Smart Growth News

 June 2008 News Articles

Alaska

Fairbanks Considers Restoring Two-Way Traffic on Several Downtown Streets

Converted to one-way in the early 1970s, before a parallel north-south highway was built, downtown Fairbanks' 12-block ''historic spine,'' Cushman Street may again host traffic in both directions, a key change under the long-term Vision Fairbanks downtown revitalization plan, with Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System (FMATS) policy committee member Steve Titus, the regional director of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, recommending the plan to state Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Leo von Scheben as focused on economic development and ''based on smart-growth principles.''

In the three-block Cushman Street section, near the city's police and fire headquarters, two-way traffic will be restored this summer to enable faster emergency access to the city's southern part, reports Daily News-Miner writer Christopher Eshelman.

The change may also be extended to the parallel stretch of Barnette Street in 2009 and a year later, to nine more blocks of Cushman Street, which becomes Illinois Street north of the Chena River.

At the same time, the state intends to launch Illinois Street reconstruction and build a second bridge nearby.

All this, the writer notes, reflects a wider ''recent push to change traffic patterns, widen sidewalks and add parking to make downtown more enticing to prospective retail investors and pedestrian-friendly for visitors and residents.''

Restoration of two-way streets will slow traffic and help turn them into retail hot spots, pointed out Portland, Oregon-based Crandall Arambula principal Don Arambula, who worked on the Vision Fairbanks plan.

''It's important as a lead piece to revitalize your downtown,'' he said of two-way traffic. ''You've got to do this first, you've got to lead with your retail strategy and everything else comes later.'' -- Daily News-Miner   6/8/2008  

Resource(s):  http://newsminer.com/

Arizona

Pinal County Comprehensive Plan Available Online for Comments and Review

Guided by smart growth and sustainability principles, and focused on ways to save open space, improve mobility and attract living wage jobs, the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan -- worked out in a broad public process in the past 15 months, with participation of all municipalities and Native American communities -- is now available for review and comment online, ahead of outreach events throughout the summer and formal hearings this fall, all its policies designed ''to reflect and honor the local jurisdictions' planning authority while ensuring a coordinated, regional effort.''

A detailed follow-up to the Pinal Vision laid out by officials, residents, business leaders, landowners and other stakeholders, reports The Casa Grande Dispatch, the comprehensive plan elaborates on the vision's seven components in chapters -- Sense of Community; Mobility and Connectivity; Economic Sustainability; Open Space and Places; Environmental Stewardship; Healthy, Happy Residents; and Quality Educational Opportunities.

Among other top priorities, the plan identifies four county growth areas targeted for infrastructure investment over the next 10 years; outlines an integrated, multimodal transportation system that provides for vehicular travel and transit, including commuter and local rail lines, along with bike and pedestrian routes; lists 39 prospective mixed-use centers, each with 500 jobs for every 1,000 residents; shows large tracts of protected open space, as well as regional parks, wildlife corridors and recreational trails; calls for efficient use of resources, including water and energy; builds on the recently completed Pinal County Affordable Housing Plan with possible funding mechanisms for a full range of quality housing and neighborhoods; and, a point unique in a comprehensive plan, recognizes educational opportunities ''as critical to the long-term economic sustainability'' of the county and ''an important quality of life component.''

See the draft at www.PinalCountyPlan.com. -- The Casa Grande Dispatch   7/8/2008  

Resource(s):  www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1817

California

More L.A. Homebuyers Looking for Public Transportation Amenities

As gas prices soar, Angelenos buy less, drive less and take public transportation, with some home buyers increasingly choosing locations near major transit lines, ''a perk smart-growth developers are capitalizing on'' and a trend that could eventually ''reshape the region into more community-friendly neighborhoods,'' reports Long Beach Press-Telegram writer Sue Doyle, citing data and experts.

With all 67 condos at the Mission Meridian Village sold last year despite the market slowdown, broker Dominic DeFazio thought good South Pasadena schools were the main draw, but a survey revealed that 55 percent of the buyers wanted to live near the Metro rail station on the Gold Line linking Pasadena and downtown L.A.

''It was the proximity to the Gold Line,'' he said, ''and that they could leave their cars at home and buzz almost anywhere because of the station.''

Indeed, the writer finds, Gold Line ridership has increased since last year by 3,500 passengers a workday, while the Red, Blue and Green lines have recorded at least 1,000 more riders each.

At average statewide gas prices of $4.16 a gallon by the end of May -- up 22 percent from 2007, driving has already dropped by 1.5 percent this year, which means 1 billion fewer vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

''If we got to $10 for a gallon of gas and that becomes normal, what we're going to see is an alteration in our car culture,'' said California State University-Northridge Sociology Professor James David Ballard, with Communication Professor Paul Mason Fotsch cautioning that although people want solutions right now to ''the contradictions and problems that designing cities around the automobile has created,'' it will ''take a long time before U.S. cities can rebuild themselves to make it comfortable to take public transit and walk.''

While high oil prices may hurt far-flung residential markets distant from jobs and companies distant from housing, with residents and workers alike moving to shorten their commutes, observed Inland Empire economist John Husing, they may help regional air quality and national security.

''As we start to wean ourselves off petroleum, it makes us less dependent on Iraq, Iran and Venezuela,'' he pointed out. ''In the long run, the short-term pain has some national consequences that are positive.''

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky noted that $4-a-gallon gas is already unclogging roads.

''We have congestion pricing right now,'' he said. ''It's called OPEC.'' -- Press-Telegram   6/1/2008  

Resource(s):  www.presstelegram.com/

Editorial Urges L.A. Drivers to Share the Road With Cyclists

''Stop harassing cyclists'' and ''learn to share the road,'' appeals The Los Angeles Times to drivers, pointing out that bikers ''perform a public service by reducing traffic and emissions,'' and that high gas prices have clearly multiplied ''the number of people who bike to work or across town on errands.''

At the same time, cyclists tell ''horror stories about drivers who cut them off, yell at them, throw things and otherwise endanger their lives,'' the daily reports, citing an almost fatal result from July 4th.

A driver, ''allegedly enraged because two bikers speeding downhill on Mandeville Canyon Road were blocking his progress, swerved in front of them and slammed on the brakes,'' the daily says, noting that the bikers ''were seriously hurt and the driver faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon.''

With more and more bikers expected on city streets, officials ''are trying to adapt.'' Los Angeles, which already requires commercial projects over 10,000 square feet to include bike parking and showers for biking employees, is updating its bicycle master plan. West Hollywood may finally end its ban on sidewalk biking. And the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has equipped buses with bike racks and expanded bike parking areas at train stations.

''Obviously, a lot more is needed: more bike paths and lanes, more 'smart growth' policies that incorporate bike-friendliness and more incentive programs to encourage workers to cycle to the office,'' the daily opines. ''Bikers are boosting their health, their pocketbooks, and the city's environment. If it's a battle for moral authority between drivers and bikers, the bikers have already won. Give them a break.'' -- The Los Angeles Times   7/12/2008  

Resource(s):  www.latimes.com/

Transportation Bill Would Move California Closer to Smart Growth

''Our bond money should go to smarter growth that reduces car trips,'' said a Los Angeles Times editorial as the Senate Housing and Transportation Committee took up a bill (AB 842) to move California farther toward sustainability through distribution of $850 million of the $2.85 billion Proposition 1C fund -- part of the $37 billion Rebuild California Plan passed by voters in November 2006 -- mainly among cities and counties ready to locate development near transit stops and otherwise reduce local vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by at least 10 percent.

Such reduction would mean lower tailpipe emissions and less traffic congestion and sprawl, the editorial observed, confident that the bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblyman Dave Jones, would especially help northern Los Angeles County deserts, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, ''where cars now idle in rush-hour traffic and sprawl is continuing.''

The bill would also provide grants to cities and counties for water, sewer and other infrastructure improvements to support infill housing, the editorial noted, telling those who think the bill may shortchange older urban areas such as Los Angeles, where VMT reduction would be more difficult, that their fears are unwarranted.

''Urban areas must continue their investment in transit-oriented development; it can only help to create more incentive for such investment,'' the editorial stressed. ''AB 842 would work for Los Angeles twice: by encouraging continued transit planning and by stemming the growth of automobile traffic into and out of the region from adjacent counties.'' -- Los Angeles Times   6/17/2008  

Resource(s):  www.latimes.com/

California's Climate Solution Act Will Set New Development Standard, Says Ventura City Manager

Confident that California's lead in cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as required by its landmark Climate Solution Act (AB 32), will speed up changes in American development patterns and lifestyles necessary to achieve sustainability, Ventura City Manager Rick Cole told the Los Angeles-based Planning Report that even when the global economy slows down and gas prices decline somewhat, ''we can't put long-term policies at the mercy of immediate crises,'' stressing, ''It's not today's gas prices that will force adoption of a smart growth model -- suburban sprawl is doomed by the triple witching hour of heating up the planet, running up unsustainable debt, and running out of cheap energy.''

