. Where are all the 5K runs and fundraisers to raise awareness and create urgency to stop this madness? Can we at least pick a color and make some bracelets? Are we really just going to continue business as usual and accept this? Maybe I'm part of the problem because I just sit here and rant about it on my blog.

Until the awareness and urgency about traffic behavior and transportation policy moves beyond the livable streets advocates and wonks, I'm afraid nothing will change.

What do you think?

Users wait to board the crowded Metrobus in Mexico City. Photo by EMBARQ Mexico.

Increasing the use of public transport is a hot topic in the urban transportation world, and improving the experience of riding bus rapid transit and metro systems seems like a good way to do so. But it is not always clear which improvements are most desired by the riders themselves. Users often complain about being excluded from the decision making process or feel that their concerns are not being addressed.

Are planners and users on the same page about how best to improve public transit? To find out, I decided to conduct a little experiment. The idea was simple: ask regular BRT users and experts one question: If you could change 3 things about your BRT system, what would those be?

Experts and users alike highlighted three key areas in which they would like to see improvements: the timing of the buses, the payment system for riders, and the physical comfort of the experience.

Knowing when the bus comes

Bus frequency appears to be a recurrent problem for users. “It is very common to see 5 Metro buses passing one after another, and therefore they would be half-empty. Sometimes, however, it takes up to 20 minutes until one passes” says Antonio Olvera, from Mexico City. Experts, like Juan Carlos Muñoz from the BRT Excellence Center in Santiago, Chile are aware of this concern. Says Muñoz, “there should be a control scheme that provides reliability to the trips.” Efforts to solve this problem include apps such as iTransantiago, which provides BRT users in Santiago with timely information about bus arrivals. The LA Metro system provides another solution: a 15-minute map showing buses that arrive in less than a quarter of an hour. Still, the need for regular, predictable arrivals will eventually need to be met.

The need for a more equitable payment system

“I would like to add an annual or monthly payment system, just like the ones in Europe” says Ana Mendez from Lima, Perú. Garrone Reck, technical director of Logitrans Consulting in Curitiba, Brazil, expanded on the idea: “There is a need for a policy of discount in the frequent users tariffs. Lower tariffs in the non-peak times could attract more passengers during the idle times, and serve as incentive for time schedules migration, adding flexibility” to the system. Latin American agencies have had a hard time determining reasonable prices that please both the operators and the users of public transit systems. Some transportation experts believe this is linked with the structure of national financing systems for public transport agencies. Most transport agencies in Latin America run under a principle of self-sustainability, meaning they receive very limited subsidies from the government, if any, once they start operating.

Making buses more comfortable

There is a pressing need to increase the comfort level of the buses. All of the interviewees, both experts and non-experts, spoke of lower occupancy rates, and therefore more space. Many of the suggestions from users addressed similar issues of comfort, including enlarging popular stations, and increasing both the number of buses and the size of each bus. Cities like Lima are already implementing these changes, making improvements to stations such as Angamos by the end of the year.  Some other cities have turned  to bi-articulated buses to meet demand for more space, as in Curitiba, Bogotá and São Paulo, but many other cities still don’t have them. Making buses more comfortable helps people enjoy their commute, and discourages the use of alternative, individualized methods of transport.

Users and experts alike not only spoke of comfort, but the importance of giving the buses a modern feel. Some of the suggestions centered around improvements to lighting, protection from the sun, and even providing WiFi.

Among planners and users there is a common desire to improve BRT  timelines, payment system, and comfort. Users can be sure their thoughts are being heard and their needs are being advocated for by the transport experts in Latin America. SIBRT and EMBARQ Brazil are working on a satisfaction survey to make sure that users can continue to contribute their feedback.

Thank you to Ana Mendez, Antonio Olvera, Garrone Reck (LOGITRANS), Juan Carlos Muñoz (ALC-BRT) , and SIBRT for their contributions to this post.

The anecdote we’re about to relay happened in St. Louis County, but it could have occurred in almost any community between New York and Portland. Alex Ihnen at NextSTL caught local transportation officials admitting what generally goes unspoken:

Here's a drawing of the highway that the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic want to build, because they're "not a bicycle department." Image: NextSTL

“We’re a highway department; we’re not a bicycle department.” This is how a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic decided to deride opposition to the proposed South County Connector project. The statement, offered to reporter Michael Calhoun of KMOX, is both revealing and a display of stunning ignorance.

There is no bicycle department in St. Louis County, nor a pedestrian department, nor a quality of life department, though there should be. The Department of Highways and Traffic, however, does exist within an environment that includes these unformalized concerns. Nearly every cyclist is also a motorist. Nearly every pedestrian also travels in a car. The idea that a highway is a highway, nothing more and nothing less, insulated from other concerns is myopic, dysfunctional and untrue.

The statement above reveals that not only is there not a “bicycle department,” but that the Department of Highways and Traffic will refuse to acknowledge the voices of those who it would derogatorily label as such. In its espoused worldview, municipalities and concerns other than level of service (for cars) and traffic throughput are obstacles to be first avoided, then dismissed and likely next attacked.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Reconnecting America discusses the connections between transportation, neighborhood form, and the obesity epidemic. Greater Greater Washington considers whether DC should prioritize projects that help people access downtown or travel between neighborhoods. And Exit 133 explains why recycling can work better in compact, urban areas.

