CommuterPageBlog

Best of 2007 on CommuterPageBlog #4: Ten Good Ideas, Plus One, That Emerged

This is the fourth in our series of five stories looking back at the best posts of 2007. The series includes:

1. A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington, December 28, 2007
2. Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region, December 29
3. Twenty Reports That Made Us Think, December 30
4. Ten Good Ideas, Plus One, That Emerged, December 31
5. Ten Bad Ideas, Disappointments, a Few Funny Stories and Some Things To Worry About or Work On

Today, we take a look at ten good ideas, plus one, that emerged and were were covered on the blog during 2007. Enjoy the look back.

Ten Good Ideas, Plus One, That Emerged

11. We think it's both.
Bike Parking or Art?, January 29

10. What an illuminating idea. Every biker should have these!
Bicycle Safety on the Side, October 31

9. Before heading out the door check out this handy website for a quick look at traffic.
Jamfactor8.5 Meters are in the Red, Check the Webcams!!, April 11

8. Are those folks from the land down under on to something here? Can you combine the best of carpooling and slugging and formalize it so even more people can share the ride?
Is a More Formalized Slugging in Our Future?, May 3
Flexible Carpooling - Coffee Included - Coming to the States?, August 24

7. Okay if they can even think about doing this in Los Angeles, shouldn't we study the idea around here?
Carfree Boulevards. Could it Work Here?, July 31

6. If our region is #1 in walkability than shouldn't we be making a better effort at becoming #1 in biking too? Here's an idea that could help build that culture where everyone participates.
Another Car-Free Idea from Mexico City, August 2
Could Bogota's Example Lead to Ciclovia: Metro Washington, D.C.?, December 8

5. From the people who brought you Zipcar, comes the next generation of ridesharing. Everybody GoLoco!
Ridesharing 2.0, April 25
Ridesharing 2.0 Revisited - GoLoco!, August 22

4. Who doesn't love Google and Google Maps? When you start combining that know-how with transit, good things are bound to happen.
Rail Stops and Google - It's Better than Chocolate, February 13
Google Transit, March 2
Google Maps Credited with Increase in Duluth's Transit Ridership, August 26
Google Transit Now Available in 19 U.S. Cities, October 7

3. My teleworking co-worker swears by this little gizmo which he uses daily. A must have for transferring files back and forth between home and work safely and quickly.
Teleworking's New "Toy", July 30

2. Our favorite little site for 2007. And of course it uses Google Maps.
How Walkable is Your Neighborhood?, July 18

1. The best idea since carsharing. We can't wait for DC and Arlington to start their bikesharing programs. It's so European!
Bike-sharing Arrives in Paris, July 18
Bikesharing Coming to the U.S., November 16

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Best of 2007 on CommuterPageBlog #3: Twenty Reports That Made Us Think

Today we bring you the third in our continuing series of five stories looking back at posts on the CommuterPageBlog in 2007. Our series includes::

1. A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington, December 28
2. Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region, December 29
3. Twenty Reports That Made Us Think, December 30
4. Ten Good Ideas, Plus One, That Emerged
5. Bad Ideas, Disappointments, a Few Funny Stories and Some Things To Worry About or Work On

Today we highlight twenty posts that were based on some interesting reports, studies or findings in the press. There's a lot of data here. Dive in and enjoy.

Twenty Reports That Made Us Think

1. American Drivers Drive Fewer Miles, January 31
2. Information, Information, Information, March 28
3. Extreme Commutes and Your Health, April 17
4. Is Taller Better, Another Call for More Density, May 2
5. U.S. News Explores America's War on Traffic, May 10
6. Cheaper Housing, Better Pay - But at What Price?, June 3
7. Pedestrians Faster Than Cars?, June 6
8. Can Transit Revive a City?, June 15
9. More Data on Congestion, June 29
10. Vanquishing the Density Demon, August 13
11. U.K. Report: Walk More and Lose Weight, Save the Environment, August 16
12. Are Printed Transit Information Materials a Significant barrier to Transit Use?, August 23
13. People-Oriented Cities are Cycling-Friendly Cities, September 4
14. Want to Fight Global Warming, Take the Bus, October 6
15. Build Places Where People Don't Need to Drive and Save the Planet, October 8
16. Is Sprawl Contributing to America's Health Problems?, November 3
17. Coincidence or Conspiracy?, November 9
18. 11 Most Bicycle Friendly Cities...in the World, November 14
19. Is Philly the Carshare Capital of the Country?, November 29
20. It's Official. More Walking = Better Health, December 19