He cautioned, however, against expectations of instant results.

''We've been building both our landscape and our economy around the car for more than 60 years,'' he pointed out. ''Even if we adopted a universal program of smart growth across America tomorrow, it would be decades before we had repaired and reshaped our landscape and economy to a more sustainable model. In the meantime, there will be tremendous pressure to exploit existing and new energy resources to maintain the suburban model we live in.''

Asked by the Planning Report interviewer why AB 32 will be such ''a dynamic driver of change for smart growth,'' Rick Cole responded: ''Because we can't possibly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 without reducing vehicle miles traveled.''

Continuance of sprawl and delay in ''rewriting every zoning code in the state'' will only increase what the public will pay in the long run, and the price is already staggering.

''I haven't seen figures for California, but The Economist says that this year alone, the oil-importing nations will transfer 2 trillion dollars to the oil exporting nations,'' he said. ''That's money that won't go to improve our infrastructure, won't go to protect our environment, and won't go to educating our youth. It goes out our tailpipes.''

Although he considers the political situation ''volatile'' -- because despite the home-price plunge in outer areas and the increase in ''smart growth, form-based coding, mixed use, and transit-oriented development'' projects throughout the state, ''we haven't quite reached the tipping point yet'' -- Rick Cole sees reasons for optimism.

One reason is the ''incredible backbone'' shown by presumed Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama in calling a gas tax holiday -- still pushed by his Republican counterpart, Senator John McCain, and for a time pursued by Senator Hillary Clinton -- ''what it was: 'A phony scheme that's typical of how Washington works.'''

Another reason is ''incredible resilience'' shown by California over the past 150 years.

''Our growing population and changing demographics will open a huge market for reinvesting in our older communities, in and around the core of our key regions,'' he predicted. ''Now is the time to prepare for that opportunity.''

Had Republican Governor Pete Wilson (1991-99) not ignored the best strategies from other states and his own growth-management opportunity during a similar ''deep real estate downturn,'' Rick Cole concluded, ''we'd be finishing the Subway to the Sea, the Gold Line extension to Ontario Airport, and we'd have regular commuter rail between Ventura and Santa Barbara -- and $5 gas would be a little less painful.'' -- Planning Report   7/1/2008  

Resource(s):  www.planningreport.com/tpr/

California Emissions Control Plan Would Link Land-Use With Transportation Planning

''We built the Bay Area in a car-oriented, suburban pattern so that almost everyone is forced to drive. Now we have to go back and retrofit it,'' commented San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) Executive Director Gabriel Metcalf on a comprehensive climate-change-battle draft plan, just released by the California Air Resources Board, which wants localities to cut their tailpipe emissions through interlinked land-use and transportation planning that would curb sprawl, spur urban development near transit, and discourage car travel.

With the state committed to a 30 percent cut of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, Urban Land Institute (ULI) San Francisco Office Executive Director Kate White told San Francisco Chronicle writer James Temple that land use change is critical for emission cuts, because without it other reduction efforts would be undermined.

''There's a direct correlation,'' she pointed out, ''between how close you live to transportation, how compact your neighborhood is, and how much you drive.''

Should the sprawl patterns continue, the writer reports, a 48 percent driving increase projected by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration for the 2005-2030 period would more than offset the 23 percent emission cuts envisioned in the federal 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, which requires better vehicle fuel efficiency and wider use of low-carbon fuels like biodiesel.

To facilitate the shift toward denser, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented development, the state would offer counties, municipalities and developers various incentives, including direct payments, easier environmental approval, and help to secure project funding.

Developers and conservationists reacted cautiously, but for different reasons.

California Building Industry Association spokesman John Frith promised lobbying efforts to ensure that the plan's final version balances environmental and affordable-housing goals.

''You can't meet the state's housing needs, 230,000 odd units a year to keep up with population growth, strictly with urban infill,'' he argued. ''You have to have a mix.''

Oakland-based Transportation and Land Use Coalition Executive Director Stuart Cohen said the California Air Resources Board should push harder for climate-friendly development, disputing its estimate that such projects could increase the state-mandated 30 percent emission cuts by just 2 to 4 percent.

''We think this number got way too low,'' he stressed. ''It's going to let everyone off the hook.'' -- San Francisco Chronicle   6/27/2008  

Resource(s):  www.sfgate.com/chronicle/

Colorado

Strategic Transportation Plan, Reformed Zoning Code Part of Denver Mayor's Smart Growth Initiatives

Not unlike 100 years ago -- when Denver hosted the Democratic presidential convention, the nation faced hard times, and the silver crisis put many Western banks out of business -- the 2008 mortgage breakdown, shortly ahead of $4-a-gallon gas, caught many Americans ''in the vice of rising prices just as their savings collapsed,'' and Democrats once again chose Denver to confirm their White House nominee this August, in recognition of the city's creativity, determination and regional success, said Mayor John Hickenlooper in his fifth State of the City address, outlining another 25 initiatives and priorities, which include implementation of a comprehensive Strategic Transportation Plan (STP) and a reformed zoning code -- vital for smart growth.

With construction of a 12.1-mile light-rail line in the West Corridor underway and Denver Union Station being designed as one of the finest ''multi-use transit hubs'' in the nation, the mayor noted, the STP represents ''a unique planning approach to help mitigate road congestion by integrating all forms of mobility, including cars, walking, biking and transit.''

Metro Denver already has more than 900 miles of bike paths, plus almost 1,100 miles of bike lanes on roads, and the recent settlement around the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, he continued, ''will expand the bike system both in Denver and throughout our northern neighbors,'' while the River North Greenway Master Plan ''will extend and improve bike access leading into the Northeast Denver Greenway.''

Proud of voter approval for $550 million in bonds last year, with leveraged private dollars increasing capital improvement funds to a total of $700 million, much of the money targeted for ''mobility and cultural infrastructure,'' Mayor Hickenlooper said, ''A different but equally important competitive investment is to provide our neighborhoods and our development community with consistent, fair and efficient city processes.''

At the same time, an ''historic change in our zoning code,'' worked out by the Zoning Code Task Force after more than three years of broad public input, will become ''a crucial tool to implement the community's vision for smart growth embodied in Blueprint Denver,'' he stressed, looking forward ''to a comprehensive public process around the draft next year, before finalizing recommendations for City Council.''

Noting the real risk of climate change, he also pointed to the need for investment ''in the next generation of energy production and conservation,'' highlighted city achievements and plans in both fields, and addressed the huge potential for creation of quality jobs around home retrofits.

''Denver could work with the mortgage industry and facilitate the implementation of energy audit recommendations to the homes of individuals,'' he explained. ''By attaching energy improvements to mortgages, many home buyers could probably receive an annual dividend. Such a program would create thousands of jobs, reduce greenhouse emissions, and reduce the flow of dollars to oil exporters.''

Concluding his speech with a thought about the Denverites of 2108, Mayor Hickenlooper said probably ''motor scooters will seem as quaint to those citizens of the future as the horse and buggy does to all of us today'' or perhaps ''parking meters won't exist, because there will be no more cars on the roads,'' and expressed optimism that ''at least a few of our efforts will stand the test of time.''

When they gather ''to observe the city's 250th birthday,'' he said, ''I hope that people can say we read our times correctly and responded to them with all our might.'' -- City of Denver   7/1/2008  

Resource(s):  www.denvergov.org/

Connecticut

Planner Honored Posthumously for Main Street Revitalization Work

''Before it was in vogue, she was an advocate of smart growth,'' said Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) economic development manager John O'Toole of the late Capital Region Council of Governments principal planner Linda Osten, an ''activist and visionary'' who died of cancer at age 49 last December, honoring the Norwich native posthumously with the CL&P award for outstanding contributions to Main Street Revitalization, a special individual tribute during the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) presentation of its eight 2008 Awards for Excellence on June 9 at the Wauregan Ballroom in downtown Norwich.

The Wauregan itself, built in 1856 and long the most luxurious hotel between New York and Boston, reports Norwich Bulletin writer Michael Gannon, won the CMSC award in the adaptive reuse category for the Fairfield-based B + B green architecture, planning and development firm, which helped save the historic building from the wrecking ball and restored it as mixed-income housing and retail space.

