Source: RITA, Buearu of Transportation Statistics - Table 1-12: U.S. Sales or Deliveries of New Aircraft, Vehicles, Vessels, and Other Conveyances.

The planned Spaghetti Junction expansion. Note how it surrounds the baseball stadium on the right and overshadows waterfront park on the bottom. Would Ike Like?

"Stuck in traffic in Washington, D.C. in 1959, President Eisenhower was shocked to learn that the delay was being caused by Interstate Highway construction. Surely the Interstates were being built between cities, not in them. The President demanded to know who was responsible for this state of affairs, only to be told he was; it was the result of legislation he had signed three years earlier. Aghast, Eisenhower attempted to get the federal government out of the urban freeway business. But it was too late: the program had built up momentum that not even he could halt.

Fifty years later, many planners and urbanists are still asking Eisenhower's question: Why did the United States, unlike every other developed country, choose to mass-produce freeways in cities?"

From: Paved With Good Intentions. 

This month's Brown Alumni Magazine features an article about breaking free from cars not because of their impact on the environment, but because of their impact on our individual psyches.

http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2427/32/

Louisville has unleashed a series of Public Service Announcements striving for greater road safety. The three prongs of the safety campaign target motorists, cyclists, and walkers. The series has appeared most prominently on billboards and bus shelters. The three ads so far are the tip of the iceberg, there are more ads coming, and the message is up for debate. All of this is cause for celebration in the bike/ped world.

However, there is perhaps an issue with the message. The ads subtly discourage walking / biking and pay tribute to motorists.

This is San Francisco's Market Street in 1905, the dawn of the automotive age. The interplay between pedestrians, streetcars, wagons, and cars is amazing. As foreign as anything you'll see in another country.

hat tip INFRASTRUCTURIST

Bring a Shovel this Sunday!

Serviceberry in bloom - Pear Biter

Cynthia Cooke needs volunteers to help with the first commemorative planting of the Bardstown Road medians with 11 beautiful Serviceberry trees between Bashford Manor Lane and Hikes Lane. Your efforts will:

Opportunity to 'be the change' you want to see along this corridor.

Sunday Planting starts at 2:00pm, meet at the CHASE Bank parking lot with shovels, gloves, bright outerwear, water and sun protection if necessary. Contact info is below the fold.

According to an abstract of a Pew Poll that I read at the Infrstructurist, 33% more Americans no longer rate a car as a necessity. This change has come about in only the last three years. However, even with the increase, a vast majority (7/8ths) still regard the automobile as a necessity.

No doubt this is because of CART's vigorous promotion of World Car Free Day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19emissions.html?pagewanted=1...

Although this article covers many angles, one environmental activist interviewed said, " 'Low carbon vehicles are certainly part of the future, but more extensive measures are needed to make the necessary cuts in transport emissions. Far more must be done to get people out of their cars by making public transport, cycling and walking more attractive options,' he added."

BBC has the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8001254.stm

The Park DuValle neighborhood (southwest of downtown Louisville) was named after Lucie DuValle, the first female principal of a high school in Louisville. I tutor students at the Park DuValle clubhouse, but the other day I learned something new there.

Like several other neighborhoods in Louisville, Park DuValle is the result of hundreds of public housing units being rebuilt as a mixed-income community. A large sign in the clubhouse lobby says, "Like many of Louisville's great neighborhoods, the Villages of Park DuValle are designed to be walkable and easy to get around in. A well-planned system of sidewalks and interconnected streets encourages walking and reduces the dependence on cars. It's cleaner, quieter and friendlier." The sign is what got my attention.

Maybe I'm slow on the uptake, but Park DuValle is the only Louisville neighborhood I know of that was formally designed to reduce dependence on cars. Do you know of any others?

Villages of Park DuValle website: http://morethanhouses.com/villagesofparkduvalle/index.php