(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Following an overwhelming vote of support from their membership, the City Club of Portland is wasting no time in getting to work on implementing the recommendations in their report on bicycling in Portland.

On June 13th, City Club members voted 254 to 31 in favor of the report which recommended that local elected leaders and policy makers make a much stronger commitment to cycling because it is, "an affordable and efficient means of transportation that is essential to continued growth in the local economy and overall quality of life for Portland residents." The report recommended a stronger focus on bicycling in local and regional transportation plans, more physically separated bicycle infrastructure, more bicycle counters to help with data collection, more funding set-asides for bicycle infrastructure, a 4% excise tax on new bicycles, and more. (See all the recommendations here.) Greg Wallinger, City Club's research and policy director, said they've already begun to form an Advocacy Committee that will lobby to implement their recommendations. The committee will be chaired by Craig Beebe, who currently works as communications and development coordinator at 1000 Friends of Oregon, a non-profit that works on land-use issues. Beebe recently discussed the report as a guest on OPB's Think Out Loud radio program.

Advocacy committees based on their reports are relatively new in City Club's 96 year history but Wallinger says they've become a more central part of the organization in recent years.

In 2010, the City Club's Forest Park Advocacy Committee achieved seven of 13 recommendations outlined in their Forest Park: A Call to Action report. They successfully pushed the City of Portland to hire a park ranger and conduct user surveys to inform policy and funding decisions. City Club reports have also impacted policy discussions around major issues at the state level like PERS reform and redistricting.

Wallinger says the Committee will report back about the success (or failure) of pushing through their bicycling recommendations in 12-18 months. If you're interested in being part of the committee, they're still accepting applications via their website.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that a local gun group is drumming up numbers in support of people open carrying their weapons at an upcoming Open Streets neighborhood events, originally create by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition. These events typically shut down streets to traffic to allow all manner of other activities to happen in lieu of cars driving back and forth.

The gun owners “meet-up” events, in which the promoters suggest guns be carried openly and not just concealed, came as a surprise to some city officials and organizers of the Open Streets neighborhood gatherings. … The neighborhood events, known as Open Streets, started as single Minneapolis neighborhood event in 2011 on Lyndale Avenue S. and has grown to four in Minneapolis. St. Paul will host its first Open Streets event in September. During the events, the streets will be closed to motorized vehicles and opened up for families and children who want to ride bikes, skate, walk and play. The focus is on being healthy and promoting active play for children, said Susan Priem, a board representative for the Open Streets event. … John Stiles, spokesman for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, said city officials received notice about the Open Carry event on Monday. The original Open Streets event proposed by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition is a “great event and we can hope that everyone will have a safe and enjoyable time.” …

Read the entire article at www.startribune.com

Photo: Daily News

An intoxicated and speeding motorist with a history of drunk driving jumped a curb and slammed into a storefront in the East Village this morning, putting three pedestrians and a cyclist in the hospital, according to NYPD and published reports.

Just before 7 a.m., Sean Martin of Bayside was barreling south on Second Avenue in a Nissan sedan at 75 mph when he jumped the curb and plowed through a sidewalk stand in front of a bodega at E. Fourth Street, reports said. Martin also reportedly struck a fire hydrant, a street sign, a loaded bike rack, and a tree.

The Daily News and the Post quoted a witness who said the driver was racing another motorist, but an NYPD spokesperson disputed that account, and said only one vehicle was involved in the crash.

Three employees of the store were hurt, police said, along with a man who was riding a Citi Bike. The Times reports that the three pedestrians were outside the bodega. One of the victims is a 62-year-old man who was hospitalized in critical condition.

“He was lying on the sidewalk,” said one witness, to the Daily News. “His body was covered with flowers. I didn’t see him moving.”

The Times reports that the cyclist was struck when the driver tried to move the car back onto the street, while the Post says the cyclist was hit by a flying fire hydrant. The Times says the cyclist is in stable condition at Bellevue, and police told DNAinfo his injuries were “non-life threatening.” On his Twitter feed, NYT police reporter J. David Goodman said the cyclist is 30 years old.

DNAinfo had this eyewitness account:

“I saw him plowing through the trees,” said Diana Kirk, 42, who was sitting on her fire escape on East 4th Street and Second Avenue when she saw the white sedan “swerving.”

“He flew down the sidewalk,”she added, saying she saw the driver take out the Citi Bike rider. “There was blood everywhere. I saw his legs all bloodied.”

Though the cyclist got up, he immediately collapsed as if “in shock” she said.

Photo: Daily News

Martin was charged with driving while intoxicated. DNAinfo reports that Martin has a prior DWI arrest, and that NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne said police found marijuana in Martin’s sock.

Initial reports said that, according to police, eight people were hurt, but NYPD said there were four victims, in addition to the driver. Police confirmed reports that there was a female passenger in the car. Photos from the scene indicate the vehicle was destroyed.