The program, said CMSC President and CEO John Simone in an earlier press release, ''was created to recognize outstanding projects, individuals and partnerships in community efforts to bring traditional downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts back to life, socially and economically.''

Its 2008 award winners also include Upper Albany Main Street; Mansfield Downtown Partnership; Herman Todd, President of Living Word Imprints; Main Street Waterbury; Simsbury Main Street Partnership; Willimantic Renaissance, Inc.; and Marilyn Lisi, Executive Director, Upper Albany Main Street.

Visit the Connecticut Main Street Center website for details.-- Norwich Bulletin   6/10/2008  

Resource(s):  www.norwichbulletin.com/

Stamford Approves Funds for Downtown Light Rail Feasibility Study

''Anyone who drives around Stamford now realizes that we're really in gridlock,'' said the city's Democratic Representative Patrick White as its board voted 19-11 -- with 10 members absent -- for a $141,000 downtown light rail feasibility study, adding ''Probably the most efficient way of moving masses of people is a light rail system.''

Republican Representative Carl Fransetti, reports Stamford Times writer Chase Wright, thought light rail might not work for the city, because of a low I-95 underpass, steep South End inclines, traffic delays during construction, and some system characteristics.

He suggested a comprehensive study of all options to ease downtown congestion, advice in line with Democratic Representative John Zelinsky's concern about light-rail costs, estimated at roughly $110 million to $120,000 million.

He dismissed city transportation planner Josh Lecar's argument that state and federal governments would be interested in funding light rail. ''Let's not kid ourselves,'' he told the planner. ''The money is going to come from our constituents, our hard-pressed taxpayers.''

In contrast, Democratic Representative Eileen Heaphy put the issue in a larger context.

''We have to look to the future,'' she stressed. ''We can't just stay where we are with all the changes going on around us and not consider the transportation challenges we will be facing in the future.'' -- Stamford Times   7/11/2008  

Resource(s):  www.thestamfordtimes.com/

Editorial Urges Connecticut to Adopt Comprehensive Smart Growth Policy

The massive post-World-War-II move to the suburbs was predicated mostly ''on cheap gas and cheap cars,'' but as gas hovers high above $4 a gallon now and companies ask prospective workers how far away they live -- because a long-distance commuter to a job that pays $10-$20 an hour might not net enough to afford the drive and the company could lose its recruitment investment -- ''we reap what we have sown,'' says a Hartford Courant editorial on the cost of sprawl, urging the state ''to fully embrace a smart growth policy that encourages workers and companies to move to sites in town centers or on transit lines.''

Public policy that reduces the nation's oil needs is now ''imperative,'' and it must ensure easy access to transit and make provisions for those who want to walk or bike but can't because of dangerous streets and a lack of pedestrian-bike paths, the editorial points out, encouraged by efforts of state Democratic Representative J. Brendan Sharkey, whose Smart Growth Working Group will present the 2009 session with a ''comprehensive, coordinated smart growth program.''

Its committees are studying land use, regional efficiency, economic development and property taxes, to fill the gaps in Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell's ''responsible growth'' program she expanded slowly over the past few years, helped by legislative leaders, 1,000 Friends of Connecticut, HomeConnecticut affordability advocates, and other activists.

''You have to recognize that this is a complex issue. If you are going to address it, you have to pull the different facets together,'' said Representative Sharkey, honored recently by the Connecticut Community Development Association (CCDA) as 2008 Legislator of the Year for his work on property tax reform, smart growth and housing improvements.

''Smart growth has been treated as something of an academic exercise for the past few years,'' the editorial concludes. ''The prospect of gas going to $5 and beyond suggests that now we really need to do it.'' -- Hartford Courant   6/25/2008  

Resource(s):  www.courant.com/ ; www.housedems.ct.gov/index.asp

Delaware

Potential Closure of Delaware Chrysler Plant Could Create Smart Growth Opportunity for Newark

Though Chrysler's first hybrid vehicle will soon come from its Newark plant in New Castle County, the world's eighth largest auto company intends to sell the 244-acre property after 2009, with interim City Manager Roy H. Lopata saying if no other car manufacturer moves in, the city will have the opportunity ''to do something really exciting through smart growth and smart development.''

A member of the city's ''Chrysler Redevelopment Liaison Team,'' together with Mayor Vance A. Funk III and Councilman Paul Pomeroy, reports Newark Post writer Scott Goss, Manager Lopata and other officials promised the site, next to the University of Delaware campus, will be a sustainable economic engine and a high-quality development showcase.

Councilman Pomeroy expects that to include a company or companies focused on cutting edge technologies.

''The future of that property could have a profound effect on the economy of the city, the county and the state for decades to come,'' he observed. ''This opportunity rests on us recognizing emerging 21st century trends and then capitalizing on them to steer the best possible product to this location.''

And if the property is used for anything else than manufacturing or warehousing, the writer adds, the City Council will decide what it may be through a project review process, including related zoning changes. -- Newark Post   6/20/2008  

Resource(s):  www.newarkpostonline.com/

Florida

Lee County DOT to Eliminate Bike Lanes in Road Resurfacing Projects

An avid cyclist, she has ''watched with great dismay the increasingly 'cycling hostile' community that Lee County has become,'' writes the Sanibel Bicycle Club's Government Issues Committee past chair Darla LeTourneau in a Fort Myers News-Press guest opinion, hitting the recent Lee Department of Transportation (LeeDOT) decision not to designate bike lanes on any county maintained road, and to remove present lanes while resurfacing roads, as incompatible with the county's Smart Growth policy and the efforts of Republican Governor Charlie Crist's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change.

Despite pleas from area cyclist clubs, the Responsible Growth Management Coalition and the Southwest Florida Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association at a county Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting, LeeDOT refused to reconsider its bike lane policy, she writes, calling it a symptom of a larger problem with the agency, including sloppy road expansion and bridge repair.

Biking and walking would enhance the local quality of life, help the environment, benefit local economies, and facilitate ''more healthy lifestyles for people of all ages,'' she stresses. ''And most importantly in the current climate of $4-plus-per-gallon gas, it is an alternative mode of transportation that saves money and reduces our 'carbon footprint.' It is truly a win-win approach.''

Accordingly, with 48 percent of the state's carbon dioxide emissions coming from transportation -- two-thirds of those due to car travel, the governor's action team ''is developing recommendations that include smart growth planning, transit-oriented development, and increased bike and pedestrian infrastructure,'' she points out.

''Smart Growth must be more than a plan -- it must change reality on the ground, which requires all the county agencies to be committed to Smart Growth,'' she concludes. ''As a first step, the commissioners should overturn LeeDOT's bike lane policy and tell them to 'get with the program.''' -- News-Press   6/24/2008  

Resource(s):  www.news-press.com/

Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Ballot Measure Requiring Voter Approval of Changes to Land Use Plans

Aggrieved by the state Department of Elections' dismissal of a proposed constitutional amendment ballot that could have forced local governments to seek voter approval for all pro-development deviations from their comprehensive land use plans -- an initiative opposed by 110 organizations in the Floridians for Smart Growth coalition -- the Florida Hometown Democracy Group and their leaders asked a federal court to declare the dismissal unconstitutional.

According to the lawsuit, reports Palm Beach Daily News writer Michele Dargan, the group gathered 820,034 signatures under its petitions to put the initiative on the November ballot -- significantly more than the required number of 611,009 -- but the department credited it with only 595,368.

''They're making it more difficult for citizens to amend the constitution,'' complained Florida Hometown Democracy deputy treasurer Barbara Herrin. ''In addition, our petitions received disparate treatment in the 67 different counties, which violates our equal protection rights. Tens of thousands of signatures were unlawfully rejected.''

The group also claims, the writer notes, that its signature collection process was handicapped by a 2004 constitutional amendment, which moved the submission deadline from 90 days before an election to February 1 of the respective year.

Floridians for Smart Growth Executive Director Ryan Houck scoffs at the arguments.