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Best of 2007 on CommuterPageBlog #2: Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region

This is the second in our series of looking back at the best posts of 2007. The series includes:

1. A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington, December 28, 2007
2. Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region
3. Twenty Reports That Made Us Think
4. Ten Good Ideas, Plus One, That Emerged
5. Bad Ideas, Disappointments, a Few Funny Stories and Some Things To Worry About or Work On

Today, we take a look at Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region that were covered on the blog during 2007. Enjoy the look back.

Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region

10. It was good news for us urbanites when WMATA DIDN'T go through with plans to eliminate late night Metrorail service on the weekends.
More On Metro Turning Into a Pumpkin, August 9

9. A shelter with a modern, urban look. A big bus map and information too. Something all bus riders deserve at their bus stop.
Kudos to DDOT for New Bus Shelters, November 28

8. Whether you're a motorist, bicyclist, or pedestrian, knowing about safety for your desired mode of travel is important.
Biker's Bible Now Here!, April 18

7. Wow 6,500 regional participants at 24 pit stops. Here's the story of one of those.
Bike to Work Day a Success, May 22

6. One of the best stories of the year. DDOT's good planning means all goes smoothly and no backlash when they close the Douglas Bridge.
DC Aims to Buy Off 1,500 Motorists, May 10

5. Investing in smart growth policies and transit help the area become a national leader.
Maryland ranks High for Solutions to Oil Addition, June 24

4. Seems places without good transit are more expensive places in which to commute. Good for us.
America's Most Expensive Commutes - D.C. Didn't Make the Top 10!, August 9

3. A trio of stories show analysis of data released by the U.S Census seems to indicate the D.C. region is doing better than the rest of the country and holding the line on solo commuting.
And the Survey Says: DC & Arlington Have Lowest Drive Alone Rates, June 14
Could Region's Drive Alone Rate Be Going Down?, June 19
More Evidence That D.C. Area is Bucking National Solo Commute Trend, June 28

2. Series of stories based upon Council of Government's study that finds results mirrors U.S. Census data showing region making progress in fighting congestion.
State of the Commute 2007 #1: D.C. Region's Drive Alone Rate Goes Down!, July 18
State of the Commute 2007 #2: Telework "Rising Dramatically" in D.C. Area, July 20
State of the Commute 2007 #3: Free Parking Still Plentiful, July 22
State of the Commute 2007 #4: Employer Provided Commuter Benefits Help Fight Congestion, July 25

1. We may be #2 in congestion but we're #1 in walkability here in the D.C. region, with 20 "regional-serving walking urban places" in all. Yea D.C.! Now get out and walk.
DC Leads Nation in Walkability, December 4

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Best of 2007 on CommuterPageBlog #1: A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington

Its that time of year. A slow news cycle means its time for us to look back through the blog roll and bring you some of the best posts of 2007. We'll plan on bringing you the following five posts:

1. A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington
2. Ten Good News Stories Around the Washington, D.C. Region
3. Twenty Reports That Made Us Think
4. Ten Good Ideas, Plus One, That Emerged
5. Bad Ideas, Disappointments, a Few Funny Stories and Some Things To Worry About or Work On

Today, we'll begin with A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington and bring each of the lists in the subsequent days ahead. A lot happened this year. Enjoy the look back.

A Dozen Good News Items in Arlington

12. We believe and carsharing keeps growing in Arlington.
Flexcar to Double its Fleet in Arlington, August 15

11. Another very successful community event. How many County Board Members can you spot?
Enjoy Photos from the 3rd Annual Arlington and Alexandria Community Bike Ride, June 18

10. Arlington aims to get teens to ride the bus.
iRide - Follow-Up on Arlington's Teen Transit Initiative, May 3
More Congrats: iRide Teen Transit Initiative Honored at APTA, December 6