This crash occurred in the 9th Precinct, where officers issued 11 speeding tickets in all of 2012. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Deputy Inspector John G. Cappelmann, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 9th Precinct council meetings happen on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the precinct, 321 E. 5th Street. Call 212-477-7805 for information.

The City Council district where this crash occurred is represented by Rosie Mendez. Since March 2012, at least seven pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by motorists in Mendez’s district, including three people in 2013. To encourage Mendez to take action to improve street safety in her district and citywide, contact her at 212-677-1077 or @RosieMendez.

Constrained by Paul Ryan’s budget and the sequester, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and HUD passed a $44 billion spending bill for 2014 – 15 percent lower than 2013 enacted levels. The bill contains $15.3 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Transportation, also 15 percent below enacted 2013 levels and amounting to about two-thirds of the president’s request. It passed the subcommitee this morning on a voice vote.

Rep. David Price (D-NC): "Are we totally helpless here?"

The budget would eliminate both TIGER and high-speed rail funding (as have all House-passed budgets in recent memory), cut Amtrak’s subsidy by a third, and bring HUD’s Community Development Block Grants back to Ford administration levels. While the cuts are steep, as in past years they are unlikely to be enacted, given Democratic control of the Senate.

At today’s markup, even subcommittee chair Tom Latham (R-IA) admitted that cutting $7.7 billion was “extremely challenging” and “not an easy task.” No other Republican spoke at all. While Latham’s official statement upon the introduction of the bill said that it was crafted “in a bipartisan fashion,” he admitted during the markup that he could thank Ranking Member Ed Pastor only for good “communication” rather than “cooperation” on the bill, since the top committee Democrat wasn’t “a huge fan of the product.”

Across the board, Democrats disavowed the bill and the process that begat it. While many acknowledged that Latham had received “an impossible allocation” from Rep. Paul Ryan’s Budget Committee, Democrats made it clear that the 15 percent cut was “unacceptable.” The appropriation is $4.4 billion lower than the amount allowed by the sequester.

Nita Lowey, ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee, said this budget “impairs the economic recovery,” and Illinois Democrat Mike Quigley said the bill “defies financial common sense,” not to mention the committee’s “moral obligations” to preserve the social safety net. David Price of North Carolina said it was “a grossly inadequate bill” that goes “way beyond the normal range of disagreements and difficulties with appropriations.” He mused that it could be “the twilight of the appropriations process.”

“I’ve never known us to be in this kind of institutional crisis,” Price said. “Are we totally helpless here? I know that’s what we hear, that we’re boxed in by sequestration, that we’re boxed in by the absence of a budget agreement.”

Price suggested the need for leadership “perhaps outside the conventional channels,” implying that they, the appropriators — who understand better than anyone the damaging cuts that are necessitated by such an austere budget — need to take the reins back from the deficit hawks in the Budget Committee.

Highway and transit programs maintain their MAP-21-authorized levels of $41 billion and $8.6 billion, respectively, in the appropriations bill. That represents a $557 million increase for highways over this year. These programs come out of the Highway Trust Fund and so aren’t included in the appropriations bill’s top-line numbers.

Not only would TIGER funding be eliminated for 2014, but $237 million in unobligated FY 2013 TIGER funding is also rescinded in the bill. However, Larry Ehl at Transportation Issues Daily speculates that the rescission won’t survive and that the current round of TIGER will eventually get its full allocation. “It will be tougher to preserve the 2014 TIGER funding,” he says, “but ultimately we think it will survive. TIGER is a competitive grant program that is massively popular among state DOTs and local governments – including those in ‘red’ states.”

The FTA itself, meanwhile, would take a $329.7 million hit it can scarcely afford. The agency is already underfunded and understaffed. New Starts, the capital investment program for transit, would get a 2 percent cut, and Small Starts would stay intact.

The Federal Railroad Administration would take a whopping 40 percent cut under the House appropriations bill. Rail safety programs, however, would be fully funded. Highway and motorcoach safety overseers, NHTSA and FMCSA, both stand to get a small increase.

In cutting 15 percent from the HUD budget – $3 billion more than the cuts ordered by sequestration – the committee notes that “the bill does not contain funding for any new, unauthorized ‘sustainable,’ ‘livable,’ or ‘green’ community development programs” like the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which the House never votes to fund. Community Planning and Development programs under HUD would get a $1.9 billion cut – about one-third less than 2013.

President Obama’s $50 billion infrastructure investment proposal is, of course, absent from the bill. His budget also moves Amtrak funding from the “discretionary” column to “mandatory,” a move the House failed to replicate.

The full Appropriations Committee will vote on this budget a week from tomorrow. The House’s austerity package will meet with firm opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate, which will likely pass something along the lines of President Obama’s budget proposal — more than twice what the House is willing to spend — leading to another budget stalemate and, likely, yet another continuing resolution that just maintains current spending levels for next year.

Although the Ryan budget and the sequester have extracted a pound of flesh from programs across the government, transportation has its own unique trauma to deal with — the insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Though not all of the items above are funded out of the HTF, it’s safe to say that no transportation appropriations process will go smoothly until the basic highway and transit programs are on more stable footing. And as of yet, the obvious and easy solution of raising the gas tax is still a political hot potato that few in Congress or the administration are willing to support.