''I think the lawsuit is uniquely hypocritical. They're seeking to overturn the February 1 deadline that was passed by voters in a fair election in 2004,'' he pointed out. ''On one hand, they're campaigning on the mantra of empowering voters, and on the other hand they're asking a federal judge to overturn the express will of the people. I think the rhetoric has changed from 'trust the people' to 'blame the people.' '' -- Daily News   6/12/2008  

Resource(s):  www.palmbeachdailynews.com/

Georgia

Editorial: Atlanta's Transportation System Falling Behind Other Metro Areas

Atlanta boosted its prestige and economy through spirited investments long before others saw the need, but has rapidly ''fallen behind other metro areas regarding transportation,'' writes Atlanta Journal-Constitution deputy editorial page editor Jay Bookman, contrasting decisive Phoenix and Houston shifts toward light rail with his city's inertia, which he blames on lack of leadership at both the metro and state levels, due partly to the regional political structure and partly to election of ''risk-averse'' officials.

In Arizona's Maricopa County, he explains, where Phoenix voters authorized a 20-year transit sales tax in 2000 to build a 20-mile light-rail system that will open this December, and where county voters passed a 30-year transportation sales tax in 2004 to expand roads and extend light rail for another 37 miles, its single government takes care of 3.8 million residents -- 400,000 more than in five core metro Atlanta counties -- and it can move faster than a region with power fragmented among numerous jurisdictions.

What's more, Arizona Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano leads a coalition of business groups and others that is working on a statewide ballot initiative to raise $42 billion over 30 years for transportation projects ranging from roads to commuter rail.

''Without a regional mechanism to exert power, metro Atlanta has no choice but to look to the state for leadership,'' the editor writes. ''So far, it has looked in vain. While other states mark the opening of new rail systems long in the making, in Georgia it's major news when the governor concedes that a commuter rail line might be a good idea someday.''

For years apparent in its declining quality of life and attractiveness to business, ''the consequences of metro Atlanta's failure to build a transportation system for the future'' become especially risky ''with the era of cheap gasoline coming to an end,'' the editor points out. ''Our infrastructure, economy and way of life have been built on an expectation that long commutes would always be possible and that no alternatives were necessary. Now the world is changing and we aren't close to being ready.''

While Phoenix' light-rail line has attracted some $6 billion in new condos, offices and mixed-use retail project alongside, Atlanta's MARTA -- conceived in the early 1970s and ''a favorite target of those who dismiss transit as an option'' -- suffers from the region's fragmentation and the state's lack of ''vision and courage.''

Financed by just two of the dozen metro counties, it is ''the only major rail-transit system in the country that receives no financial support from state government,'' the editor writes, stressing, ''Until we address those issues, MARTA won't work and Atlanta won't work.'' -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution   6/23/2008  

Resource(s):  www.ajc.com/

Atlanta Community Thrives With Blend of Urban and Suburban Living

On the bleak 20-county metro Atlanta housing market, where sales fell 22 percent last year and resale prices have slowly slid by 6.5 percent so far, the only bright spot has been ZIP 30339 in Cobb County -- a postal zone of 17,000 people, some 10 miles northwest of central Atlanta -- where prices and sales rose 57 and 21.5 percent, respectively, both boosted by strong buyer activity in affluent unincorporated Vinings, reports Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer Kevin Duffy, finding Vinings ''a hybrid neighborhood,'' or ''the perfect blend of urban and suburban'' that lets residents downsize and upsize.

An ''amalgam of families, young singles and retirees,'' Vinings features vintage split-level and ranch homes mixed with McMansions on quiet residential streets and cul-de-sacs, condos and townhomes along busy thoroughfares, and a ''town center of sorts,'' Jubilee, with Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, some restaurants and ''a faux historic look of wood and brick that harkens back to the community's 19th century origins as a burg for railroad employees.''

CSX trains still cut through town 50 times a day, halting traffic on the main artery, the writer notes, but it doesn't bother real estate agent Debby Bolt, a resident since 1984.

''The train's got a consistency to it,'' she remarked. ''It just puts your whole day in perspective when you hear it.''

Others obviously share the sentiment.

Next to a glass office tower on 1,000-foot-high Mount Wilkinson, a 156-unit luxury condo building opened early last year was 91 percent sold by year's end, at an average unit price of about $600,000.

Its fitness amenities, views of Atlanta's skyline, and the county's school-tax exemption for 62-year-old and older residents ''were big selling points,'' the writer reports.

Nearby job centers and educational institutions -- the Lovett Academy, Pace Academy and Westminster Schools -- are equally important to others, along with dynamic community organizations, including Vinings Civic Club, Vinings Rotary Club, Vinings Historical Society, Vinings Club, Vinings Friends and Vinings Women's Club.

The area's natural beauty makes the attraction complete, though some residents begin to wonder whether the almost finished mixed-use Vinings Main project, with offices, retail and attached homes, won't bring in too much traffic.

For Sue and Jeffrey East, who moved in with their three children from Forsyth County in April 2007, Vinings is perfect.

''You feel like you're in a small town,'' she said, ''but you're in the hustle and bustle of the city.''

Still, for resident Jackie Benson, chair of the Georgia chapter of the Congress for New Urbanism, the writer notes, ''Vinings residents dangle their toes in the city instead of fully submerging.''

She told him, ''It's kind of a safe urbanism. It's a perceived security for people who were used to suburbia.'' -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution   6/6/2008  

Resource(s):  www.ajc.com/

Idaho

Idaho Smart Growth Director Says Compact Communities, Effective Public Transit Could Save Billions

Since trust in relief from gas prices and related hardships looks unrealistic, the need for ''more walkable, compact communities and a better transportation system'' is increasingly obvious, writes Idaho Smart Growth Executive Director Rachel Winer in a Boise Idaho Statesman reader opinion, pointing out that just 10 percent of such new housing nationwide would save households $220 billion over 10 years, and that Treasure Valley residents could already realize great transportation savings as a ValleyRide bus pass costs between $266 and $600 a year, while the annual cost of driving a single-occupancy vehicle ranges between $4,826 and $9,685.

Because Idaho is one of four states that lack dedicated state or local funds for public transportation, securing a local option for sales tax authority is critical, Director Winer stresses, also urging the public to support local businesses and downtown areas, and get involved in local planning decisions.

''Shopping where you live and work reduces the amount of miles you drive and reduces your bill at the gas pump,'' she observes. ''Learn about what smart growth is and find tools you can use to build vibrant communities at www.idahosmartgrowth.org.''

And for those considering a move, she advises calculating prospective transportation costs into home prices.

''Now that gas prices, and with them other household items such as food are rising, housing closer to existing cities and services can provide more of a savings,'' she explains. ''While the purchase cost of a home closer to existing cities remains higher, residents pay less in transportation costs because of their location closer to schools, jobs, shopping and public transportation. And the added bonus? The less time you spend in your car, the more time you get to spend with your family.'' -- Idaho Statesman   6/17/2008  

Resource(s):  www.idahostatesman.com/

International

Green Energy Trend: A Modern-Day Gold Rush?

''Just as thousands were drawn to California and Klondike in the late 1800s, the green energy gold rush is attracting legions of modern day prospectors in all parts of the globe,'' said U.N. Undersecretary-General and Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner as he released the ''Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2008'' report, which found that new renewable-energy investments jumped from $58.5 billion in 2005 to $92.6 billion in 2006 and $148 billion last year, the latter jump especially impressive in a time of financial market troubles caused by a credit crunch.

Simultaneously, the investments ''broadened and diversified,'' with the mainstream financial market becoming ''fully receptive to sustainable energy companies.''

Prepared by U.K.-based New Energy Finance for UNEP's Paris-based Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative, the report shows most new funds, $50.2 billion worth, invested in wind power last year, but the fastest growth in solar power, which attracted $28.6 billion in new capital.

''The clean energy industry is maturing and its backers remain bullish. These findings should empower governments -- both North and South -- to reach a deep and meaningful new agreement by the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in late 2009,'' Director Steiner pointed out. ''What is unfolding is nothing less than a fundamental transformation of the world's energy infrastructure.''

The total 2007 sustainable energy transaction volume reached $204.9 billion -- $98.2 going for new energy generation, especially from wind in the U.S., China and Spain; $50.1 billion for new technologies and manufacturing expansion; and $56.6 billion for mergers and acquisitions.

The report expects the investments to reach $450 billion a year by 2012, and more than $600 billion a year by 2020.

With the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimating total global energy-demand-focused investment at $20 trillion by 2030, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer warned, ''If these investments are not made in a climate-friendly way, emissions of greenhouse gases might go up by 50 percent in 2050, while science tells us they need to be cut by 50 percent by 2050.''