9. The best bike map...in the world!
New Arlington Bike Map Now Available, June 28

8. Finally! Bikers rejoice.
New Four Mile Run Trail Ground Breaking, October 17

7. A bright idea is even better 2nd time around.
Lights for Bikes Event Shines Bright, November 8

6. Everything's better on wheels.
New Mobile Commuter Store Has Arrived, May 9

5. Boldly going where no one has gone before.
Bold Move: Transportation in 2030 Means Travel Choice, November 15

4. Nobody does it better.
Belated Congrats: Commuter Stores Receive national Customer Service Award, December 1

3. Arlington transit grows up.
Welcome Aboard: Arlington Officially Launches New Buses, August 21
New and Improved ART Buses Arrive in Arlington, June 26

2. I lost 2,000 pounds in one day!
Arlington's Car-Free Diet, October 31

1. Its working.
Research Research Research: Transportation's Impact on Our Community, December 14

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

The Bike Bus

Many people in the suburban municipality of Furesø, Denmark work in Copenhagen, which is 10 - 15 miles away. With great trails and bike lanes, it's faster to bike to work rather than drive and sit in traffic. So they've gotten creative.            

"Facing climate change and severe health problems derived from physical inactivity, it is a good idea to use 'The Bike Bus' for the inevitable transport time spent every day going to work," says a Bike Bus co-creator. "With The Bike Bus [...] we can shield each other against the wind. When we're 2-6 bikers it takes 35 minutes to ride 12 miles to Copenhagen at a speed acceptable for almost everyone. Entering your office in the morning you'll find yourself in a better mood."            

The Bike Bus concept would work well in Arlington too. In addition to the reasons to ride together which are mentioned above, safety in numbers is another.

Paul DeMaio, BikeArlington

photo credit: cykelbussen.dk

It's Official. More Walking = Better Health

The results of yet another study are in.* And the conclusion is that you'll trim your waistline and decrease your risk of metabolic syndrome - an increasingly common condition that is linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle - by by doing a brisk 30-minute walk 6 days a week, even if you don't make any dietary changes. So if people can find a way to get in a little bit of walking each day, perhaps by choosing to walk instead of driving on an occasional trip, they can increase their health.

In a story by Reuters (Walking Packs Huge Health Punch, Study Confirms, December 17, 2007; Reuters) we learn:

"...about one quarter of all U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors that raise the odds of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke. To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, a person must have at least three of these five risk factors -- a large waistline, high blood pressure, high levels of harmful triglycerides, low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, and high blood sugar -- and according to many studies, a growing number of people have these problems.

The Duke University study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and just released in the American Journal of Cardiology says that there's a significant decline in the prevalence of the syndrome with consistent, moderate exercise. Says a Duke University Researcher: "It's also encouraging news for sedentary, middle-aged adults who want to improve their health. It means they don't have to go out running 4 or 5 days a week; they can get significant health benefits by simply walking around the neighborhood after dinner every night."

To help figure out how you can fit in 30 minutes of walking a day, visit Arlington's Car-Free Diet or WALKArlington.com.

*Related Posts:

• Coincidence or Conspiracy?, by Lauren Hassel; November 9, 2007
• Is Sprawl Contributing to America's Health Problems?, by Chris Hamilton; November 3, 2007

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Mars & Venus (Earth loses)

I'm often amazed at how really smart people can't seem to put 2&2 together.  This last Sunday's Washington Post had a long, in-depth article about the BRAC relocations.  It included a great graphic shown here (click on it for a larger view).  At the same time, virtually every day brings additional news about the need to take immediate and significant actions to battle global warming.  Most of the nations of the world met in Bali recently for the yearly Conference of the Parties that guides the international dialog on climate change.  Europe, for one, was pushing for 25-40% reductions in greenhouse gases by 2020 (the U. S. 'succeeded' in watering down much of the language).

If you look at the map you will see that the jobs are primarily moving away from places where transportation options are more plentiful to places where they are not.  There is no question that the number of miles driven in the DC area will go up with this realignment.  The article points out the need for hundreds of millions of dollars of additional transportation infrastructure just to accommodate the additional traffic.  All of it is more roads.  Does the BRAC commission read the news about global warming?  Are they living on another planet?

What you might hear from them is, "Our job was to blah...blah...blah.  Once we met those objectives, then global warming might be a secondary issue, but it wasn't our job."  I once attended a presentation in which the presenter posed the question, "Who is in charge of climate change?"  The answer is, well, no one really.  Which means that we all are.  Including the BRAC.