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. But the people who shape the future of greater Detroit — despite all the urban flight, sprawl, and decline they’ve seen – just can’t seem to acknowledge that they have an addiction to big highway projects. On the agenda Thursday for the regional planning commission, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, are two highway expansion plans that will cost an astounding $4 billion combined.

The last thing greater Detroit needs is $4 billion worth of freeways. Image: Mlive.com

On the one hand, some Detroit power players are starting to embrace sustainable transportation. Regional leaders recently brought together urban and suburban officials to create the first unified regional transit system for the area. The city of Detroit is working to add 100 miles of bike lanes this year. And then there are the plans for downtown light rail and bus rapid transit to the suburbs. Efforts like those provide hope that the Detroit region will reverse its decline and emerge stronger than ever.

But amid the signs of progress are two highway projects that threaten to undermine the region’s recovery. The worst of the two, perhaps, is the $2.7 billion plan to widen I-94 through Midtown. SEMCOG and the political leaders who appoint its members apparently believe that ramming more than half a dozen new highway lanes through one of the city’s most promising neighborhoods will help stabilize Detroit.

If you ask the experts, they strongly disagree. Model D Media reports that not only will this project soak up nearly $3 billion that could be used to advance the region’s transit ambitions, it will actually impede mobility for city residents. The project will eliminate 14 freeway crossings in the city, making walking and biking more difficult for city residents with limited options. “After removing these bridges, there will be a mile of impassable expressway,” Todd Scott of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance told local website We Are Mode Shift.

Local resistance to this project is, not surprisingly, increasing. The city of Detroit and Washtenaw County, home of Ann Arbor, recently passed resolutions opposing it. Similar legislation is being considered by Ferndale and Hazel Park, two inner suburbs.

On Thursday, SEMCOG will vote on I-94 and another highway plan to expand I-75 through wealthy, suburban Oakland County. Together these projects represent $4 billion in planned spending. There is some concern that if the region were to reject these projects, it would forfeit federal money. But regional transportation officials have indicated that this money could be spent repairing the city’s existing roads, which are in terrible shape. Last year, a survey of the region’s residents found more than 90 percent said the roads are in fair to poor condition. Maintenance costs have doubled in recent years, local officials report, while the population has shrunk.

Imagine how much good $4 billion could do the Detroit region if directed toward some of the region’s biggest problems.

Model D Media points out that amount of money could fully fund Governor Rick Snyder’s $500 million bus rapid transit plans, and the remaining $3.5 billion would be enough to purchase a moped for every resident of the seven-county region (not that that qualifies as sound transportation planning). Or SEMCOG could restore the $7 million it recently stripped from the Detroit Department of Transportation (which runs the urban bus system) every year for the next 507 years.

City residents in Detroit are still trying to cope with hours-long waits for the bus. Extravagant highway projects through city neighborhoods should be a non-starter. With this vote, greater Detroit has an opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, to demonstrate that the region is looking ahead, that it has the vision to solve its formidable problems. Unfortunately, SEMCOG does not have a reputation for leadership or vision. The agency was recently subject to civil rights litigation for failing to represent the interests of the region’s black residents.

Will regional leaders take this opportunity to forge a new path, or will they continue with their destructive asphalt habit?

This Sunday, June 23^rd at noon, coinciding with CicLAvia’s “Iconic Wilshire Boulevard”, Wolfpack Hustle will hold its 2^nd installment of its Unified Title Race Series: the Civic Center Criterium.

Race Director Don Ward received a letter of consent from Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar of District CD14 and Los Angeles Police Officer, Gordon Helper, is lending his support. The race will be presented by CHROME, Red Bull, Aventon Bikes, City Grounds, Car2GO and Bicycle Attorney, Thomas Forsyth.

Circling Los Angeles’ Historic City Hall, bicycle racers from all over the country will go head to head for the most sought after street cred: the Wolfpack Dog Tags!

Wolfpack Hustle originated in 2005 as a weekly Monday night ride where cyclists from all over the Los Angeles area meet at Tang’s Donuts on the corner of Sunset & Fountain, riding 40 plus miles at a fast pace all over LA’s vast 6000 mile stretch of streets. In 2010, Wolfpack produced its first ever Marathon Crash Race, followed by the 2^nd Street Tunnel Midnight Drag Race.

For 2013, the first race of the series was the annual Marathon Crash Race on March 17^th. With the CVC CTR CRIT just days away and the 3^rd installment: the 6^th Street Bridge Drag Race happening on September 7^th, cyclists ready as the Dog Tags will be awarded to those who cross the finish line first per race. A point system will be implemented as only one Man and one Woman will be given “The Unified Title” after racing all three!

The Urban racing scene sprawls across the United States with the Red Hook Crit and Monster Track Alley Cat in NYC, Red Bull’s Ride N Style in San Francisco, this Criterium race will be a first for Los Angeles as she welcomes some of the top racers including Jason Clary, who after an eight month hiatus, took first place on May 4^th at Red Bull’s Ride N Style.