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, notes Associated Press writer John Heilprin, expects global energy demand to grow 50 percent over the next two decades, with oil prices likely to reach $186 a barrel. -- United Nations Environment Programme   7/1/2008  

Resource(s):  www.unep.org/

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair Outlines Plan for Global Climate Change Solution

''The problem of climate change is now almost universally understood and acknowledged. This is in itself a major achievement. But now is the moment to get serious about the solution. Such a solution has to be global. It must include America and China,'' said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a Tokyo visit before the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrial nations in Hokkaido Toyako, unveiling the ''Breaking the Climate Deadlock'' report by the nonprofit Climate Group, created by environmentally minded companies, governments and individuals in 2004, and based in the U.K., U.S., Australia, China and India.

The climate-change solution must be both radical and realistic, he stressed, expecting the G-8 summit, hosted by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, to set a clear direction for an international move toward a global emission-control policy and practice deal at a December 2009 convention in Copenhagen.

The Climate Group report ''warns of the danger of a yawning chasm between, on the one hand, the calls for radical action from scientists, environmental groups and people rightly alarmed at the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet; and on the other, the anxiety of decision makers in politics and business, who share the aims of the radical action but worry about whether that action is realistic,'' he said. ''The report tries to design a way to bridge this chasm.''

With climate demanding, ''over time, a radical, transformative change in the nature of the world economy, moving from growth built on carbon dependence, to environmentally sustainable development,'' the former British leader pointed to ''the size of the task,'' when emissions are ''static'' in Europe, but still on the rise in the U.S., Japan and other countries, and when China and India ''are set, rightly, to industrialize and move their vast hundreds of millions of poor people from subsistence agriculture to the modern economy.''

Calling the challenge ''technically and scientifically complex,'' ''politically sensitive'' and ''institutionally fraught,'' he said the report aims at a Copenhagen agreement ''that does not attempt a deal that tries to resolve all issues up to 2050 or even 2030 or 2020,'' but ''begins a process that will then undergo revision and adjustment as our knowledge improves and the facts become clearer.''

As he outlined the ''building blocks of a global deal,'' he made these observations: ''The vast majority of new power stations in China and India will be coal-fired; not 'may be coal-fired,' will be. So developing carbon capture and storage technology is not optional, it is literally of the essence. Without at least some countries engaging in a substantial renaissance of nuclear power, it is hard to see how any global deal could work. For developing countries to grow sustainably they will need funds and technology, otherwise they will not be able to peak and then reduce emissions within the necessary timescale.'' -- The Climate Group   6/27/2008  

Resource(s):  www.theclimategroup.org ; http://tonyblairoffice.org/

Louisiana

New Master Plan for New Orleans Could Take Guesswork Out of Zoning

New Orleans attorney William Borah, now president of Smart Growth for Louisiana, has fought bad projects through his career -- from the ''neighborhood-flattening'' I-10 to big boxes in the wrong zones, reports New Orleans CityBusiness writer Ariella Cohen, but only now may his and City Council President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson's joint work on 2006 Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) recommendations for city charter changes secure improvements, with the president introducing charter amendments that would end the council's ''unbridled'' land-use discretion, restructure the approval process, and vest the power of law in a comprehensive 20-year master plan, expected to be finished next year.

''There are sites in this city that look like they've been hit by bombs,'' observed William Borah. ''That's what happens when you have dysfunctional zoning and developers are given permission to build things that shouldn't be built (and then the projects don't work).''

The city council president is committed to change.

''There will be no guesswork any more about what can be built and what can't be,'' she stressed. ''This will free up our time to tackle the city's real problems instead of getting in the middle of zoning conflicts, which we never should have been (deciding) in the first place.''

De-politicization of land use decisions and placement of zoning variance requests and other potentially contentious issues in the hands of an expanded, plan-equipped Planning Commission, she added, will ensure accountability and prevent corruption and scandals.

The charter amendments, the writer notes, would also establish a ''system for organized and effective neighborhood participation in land use decisions,'' with the ''opportunity for meaningful neighborhood review of and comment'' on local projects.

With the Boston-based Goody Clancy urban consulting firm driving the master-plan process, its lead planner Dave Dixon pointed to the need for affordable housing and greater density in some areas.

''We have to pay careful attention to creating a range of affordable housing options in parts of the city that are gentrifying,'' he said in a BGR-hosted presentation, mentioning the Bywater neighborhood and the Central Business District.

He also would like to create a ''tax increment financing-like mechanism'' to spur denser projects.

''Downtown's development should be double,'' he told the audience. ''South Rampart Street is a place where public investment would pay itself off and at the end of the day, (help create) a valuable asset for the city.''

Real estate professionals agree land-use reform is needed.

''The politics come to the surface much more here than anywhere else,'' commented architect-developer Marcel Wisznia, with four high-end apartment projects downtown. ''It's a significant negative because when the process isn't clear and transparent, it is only the insiders who will make it through.'' -- New Orleans CityBusiness   6/10/2008  

Resource(s):  www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/

Sustainable Energy, Smart Growth Could Help Louisiana Become ''Green'' Capital

''It is equally unsustainable to depend largely on oil and gas from unfriendly regions of the world, as it is to believe that we can rely on oil-based supply forever,'' said U.S. Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu at a regional Summit for Sustainability in Alexandria, central Louisiana, telling area political and civic leaders that the state has resources and expertise to become ''the 'green' capital'' in sustainable energy production, and encouraging them to embrace efficiency, conservation, and Smart Growth.

''We know we have some assets in this state, but we have not always known how to capitalize on them,'' she stressed. ''With good planning, we can ensure that our sense of community never dissipates.''

Optimistic that Louisiana's relatively slower development now may be advantageous, reports Alexandria Town Talk writer David Dinsmore, Senator Landrieu added, ''We can kind of step back and figure out how we want to grow.''

The summit's host, Mayor Jacques Roy, shares her views.

''From nurseries in Forest Hills to the beautiful streetscape in Natchitoches, our region has much to offer if we work together toward sustainable growth,'' he observed. ''Our region's story provides clues to what Smart Growth is all about (and not about) -- and what must be addressed. At the turn of the century and before, Alexandria and central Louisiana were models of traditional American planning.''

Today's New Urbanism ''was the order of the day in downtown Jena and Alexandria many years ago,'' an order undermined by the automobile, urban flight, haphazard development and suburban sprawl since the 1950s, Mayor Roy said. ''Following the last 20 years of inching forward and development of objective criteria for sustainable planning, we are once again poised to take the lead.'' -- Town Talk   7/2/2008  

Resource(s):  http://landrieu.senate.gov/hrt/index.cfm ; www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Maryland

High Fuel Prices Forcing School Districts to Revise Bus Service

With schools systems hurt even more than the general public by high fuel costs, since school buses average about eight miles per gallon and diesel prices have jumped from $1.50 or $1.75 in 2005 into the high $4 range, many systems have cut idling time and empty bus travel, combined routes, eliminated stops and otherwise saved fuel, notes Washington Post writer Daniel de Vise, reporting that the Montgomery County Public Schools board approved a carefully-worded transportation policy change, under which students would have to walk to school from farther away if a further diesel price spiral left the district in fiscal distress.

County officials expect their diesel cost to increase from $3.6 million in fiscal 2005 to $7.9 million in 2009, which begins in July, the writer observes, finding that the district is now busing students if they live more than a mile from an elementary school, 1.5 miles from a middle school, and 2 miles from a high school.

To increase the distance, Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, who sought the policy change, would need to apply for a board waiver for a temporary adjustment, and the board could act on the request after at least 21 days of public comments or decide immediately if it unanimously ''deems an emergency exists.''

County Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) President Kay Romero said her group opposes anything that could preclude its input, and parent Kim Donohue ironized in an e-mail that if students are required to walk farther, more parents might drive them to school and consequently increase the area's carbon footprint, asking, ''Isn't this a politically correct county?''

Superintendent Weast understands parental concerns, but fears other options, such as saving on textbooks or teachers.

''I know people are upset. I know people are worried about losing their current walking distances,'' he said, glad ''that the board had the courage to put this on the table.'' At a previous board meeting, the writer adds, he estimated that a million-dollar rise in fuel costs would roughly equal funding for 15 teachers. -- Washington Post   6/24/2008  

Resource(s):  www.washingtonpost.com/

Planning Board Rejects Proposal for 16-Story Office Project at Bethesda's Metro Center

After a seven-hour hearing, sometimes resembling more a legal clash than a land-use debate, reports Washington Post writer Miranda S. Spivack, the Montgomery County Planning Board confirmed the improvement need for the Bethesda Metro center plaza and subway station, but turned down the Meridian Group's proposal to replace a shuttered food court with a 16-story office project -- considered by some good for smart growth -- as divergent from the county's local plan and not considerate enough of the neighbors.