It's probably too late to change the relocations, but it's not too late to make opportunities out of them.  Knowing that all these jobs are moving, what changes can be made that will reduce the traffic and greenhouse gases at the same time?  The most obvious is to look at which jobs can be done without needing the people to actually be there.  Having workers telecommute 2-3 days per week (or full time) would reduce driving and congestion tremendously and also reduce terrorism risk by spreading out the workforce.  Comprehensive additional planning should take place immediately, including starting work on extending rail (VRE and Metrorail to the Proving Ground and Fort Belvoir and MARC direct to Fort Meade).  Other land use planning needs to be much smarter, both on the bases themselves and in areas that will attract workers.  The forts themselves should make themselves examples of places that people can get around without needing a personal car.  That way those who come by the train or bus or carpool can get where they want and need to be.  One way might be to put in PRT (personal rapid transit), which I'll cover another day.

In any case, it would be great to see the Defense Department take the lead on being forward thinking and progressive on how to achieve their realignment goals without exacerbating global warming.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington

Increased fares vs. Free fares

  I found Permanent Campaigns Consulting's post entitled "Eliminate fares for higher ridership, less congestion- Honolulu investigates" very interesting in the midst of the upcoming metro fare hike here in DC.  The post highlights some good points- free transit benefits drivers with less traffic and of course riders get the monetary incentive.  Everything can't be free, but just imagine if taxes from fuel and/or congestion could mitigate transit costs and make it either free or discounted...

I'm interested to see if the upcoming fare increases on metro will effect ridership.  Will more people drive or will ridership plateau or perhaps even increase?  What are your predictions?

Carly Nider, Arlington Transportation Partners

What it's Going to Take

The Washington, D.C. area is ranked #2 nationwide for traffic congestion. Nationwide, we rank #1 for the amount of global warming pollution Americans produce. With concerns about both traffic congestion and global warming, it's time to realize that the way things have been done aren't the way things need to be done.

As The CommuterPageBlog pointed out on Dec. 15, Copenhagen is doubling its bicycle budget from $15 million to $30 million per year. With this commitment to cycling, Copenhagen will surpass a 40% bicycle mode split in the city to become one of the most, if not THE most, bicycle-friendly city in the world. A 40% bike mode split means that 40% of travel trips made in Copenhagen are done so by bike.

What does a 40% mode split look like?

Imagine how a bike mode split of even 5% or 10% would affect traffic congestion and pollution levels in the D.C. area, let alone a 40% split. Copenhagen was once an auto-dominated city, however, they made a concerted effort to become a bike-friendly city. It doesn't happen by accident. The D.C. region and especially Arlington are also taking grand steps to be more bike-friendly with multiple sheltered bike parking locations, bike-sharing, and miles of new trails scheduled for 2008. This is all a part of creating a bicycle-friendly region.

Paul DeMaio is manager of Arlington County's BikeArlington program

Inspiration for Going Car-Free From LA. Yes, That's Los Angeles

From the folks at the Car-Free USA blog we find inspiration for going car-free from Los Angeles (Commuter Kicks Car Habit, Kerry Cavanaugh, December 5, 2007; Los Angeles Daily News). Yes, Los Angeles, California. The article begins:

"Two years ago, Simon Pastucha (pictured here) - an urban designer and planner for the city of Los Angeles - left his Mercedes SUV at the dealership and hasn't looked back. But how does a professional with children and far-flung meetings survive in car-centric Los Angeles without owning an automobile? Quite easily, I found after tagging along with Pastucha on his commute."

The author goes on to describe how Simon, after going car-free for a bit, realized he had a lot of extra money in his pocket. In fact he was saving $1,000 a month. So he decided not get a new car as planned and instead keep going car-free. He takes transit to work, uses a carsharing vehicle, taxi or car rental when he needs to and still comes out way ahead. Enough to pay for a trip to Italy.

The story is familiar. In fact our favorite author of How To Live Well Without Owning A Car, Chris Balish had the exact same experience. Mr. Balish was so inspired he wrote a book about it. We were so inspired by Mr. Balish's book that we worked with the author and publisher to print a Special Arlington, Virginia Edition (pictured here) recently made available for FREE by participating in Arlington's Car-Free Diet.

For other car-free and car-lite stories visit Arlington's Car-Free Diet Blog.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.