Jason Clary

From Phoenix Arizona, Mehdi Farsi will send out his best of the best with Craig Streit who took the dog tags home at this year’s crash race coming in 1^st fixed, 2^nd overall, and Scott Piercefield taking 2^nd place fixed, 3^rd overall.

Craig Streit

Scott Piercefield

The race favorites keep registering as Chas Christansen hails from the legendary bicycle hub, The Mission in San Francisco, hoping to have a comeback this year that matches his unstoppable placing last year.

Chas Christansen

Or even Austin Horse, champion messenger racer from NYC who, during a race in Europe, was inspired to create and helm The East Coast Messenger Stage Race.

Austin Horse

Not to mention Los Angeles’ own Evan Stade who at this year’s Wolfpack Crash Race took 1^st geared and overall!

Evan Stade

Let’s not forget the hardcore ladies like Jo Celso who in 2011 overcame cancer and took 1^st in ladies geared two years in a row at the Wolfpack Crash Race, this year power housing across the finish line 14 seconds after men’s 1^st overall.

Jo Celso

CHROME introduced Veronica Volok who took 1^st place fixed at the Crash Race and the Mission Bay Crit – she’s unstoppable!

Veronica Volok

The stage is set. The heavy hitters are coming in. As the summer pushes forward, so does the hunger for urban cycling as new race limits are stretched, lines are drawn and the Wolfpack dog tags are about to be conquered…. Again! So, enjoy a car free day of riding CicLAvia and then hop on over to Los Angeles’ Civic Center and watch the wheels take to the pavement for this historic no-holds-bar event!

During the chaos of pre-production, Wolfpack Race Director, Don Ward (aka Roadblock), calmly approaches the 2^nd race installment of the Unified Title Race series with ease as he explains to me, “My absolute number one goal is to provide a safe arena for these athletes to perform to the best of their abilities. Next, I want the audience to get a show. Well, let me tell you, competitors are coming from all around the country to compete in this to try to take the Dog Tags…. You will see the best. I’m completely blown away by the athletes and the volunteers and the sponsors and everything that will bring this insane event together on Sunday. It doesn’t seem possible… but then again it never seemed possible.”

T-shirt design by Swank One

• Bicycle Strategy Gets Some Good Press Time as SFMTA Board Reviews It (Chronicle, Examiner, KTVU)
• More From the Supes Hearing on the Proposal for a Bikeway on Mission Instead of Market (CBS)
• Muni Continues Long-Standing Practice of Needlessly Idling Buses For Hours Every Morning (SF Weekly)
• SF Weekly Profiles a Former Muni Mechanic and Fervent Whistleblower
• New York Times Maps Out Local Biking Tips for Cities Including SF (Mission Local)
• Wigg Party’s Morgan Fitzgibbons on the Significance of the Wiggle (KALW)
• Two People Killed on BART Tracks in Colma (SFGate) and Hayward (CBS) in Same Day
• Motorcyclist Hospitalized in Crash With Bus on Highway 101 in SF (SF Appeal)
• Muni Tension? Woman Attacks Elderly Woman for Boarding Before She Disembarked (SF Examiner)
• Stanley Roberts Catches Drivers Behaving Badly at Market and Van Ness, Wholesale Produce Market
• SPUR Reviews the State of the Santa Clara/Alum Rock BRT Project
• Video of Elderly Driver Nearly Missing People, Guide Dog on San Rafael Sidewalk Goes Viral (Mercury)

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Click on the image to go to CicLAvia's map page

If there are two complaints people have with CicLAvia they are, in order of how often I hear them: cyclists are racing by and there’s not enough space to walk and that the event doesn’t last long enough to truly explore the entire route.

CicLAvia VII: Iconic Wilshire Corridor, seeks to address both of those concerns. First, the time of the event is longer, lasting 7 hours from 9 am to 4 pm. Second, each end has “pedestrian zone” where bike riders won’t be allowed for several blocks. One zone is at One Wilshire in Downtown Los Angeles. The other is at Fairfax Ave in Miracle Mile, right near all of the wonderful Mid-Wilshire museums. In addition, CicLAvia and the Getty Center have teamed to bring a series of architecture tours along the iconic route.

“This is our dream CicLAvia. The route is ideal for pedestrians, for people who love the history of Los Angeles architecture, foodies, families, cyclists and everyone who wants to experience the grand thoroughfare of Los Angeles from a new perspective,” CicLAvia Executive Director Aaron Paley said in a media release.

As part of Pacific Standard Time Presents, CicLAvia will include programs designed to provide participants with a deeper look at the architectural history of Wilshire Boulevard. Radio broadcasts by noted architectural researcher and commentator Edward Lifson will be available for participants to download and listen to as free podcasts. The radio series will tell stories that run quickly through Wilshire’s beginnings more than a century ago and its pre-WWII boom years, to focus on the modern era, with stories and sounds. As of this writing, the downloads aren’t on CicLAvias website, but when they are you can find them here.

Going from east to west, let’s look at some of the attractions of CicLAvia VII.

CicLAvia begins at the “One Wilshire Hub” at Grand and Wilshire in Downtown Los Angeles. As mentioned, this hub has a large “bicycle free zone” stretching three blocks west to Figueroa and Wilshire.