The neighbors, in the towers of Chevy Chase Bank, Chevy Chase Land Co. and Clark Enterprises, argued a Meridian tower would take land supposed to be reserved for public use and violate county rules they had observed in their office construction.

They also offered expert testimony from nationally-known planner John Westbrook, who helped the county envision its downtown Bethesda design.

Without the originally required revision of the plan, he cautioned the Planning Board before the vote, ''(y)ou will drive a stake in the heart of Bethesda.''

In contrast, former Maryland Democratic Governor Parris N. Glendening, now the president of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and also a ''green'' developer, supported the project.

In his testimony, he recommended the Meridian proposal as ''an exemplary redevelopment of an underutilized parcel that will significantly advance 'smart growth' practices.''

The board, the writer adds, left Meridian the possibility of returning with another proposal for the Bethesda Metro center area. -- Washington Post   6/13/2008  

Resource(s):  www.washingtonpost.com/?nav=globaltop

Twenty Maryland Communities to Receive $300,000 in Downtown Grants

Having prompted legislation that eased state budget woes last year and now able to focus on infrastructure investments, Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley announced $300,000 in Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) grants for communities in the 1998 Main Street Maryland program -- augmented by his Maple Street housing enhancement plan and just expanded to another five municipalities -- saying the expansion ''recognizes the 'smart growth' value of revitalizing existing communities (and) building both individual and community wealth, and strengthens the economic potential of Maryland's traditional main streets and neighborhoods.''

Accompanying the governor on a visit in Berlin, near Ocean City, DHCD Secretary Raymond Skinner said, ''With these Maple Street projects, we will apply Main Street principles to residential initiatives and foster a holistic approach to community revitalization.''

In this latest round of DHCD funding, 20 communities -- including newly accepted Berlin, Annapolis, Chestertown, Middletown and Princess Anne -- received $12,000 each for downtown upgrades, with Cambridge, Cumberland, Dundalk and Westminster also awarded $15,000 grants to ''encourage residential revitalization projects'' near their business districts.

While it follows the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Center's aggregate guidelines for commercial district design, organization, promotion, and economic restructuring, the Main Street Maryland program has incorporated a fifth broad goal since the beginning of this year, collectively named ''Clean, Safe, and Green'' -- with energy efficiency, stormwater management and similar objectives -- as also necessary for smart growth and sustainability.

Berlin Mayor William G. ''Gee'' Williams, notes Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Smitherman, said the $12,000 Main Street grant will help him to install bike racks, add signs and put cloth shopping bags in stores.

''Berlin has come a long way on its own, but we understand our town cannot achieve its full potential alone,'' he pointed out. ''We know we will need the partnership and support of the state.'' -- Baltimore Sun   6/25/2008  

Resource(s):  www.governor.maryland.gov/index.asp ; www.baltimoresun.com/

Maryland Task Force Working on First Statewide Comprehensive Plan

As Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley's low-profile Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development lays the foundation for the state's first 20-year comprehensive plan, reports Washington Post writer Miranda S. Spivack, his Secretary of Planning Richard E. Hall is assuring county and municipal officials, vested in and insistent on local land-use control, that the state doesn't intend to dictate anything, but simply to set guiding principles that would discourage sprawl and promote denser development near transit, schools, water supplies and other amenities.

''One of the problems we have had in Maryland is getting the growth to go where we want it to go,'' said Secretary Hall. ''Just because we have mapped smart-growth areas and identified them doesn't mean there is as much growth there as we would like to see.''

Therefore, he pointed out, ''(w)e want to articulate state policy, how it manifests itself on the landscape and how it all comes together.''

State planners, the writer continues, expected more and faster development along portions of the I-95 corridor between Baltimore and Washington, because of its bus and train links with both cities, and along Metro's Red Line in southern Montgomery County, just north of the capital.

Although sensitive about their prerogatives, local officials and industry professionals sound receptive.

''Traditionally in Maryland, local land-use decisions have been made at the local level,'' observed Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Associate Director Les Knapp. ''That's not to say we don't want a state plan, we just don't want one that usurps our authority.''

A task force member, Laurel Department of Development Management Director Karl Brendle, whose city is ''in the throes'' of several redevelopment plans to absorb some of the residential influx expected during the military Base Relocation and Closure (BRAC) placement of 22,000 jobs at nearby Fort Meade, told the writer, ''We are trying to grow from within.''

With Maryland's population of roughly 5.7 million projected to grow by another million over the next two decades, the challenge is to find places for a lot of new homes, he said. ''If the state continues the way it is going, you are going to continue to allow development of farmland. That's senseless.''

He and another task force member, Morris & Ritchie Associates President Frank Hertsc,h agreed the state should provide aid to fund transit, developer incentives to build bike and walking paths, and subsidies to encourage less car-dependent and more energy-efficient development, or smart growth.

Government should move quickly, the latter noted, stressing, ''You can't direct people to live in an area unless you meet the infrastructure needs.''

And Home Builders Association of Maryland (HBAM) Executive Vice President John Kortecamp said the group is looking forward to the plan.

''In concept,'' he added, ''as long as you have a state policy that is supposed to guide growth, it helps to have some architecture that helps articulate what path that should take.'' -- Washington Post   7/5/2008  

Resource(s):  www.washingtonpost.com/?nav=globaltop

Massachusetts

Planners Working to Minimize Traffic Impact of Mixed-Use Jamaica Plain Project

In its largest transit-oriented development endeavor, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), its planning led by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is readying a dense, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly complex on 16 acres around the Forest Hills rail and bus station in Jamaica Plain, five miles southwest of central Boston, with some concerned that the prospective offices, shops and 700 households of the ''green'' project would increase congestion too much, but officials and consultants confident the problem can be solved, particularly since local residents think the two two-way arteries flanking the station should carry only one-way traffic, in opposite directions.

''What we heard is that folks want to see the area made more functional, especially for pedestrians and cyclists,'' said BRA project manager John Dalzell of the Forest Hills station. ''Right now the area seems both poorly functional and car oriented.''

Adaptation of these arteries, Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue, to one-way traffic would include setting aside one of the four lanes on each for bicyclists and parking, reports Boston Globe correspondent Ted Siefer, but the remaining three lanes in each direction would facilitate better traffic flow, with consultants expecting the planned computerization of traffic signals to eliminate most slowdowns and vehicle idling at intersections.

Although the MBTA wants potential developers to replace its 240-car commuter parking lot at the station, possibly with a 500-car garage, to accommodate project residents and shoppers from nearby neighborhoods, consultants estimate the development would only generate an average 6 percent traffic increase during rush-hour commutes.

''Having this parking,'' explained MBTA real estate director Mark Boyle, ''also keeps local folks from having to drive in to Boston.''

National Development managing partner Ted Tye, whose company built transit-oriented projects in Newton and Medford, testified to their wider benefits.

''Some of our residents have no cars,'' he noted. ''Some supplement their needs with Zipcar. And I expect this phenomenon will only accelerate in times of $4-a-gallon gas.''

In addition, the writer observes, ''in diversity minded'' Jamaica Plain, more important than additional traffic is additional affordable housing, and local participants in the project planning want it to exceed Boston's mandatory 15 percent and reach perhaps 50 percent.

''I'm OK with building dense near a transportation hub,'' stressed JP Neighborhood Council chair of housing and development Francesca Fordiani, saying if more traffic results from a project good for affordable housing, it is ''a trade-off I'm willing to take.'' -- Boston Globe   6/15/2008  

Resource(s):  www.boston.com/news/globe/

Open Space Protection, Resource Conservation Highlight Mass. Gov. Patrick's New Commonwealth Capital Policy

While many people in small towns strive to protect their cherished open space, many in crowded urban areas often think it's only fair to put any additional homes or factories in the less congested suburbs, but they should realize that ''everyone loses'' as land is paved over for yet another subdivision or strip mall and as ever longer commutes jam roads, says a Newburyport Daily News editorial, supportive of Democratic Governor Deval Patrick's new ''Commonwealth Capital Policy,'' which calls on municipalities ''to site and build homes and businesses in ways that that conserve energy and natural resources.''

Launched in the wake of a recent MetroFutures report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, which recommends directing growth to the region's cities and mature suburbs, and ''making every effort to keep what's left of our fields and forests undisturbed,'' the editorial observes, the capital policy pursues the same goals.

It seeks to reward ''those communities that have taken formal and significant action to work with neighboring communities to foster development projects, land and water conservation, and other outcomes that have regional and multi-community benefits.''

It also advocates environmental responsibility, including steps to reduce energy consumption and to rely on power from renewable sources; advises municipalities to follow the state's lead in expediting projects that meet their overall development targets; and recommends encouraging people to leave their cars and depend more on transit, bikes and their own feet for mobility.

And as ''some communities continue to fight over the use of former rail right-of-way for bike and walking paths, 'smart growth' decrees that these be expanded,'' the editorial points out, concluding that the governor's policy ''also makes a good case for directing new residential growth to those neighborhoods -- many of them older -- with easy access to rail and bus lines.'' -- Daily News   7/9/2008  

Resource(s):  www.newburyportnews.com/headerlink

Green Communities Act Will Help Bring Renewable Energy Home in Massachusetts

''Climate change is the challenge of our times, and we in Massachusetts are rising to that challenge,'' said Democratic Governor Deval Patrick at Boston's Museum of Science as he signed the Green Communities Act, a landmark energy bill that commits $10 million a year to help communities become more energy-efficient or invest in renewable sources and requires utilities to increase their renewable energy purchases from 3.5 to 25 percent by 2030, while allowing them to own solar electric panels, whose rentals will gradually cover their cost while enabling customers to cut their energy bills.

The law, reports Boston Globe writer Beth Daley, also requires utilities to invest in energy efficiency to meet increased demand if such investment costs are equal or lower than those of extra power purchases -- a requirement expected to avert the need for additional construction of costly and emission-intense power plants.

What's more, the law authorizes the use of at least 80 percent of the revenue from the regional effort to cap plant emissions for efficiency programs, including home energy audits to identify potential savings for owners; requires new buildings to meet updated building codes with new efficiency provisions; and makes it easier for customers who install solar panels or wind turbines to sell energy surplus.

All this together, the writer notes, will likely motivate utilities to devise customized energy-saving plans for home owners and businesses alike and to provide rebates for installation of insulated windows, high-efficiency boilers and similar fixtures.

Utility officials and environmentalists are hailing the Green Communities Act as one of the most innovative efforts in the nation to stabilize energy rates, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and spur clean technologies that don't further global warming.

''It pushes us to a new level,'' said NStar CEO Tom May. ''We get to cross the street to our customers' side and help them with energy choices . . . such as windmills in a neighborhood or solar panels. It's helping them reduce their carbon footprint.''

Environment Northeast attorney Sam Krasnow and Conservation Law Foundation lawyer Sue Reid feel the same way.

''The leanest power plant is the one that never gets built. Energy efficiency is the cheapest and cleanest energy resource available,'' pointed out the former, with the latter stressing, ''This is a tremendous advancement that comes not a moment too soon, giver rising energy prices and the climate crisis.'' -- Boston Globe   7/3/2008  

Resource(s):  www.boston.com/news/globe/

Mississippi

Editorial: Appeal of Mass Transit ''Grows Each Day'' for Mississippi Coast

The appeal of mass transit ''grows each day,'' states the Pascagoula Mississippi Press, saying although most people cherish a car-focused lifestyle and travel on their own schedules ''(t)hat freedom may be a luxury many of us cannot or no longer wish to afford,'' calling the constant gas price increases ''another emergency for the coast,'' and expecting the Mississippi Coast Transit Authority (CTA) both to expand its bus service and to work with city and Jackson County leaders to provide residents with carpools and vanpools.

At their recent meeting, the daily notes, CTA Executive Director Kevin Coggin said regular Monday through Saturday bus ridership jumped 50 percent last month from its May 2007 level, with staff concluding that some 63 percent of the county's employees may be candidates for carpooling, 15 or fewer miles one way, and 38 percent for vanpooling -- at longer distances and from seven to 15 riders per van.

The County Board of Supervisors, the daily observes, didn't seem eager to fund such a program solely for county employees, but they could become its base for ''configuring a public transportation system'' countywide.

At the same time, extension of CTA bus service throughout the county, with stops at major job and shopping sites, ''could draw riders, as could operating at peak travel times,'' especially since gas prices are unlikely ''to suddenly drop,'' the daily points out, concluding, ''Chances are pretty good the equation has tipped in favor of mass transit for many people.'' -- Mississippi Press   6/19/2008  

Resource(s):  www.gulflive.com/mississippipress/

Missouri

Kansas City to Create Light-Rail Starter Line Before Regional System

After vast majorities of Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties' residents polled last month chose a regional light-rail system over a city-only starter line, which seemed to some to derail the latter's prospects, Councilman Russ Johnson offered a compromise plan to blend both by seeking a quarter-cent Kansas City sales tax increase for an 8-mile starter line in November, ''then coming back two years later with an election for a regional system'' in the three counties, writes Kansas City Star columnist Steve Penn, a solution backed by the city's Regional Transit Alliance (RTA).

Applauding Councilman Johnson's proposal in a press release, RTA Chair Margie Richcreek expressed belief that ''a successful light rail starter line is key to a comprehensive regional transit plan.''

In November, she pointed out, ''Kansas City voters can invest in a light rail spine that can connect seamlessly with the broader regional transit vision'' Mayor Mark Funkhouser and others have started to explore, a vote that would reaffirm the almost two-year-long planning for the line and an ongoing analysis of alternatives, an analysis necessary to secure federal funds.

At the same time the RTA stated its preference for bus rapid transit on Troost Avenue -- Troost BRT aka Troost MAX, which has already won federal funding and can be operational within the next 18 to 24 months.

The RTA press release cautioned that suspension of the project and resumption of the study on streetcar or other transportation modes ''can result in a loss of project dollars from the federal government and jeopardize Kansas City's credibility with the Federal Transit Administration.'' -- Star   6/6/2008  

Resource(s):  http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/

Long-Term Effects of High Energy Costs Still Uncertain in St. Louis Region

Encouraged by 50 years of constant road construction, urban sprawl carried home owners ever farther away from the central city, but finally seems to have met its match in $4-plus gas, with some commuters moving closer to jobs and some outer suburbs testing smart growth, observes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board, citing the example of De Soto couple Carol and Robert Miles and quoting Realtors Association of Southwestern Illinois Chief Executive Stephanie Tonnies.

Carol and Robert Miles love their four-bedroom De Soto lakeside home, bought 15 years ago, and didn't mind their 100-mile, two-hour round-trips to jobs in St. Louis until gas began to cost them almost $800 a month -- more than enough to buy a small two-bedroom South St. Louis ''pied-a-terre'' as a second home, which they did, at a monthly payment of $500.

Their children are grown, which gives them more flexibility, the Editorial Board notes, but Carol Miles wants to keep the De Soto home, saying, ''I can't give it up. It's nice country out there.''

But the ''country,'' including St. Louis' Metro East fringe suburbs on the Illinois side, is changing, too.

''They're zoning for shops within walking distance of new subdivisions,'' said Realtor Tonnies. ''I think you're going to be seeing much more of that.''

It's not clear how the changes may play out for St. Louis, the Editorial Board says, with the city and St. Charles County, to the northwest, holding roughly 17 percent of the metro area's jobs, and the rest ''scattered widely, from Boeing in North St. Louis County to the Granite City steel works to thousands of smaller businesses in industrial parks and office buildings along the suburban interstate highways.''

The ever higher gas prices ''could send people moving in a lot of directions, not just back to the city.''

In any case, real change will come slowly, since ''(w)e have a huge investment in where we are now'' and even long-distance commuters have options other than moving, pointed out East-West Gateway Council of Governments Executive Director Les Sterman. ''You sell the SUV and get a vehicle that gets twice the gas mileage.''

Though home-price slide rates in the first five months of the year show no pattern yet -- a 17 percent drop both in outer Lincoln County and the city itself, 7 percent in nearby St. Louis County, 4 and 5 percent a little farther out in St. Charles and Jefferson counties, and 5 to 6 percent throughout Metro East -- the Editorial Board concludes, ''If there's a silver lining to higher gasoline prices, this may be it: less time on the highways, more at home. Or homes.'' -- Post-Dispatch   7/4/2008  

Resource(s):  www.stltoday.com/

Cluster Development Would Create Rural Villages, Protect Rural Heritage in Boone County

Impatient with Boone County's outdated comprehensive plan and its commission's inability to protect land and rural heritage, local Democratic civic activist Sid Sullivan is campaigning for a commission seat, stressing in a Columbia Missourian guest editorial that ''(r)ather than giving lip service to the smart growth constituents and blindly following the decades old zoning ordinance, the county could easily provide incentives to developers and landowners to cluster development into rural villages leaving 60 to 80 percent of the land in its natural state.''