One of the iconic images of Columbias Ciclovia, the event that started the worldwide open street festival phenomenon, is of thousands of people taking a dance class and later an exercise class together. Finally, CicLAvia is adding that type of experience. The One Wilshire Hub will feature a climbing wall, pilates and art pilates, belly dance classes, bicycle helmet decoration and give-aways.

Or, you can just walk in the street for a couple of blocks free of anyone on any wheels, minus those in wheelchairs. That’s pretty cool too.

Wilshire and Figueroa is also home to Metro Center, the second largest transit hub in Los Angeles. Red, Purple, Blue, Expo and Silver Lines all meet at Expo Center. Metro staff has quietly worried that the station will be overwhelmed with CicLAvia participants and their bicycles, but thus far I have not seen any warnings from Metro to avoid the station.

At each Hub, CicLAvia participants will also be able to grab a free copy of The Modernists Guide to Iconic Wilshire Boulevard (or you can download it here.) Researched and written by Catherine Gudis and designed by Colleen Corcoran, the guide allows readers to appreciate and understand the context for modernism and the role that Wilshire’s built environment has played as the city’s cultural and demographic makeup has changed.

Wilshire and Grand is also the start of Los Angeles Walks “WalkLAvia” event. The walk begins at 9:15 am, but the feet powered non-profit recommends arriving right at CicLAvia’s opening at 9 am. They plan to walk the entire route, arriving at Fairfax near 1:30 pm. They’ll stop at all the major hubs, but take an extra long break at the Koreatown Hub for lunch.

Traveling west, walkers will find themselves mixing with bicyclists until MacArthur Park at Alvarado and Wilshire. MacArthur Park has been a part of every CicLAvia, and is a regular place for activities, restaurants, and more food trucks. Of course, a large urban park such as MacArthur is a sort of CicLAvia extension on its own as a carfree place to sit and relax by the fountain, with or without street food, and cool your wheels (or souls) free of interfering automobiles.

MacArthur Park will also feature a yoga area. The fun at the park doesn’t end at 4 pm. a post-event concert, including a children’s show and an evening show, will all take place at the park.

Image from the 2011 Koreatown BBQ Festival in 2011. Photo:Zagat

From there, we head west to the Koreatown Hub. As luck would have it, CicLAvia coincides with the 5th Annual Koreatown BBQ Festival. I’m not sure that needs a lot more explanation. In addition to the gigantic BBQ party, the hub features  music, aerobics, crossfit, cardio kickboxing and, yes, more yoga.

The Koreatown Hub is also the starting point for a second large, organized walk. Meetup with Yelpers, ie people that use Yelp, at noon for a walk from Koreatown to Downtown. Grab your BBQ and a drink and get ready to work off those calories. If you walk with Yelp, you’ll receive a free Yelp t-shirt.

From there we next meet the smaller Mid-Wilshire Hub. The smallest of the hubs, Mid-Wilshire features a picnic area and more live music. There’s no yoga planned, but you can always do some on your own.

The Westernmost Hub is the Miracle Mile Hub. This Hub features…cars! Ok, it features a lot of great things, including The Modernists Guide to Iconic Wilshire Boulevard, gigantic oscar statues, free refreshments from Johnny Rockets, and a a Photo Op Stop, Tattoo Parlour, and Interactive Spin Art Studio, provided by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

But yes, there will be cars too. The Peterson Automotive Museum will be bringing a collection of its vintage cars out to the street corner for public viewing. There will also be events for the kids.

But the most appropriate event of the day is programmed by For Your Art (FYA). FYA celebrates CicLAvia with a temporary public art installation of works by Ben Jones and Ruben Ochoa. Organized to celebrate the first CicLAvia’s first pedestrian zone, in the city where “nobody walks”, the works reflect the increasingly pedestrian-centric bent of the city and the event. FYA’s engagement campaign for the event, Stop and Smile #ForYourArt, encourages pedestrians to document and share their experience with the works during #CICLAVIA (make sure to share these photos via Twitter and Facebook!).

Be sure to check back on Friday for the Streetsblog CicLAvia scavenger hunt. Fun for the whole family.

My original inspiration to write about favorite places to eat at along Wilshire Blvd. was a recent piece on food destinations along Foothill Transit’s route 187 in the March issue of Footnotes.

The HMS Bounty has some interesting dring specials

Then I realized with this Sunday’s Ciclavia I had an ideal opportunity to share three of my favorite eateries along Wilshire between downtown and Fairfax. As you may recall I am a resident of the Wilshire corridor. The 3 are diverse as to locations (City East, Koreatown and Miracle Mile) plus two are ethnic and one is classic American cafe dining.

La Parilla bills itself as “a Real Mexican Kitchen”. And do they deliver! The Medio Pollo I ate there last week was fresh and cooked to order. Well worth the 30 minute wait! I have had breakfast there several times and with the help of the staff (breakfast menu is en espanol and my Spanish to be charitable is terrible) have been very happy with what I ordered. Chips come with pico de gallo and salsa — spicy hot!

Tortillas are fresh made in the kitchen every day. Hours are 8 a.m.-10 p.m., it is located at 1300 Wilshire (at Witmer, SE corner) across from Good Samaritan Hospital and they have daily specials. If you are lucky a gentleman with guitar may be roaming and for a few dollars put on a fabulous performance.

HMS Bounty these days has a reputation as a hipster bar. And indeed the front area (especially Thursday through Saturday) is hopping during the evening. But is also a neighborhood hangout plus has a more intimate back area for dining without all the hubbub. I go there for the classic American cuisine that is tasty and reasonably priced. If you are lucky maybe the owner Ramon will be around and say hi. And the chef at some point will come out and ask what did you think of the meal. Plus Sunday they have a special 12:30 p.m.-4 p.m. that is a sensational deal.

They also have the special called the “Wise Men” that consists of a shot of tequila or whiskey and a Tecate beer for $5.50. The baseball steak, their signature dish, is what is usually known as the culotte cut of the Sirloin. Hours are 11 a.m.-1 a.m. (kitchen closes at 11 p.m.), it is at 3357 Wilshire (at Alexandria, north side on the ground floor of the Gaylord apartment building). BTW, my Mom also gives this place a thumb’s up from when during a visit she tried their salmon and was impressed at the portion and how good it was.

If you want to take a culture break after eating at the Bounty cross the street and enjoy Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration park, a fitting salute to a great American.

Last but no least is India’s Tandoori. Since I discovered this place in 2009 I have eaten at it almost weekly. And have enjoyed the experience immensely. Luckily Sundays they have what they call their champaign buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $12.50 (they are open until 10 p.m.) .

And the offerings are generous — their signature chicken tandoori is joined by mini vegetable samosas, curries, rice, several varieties of vegetables (spinach, lentils) plus naan bread and fresh fruit/rice pudding for dessert. My Mom went nuts for their chili chicken and then later lamented about how spicy it was. “Well, why did you eat so much of it?” I asked her. “Because it was so good” she replied. In fact when I tell Mom I have again revisited “our” indian restaurant she laments Spokane (where she lives) has some OK Indian eateries but none as good as this one (or the Pakistani place in Seattle she frequented for lunch back when she worked in the federal building along the waterfront before she retired). At 5468 Wilshire (at Dunsmuir, south side).

All three have excellent friendly waitstaff that make dining a pleasure and atmosphere.

Happy eating!

The anecdote we’re about to relay happened in St. Louis County, but it could have occurred in almost any community between New York and Portland. Alex Ihnen at NextSTL caught local transportation officials admitting what generally goes unspoken:

Here's a drawing of the highway that the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic want to build, because they're "not a bicycle department." Image: NextSTL

“We’re a highway department; we’re not a bicycle department.” This is how a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic decided to deride opposition to the proposed South County Connector project. The statement, offered to reporter Michael Calhoun of KMOX, is both revealing and a display of stunning ignorance.

There is no bicycle department in St. Louis County, nor a pedestrian department, nor a quality of life department, though there should be. The Department of Highways and Traffic, however, does exist within an environment that includes these unformalized concerns. Nearly every cyclist is also a motorist. Nearly every pedestrian also travels in a car. The idea that a highway is a highway, nothing more and nothing less, insulated from other concerns is myopic, dysfunctional and untrue.

The statement above reveals that not only is there not a “bicycle department,” but that the Department of Highways and Traffic will refuse to acknowledge the voices of those who it would derogatorily label as such. In its espoused worldview, municipalities and concerns other than level of service (for cars) and traffic throughput are obstacles to be first avoided, then dismissed and likely next attacked.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Reconnecting America discusses the connections between transportation, neighborhood form, and the obesity epidemic. Greater Greater Washington considers whether DC should prioritize projects that help people access downtown or travel between neighborhoods. And Exit 133 explains why recycling can work better in compact, urban areas.

This article is the first in a series about the U.S. military’s new embrace of smart growth planning.

Military installations around the world are in the midst of a livability revolution. Here's a plan to add transit at Washington's Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Image: Urban Collaborative

“The largest redevelopment opportunity in the world is at the Department of Defense.”

Rep. Earl Blumenauer wasn’t exaggerating when he uttered those words to an audience of smart-growth developers earlier this month. While U.S. DOT, the EPA, and HUD get all the glory as the Partnership for Sustainable Communities – which celebrated its fourth anniversary this week – it may be the Defense Department that has the most potential to reinvent the way land is used in the U.S. and abroad. The Pentagon is now using smart growth planning models to re-design the vast amounts of land it controls at its bases. And the military chain of command is bringing its full authority to bear on the matter: Livability is mandatory.

Even before a 2009 executive order mandating sustainability practices within the federal government and a 2008 report that sounded the alarm about the military’s dangerous reliance on oil, the Pentagon was making big changes. One of the largest institutional energy consumers in the world, DoD started increasing its investment in clean energy in 2006 and then set about taking a long, hard look at how it uses land.

It was inspired, in part, by former Air Force architect and planner Mark Gillem, now a professor of urban design at the University of Oregon. Gillem wrote a book in 2007 about the Pentagon’s practice of exporting inefficient suburban development to its bases abroad. U.S. military bases, in this country and elsewhere, are often entire cities unto themselves, and they’re often cities that suffer from auto-centric sprawl that limits connectivity and makes for unappealing living environment. It’s the kind of development the free market is rejecting wholesale these days — but the military is no free market.

It wasn’t always this way.

“The military, back in the 20s and 30s, led the way in creating compact, walkable communities,” Gillem told Streetsblog. “Our historic army posts – Fort Sill, for example, in Oklahoma; F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Randolph Air Force base in San Antonio — these all follow the principles that have great sustainability benefits, and they just abandoned it, like most of America abandoned it.”

In order to be a better neighbor overseas and to use resources more wisely, Gillem counseled the military to stop wasting valuable land. He recommended a shift away from low-density, auto-oriented development on military bases toward a more compact, walkable, urbanist model.

So the military hired him to rewrite its planning rules.

After a process that involved senior planners from all four branches of the military, as well as military families (who expressed a strong preference for compact and walkable communities), the new rules came out a year ago: the United Facilities Criteria (UFC) for Installation Master Planning [PDF]. It’s the first update since 1986.

And as Rep. Blumenauer told the Smart Growth America-affiliated developers, the new UFC looks like something they would have written themselves. Here’s one excerpt:

Sustainable planning leads to “lasting” development – meeting present mission requirements without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The goal of such development is to make the most effective use of limited resources, reduce fossil fuel use and increase the use of alternative fuels, and to create more compact and sustainable communities that still meet security and safety requirements.

It goes on to exhort planners to incorporate principles of compact, transit-oriented, mixed-use infill development into their master plans and area development plans. Noting that physical fitness is key to military readiness, the document stresses that “high connectivity, mixed land uses, and well-designed pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure decrease auto dependence and increase levels of walking, running, and cycling.” It includes a sample transportation plan, a pedestrian and bikeway plan, and an open space plan. And it incorporates some factors that most planners never have to deal with: antiterrorism concerns, surveillance, and other security issues.

It’s a huge paradigm shift for the Defense Department, which had gotten into the habit of building massive single-story commissaries and exchanges with a Costco-like footprint, and simply building further and further out when more land was needed.

The four bases that have applied these principles on a pilot basis – one for each of the four branches of the military – have seen enormous success and a lot of “a-ha” moments, according to Gillem. “The commander at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, for example, Captain Jeffrey James — he doesn’t have any planning background, he was a navy ship driver,” Gillem says. “And he totally gets this. He said, ‘Wow, from a commander’s point of view, this makes total sense.’ It gives him some certainty about where the installations can go; it gives him some focus on what he needs to get his plan [for the base's development] achieved.”

That’s not to say that Gillem’s methods haven’t met with some hard-headed military recalcitrance. “There’s just a culture of, ‘This is a way we’ve done it for 40 years; why should I change?’” he said.

One of the four pilot installations – and Gillem wouldn’t name names – encountered some pushback against the new ideas, and it went before the Judge Advocate General – the military’s legal authority – to determine whether the UFC is just guidance or whether it’s mandatory. And the ruling came down just a few weeks ago: The UFC on master planning is mandatory policy. Agencies must abide by it unless they get a waiver – which would need to be signed by the person who originally signed the UFC into effect. Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of Defense issued a policy letter on installation master planning, also directing conformity to the UFC.

And just last week, Rep. Blumenauer got an amendment [PDF] inserted into the National Defense Authorization Act, legislatively reinforcing the requirement for the military to use horizontal and vertical mixed-use development with a focus on pedestrian and cycling plans and consideration for the full lifecycle costs of planning decisions.

There’s a lot more to say about the massive re-design of several hundred vast tracts of military land around the country and the world. Tune in tomorrow for a discussion of the unique benefits of smart growth for military installations, including some that you might not have considered. 

The anecdote we’re about to relay happened in St. Louis County, but it could have occurred in almost any community between New York and Portland. Alex Ihnen at NextSTL caught local transportation officials admitting what generally goes unspoken:

Here's a drawing of the highway that the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic want to build, because they're "not a bicycle department." Image: NextSTL

“We’re a highway department; we’re not a bicycle department.” This is how a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic decided to deride opposition to the proposed South County Connector project. The statement, offered to reporter Michael Calhoun of KMOX, is both revealing and a display of stunning ignorance.

There is no bicycle department in St. Louis County, nor a pedestrian department, nor a quality of life department, though there should be. The Department of Highways and Traffic, however, does exist within an environment that includes these unformalized concerns. Nearly every cyclist is also a motorist. Nearly every pedestrian also travels in a car. The idea that a highway is a highway, nothing more and nothing less, insulated from other concerns is myopic, dysfunctional and untrue.

The statement above reveals that not only is there not a “bicycle department,” but that the Department of Highways and Traffic will refuse to acknowledge the voices of those who it would derogatorily label as such. In its espoused worldview, municipalities and concerns other than level of service (for cars) and traffic throughput are obstacles to be first avoided, then dismissed and likely next attacked.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Reconnecting America discusses the connections between transportation, neighborhood form, and the obesity epidemic. Greater Greater Washington considers whether DC should prioritize projects that help people access downtown or travel between neighborhoods. And Exit 133 explains why recycling can work better in compact, urban areas.