Under the current ordinance, he writes, owners can subdivide their land into 2.5-acre ''estate plats,'' too large for economically feasible public water and sewer services and too small for further subdivision into urban size lots.

The bureaucrats ''wring their hands feeling apologetic and noting their impotence to improve the situation,'' but ''leadership can find a way to solve this problem,'' the candidate for commissioner asserts, pointing out that ''zoning classification of planned districts could and should be amended to retain some of our farms before the entire county is developed into residential estates.''

The amendments should encourage higher-density clusters on 20 to 30 percent of a given tract, with the landowner or developer donating the remaining development rights to a public agency or a nonprofit land trust for a possible tax credit.

The housing could often be clustered away from roads and public view to preserve the landscape and further improve landowners' investment return, while protecting the county's rural quality.

Under such zoning amendments, the county ''could create rural villages that would support a walkable elementary school and neighborhood commerce while protecting local farms within reach of an urban market,'' he writes, adding that ''three or four of these clusters adjacent to one another'' would leave substantial land acreage undisturbed, and asking, ''Wouldn't that be beautiful?'' -- Missourian   7/10/2008  

Resource(s):  www.columbiamissourian.com/

National

How Walkable Is Your Neighborhood? Website Provides Scores for 40 Largest U.S. Cities

''Most Americans agree we will never see cheap gas again'' and many are beginning to translate that assumption into ''big life decisions'' such as where to live, said Smart Growth America Communications Director David Goldberg, commenting on a survey of 2,508 neighborhoods in the 40 largest U.S. cities by the Walk Score web site, which found San Francisco the most walkable, followed by New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

The site, operated by a civic software company Front Seat, writes Chicago-based Wall Street Journal MarketWatch reporter Amy Hoak, researches and promotes pedestrian-friendly places, offering home seekers address scores based on proximity of easily accessible amenities.

Front Seat founder Mike Mathieu told the reporter that with gas prices up, real estate agents and developers increasingly recommend his and similar sites to clients eager to be less car-dependent.

Of course, observed director Goldberg, people are unlikely to give up their cars completely and ''we're not talking about everybody moving downtown.''

Still, with baby boomers, singles and the health-conscious already appreciative of walkable neighborhoods, he thinks it's quite possible such neighborhoods will eventually become the new norm, also pointing to their existence in or near such sprawling cities as Atlanta.

He mentioned Decatur -- some five miles east of Midtown Atlanta -- which features amenities and transit options without high densities.

The Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), which recently found that people who live near transit, jobs, schools and retail spend up to $2,100 less a year on gas than their outer-ring-suburb counterparts, the reporter adds, also offers online housing and transit affordability data and maps, showing how gas costs can affect household budgets.

To make it possible for people to do more without cars, governments must shift more transportation money to transit, including system upgrades and efficiency, said CNT President Scott Bernstein, noting, ''What happened is we started investing in a system of streets and highways that made it easier for people to own personal vehicles.''

See the urban walkability grades at http://walkscore.com/rankings and http://walkscore.com/rankings/walker-paradises.php. -- Wall Street Journal   7/17/2008  

Resource(s):  www.marketwatch.com

House Speaker Pelosi Says Smart Growth Can Magnify Fuel Savings from Increased Transit Use

''We must invest in our nation's infrastructure, and we must reverse climate change. By investing in public transit, we can do both at the same time,'' said U.S. House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) rail conference in San Francisco, pointing out that rebuilding America is a combined national security, economic, environmental and equality issue, and that ''(t)he fuel savings from using transit are magnified when we add in the 'smart growth' that springs up around transit, especially rail transit stations.''

In a major 2007 move to cut ''global warming pollution,'' Congress passed legislation to increase vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 mpg by 2020, the ''equivalent of taking 28 million of today's cars and trucks off the road,'' she said, noting that better vehicle efficiency and more biofuels are not enough and that the nation ''must also address total 'vehicle miles traveled' (VMT), which are growing at two and a half times the rate of population growth.''

In these efforts, she told the APTA audience, ''you are in the lead -- getting people out of their cars and onto light rail, trolleys, and commuter rail, for example,'' which saves the nation billions of gallons of gas every year.

Encouraged by 2007 transit ridership at the ''highest level in 50 years,'' the U.S. House Speaker stressed that this upward trend is ''making the need for infrastructure investment all the more pressing.''

Congressional leaders have already presented the White House with a number of ideas for funding infrastructure projects, which would also create jobs, and legislation now in Congress identifies ways to curb greenhouse gas emission further and to invest in transit.

The Lieberman-Warner bill (the America's Climate Security Act) alone promises a mandatory, market-based cap-end-trade emission program and $171 billion for public transportation through 2050.

Spotlighting work by Democratic Congressmen Earl Blumenauer and Peter De Fazio of Oregon and Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, Speaker Pelosi restated the commitment of House Democrats to ''robust public investments in public transportation'' and pledged to prevent any attempt to reduce the 20-percent transit funding share in the 2009 reauthorization of the surface transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU), a reduction that occurred in 2005.

The same applies to funding for New Starts rail projects.

''It is essential that the environmental and economic development benefits of rail transit become fundamental criteria in the decision-making process for New Starts,'' she concluded. ''We see with each new light rail system -- whether the location is Dallas, Minneapolis or Portland -- a tremendous upsurge in transit-oriented development around rail lines and stations. Transit and the high-density development that accompanies it both have tremendous value in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and putting us on the path to a low-carbon economy.''

A day later, in a speech to several hundred attendees of the 30th anniversary of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in Santa Clara, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeated the message of her APTA address and urged leaders of its 260 companies to send Washington their ideas on how to battle global warming, improve education and health care, and rebuild infrastructure, stating, ''We have the responsibility to build infrastructure in America . . . and to do it in a green way and thinking an entrepreneurial way.''

Greeted with a standing ovation, Speaker Pelosi called for ''a massive infusion of resources'' into biomedical research, investment in electronic health records and preventive care, and innovations in green technology to create jobs. -- San Francisco Chronicle, All American Patriots   6/3/2008  

Resource(s):  www.allamericanpatriots.com/ ; www.sfgate.com/chronicle/

Walkable Urban Living: The New American Dream?

Demand Grows for Mixed-Use Neighborhoods as Suburbs Face New Challenges

''Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?'' asks CNN news writer Lara Farrar, reporting that as many suburban residents nationwide work hard to mitigate and outlast the disastrous results of the subprime mortgage collapse in their neighborhoods, urban experts predict a thorough structural transformation of suburbia over the next several decades due mostly to demographic changes, weariness from endless commutes, and the renewed attractiveness of cities, with gradual gentrification of their once depressed areas displacing low-income people to the once dreamt-of suburbs.

''The American dream is absolutely changing,'' said University of Michigan Professor Christopher Leinberger, a Brookings Institution visiting fellow, heartened by the recent influx of well-educated young professionals to cities such as Atlanta, Detroit and Dallas.

''The image of the city was once something to be left behind,'' he observed, but generations influenced by TV series like ''Seinfeld'' and ''Friends'' favor and seek city life as definitely ''cool.''

Along with ever-larger numbers of singles, families without children, and aging baby boomers, the young professionals create a highly absorbent market for dense housing in mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented neighborhoods.

Recent research on selected metropolitan areas, he noted, found up to 40 percent of households preferring to live in walkable urban areas, a preference authenticated by housing prices 40 to 200 percent higher that in typical suburban neighborhoods.

Regardless of the emergent oversupply of devalued suburban housing, Professor Leinberger doesn't think the pent-up demand for dense pedestrian-friendly development can be met soon, partly because of prohibitive governmental policies and zoning rules.

At the same time, Virginia Tech Metropolitan Institute Director Arthur C. Nelson expects a surplus of some 22 million large-lot homes by 2025, the writer reports, to accommodate urban residents no longer able to afford their apartments and houses in city cores and other coveted neighborhoods.

''What is going to happen is lower and lower-middle income families squeezed out of downtown and glamorous suburban locations are going to be pushed economically into these McMansions at the suburban fringe,'' he said. ''There will probably be 10 people living in one house.'' -- CNN.com   6/16/2008  

Resource(s):  www.cnn.com/

Gas Price Relief Act Would Offer More Choices for Commuters, Preserve Affordable Housing Near Transit

''Long the 2nd biggest expense -- after housing -- in a family budget, transportation costs are now eating into funds needed for other critical items, such as food, education, health care, retirement saving, and even vacation plans,'' wrote Oregon Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer in an online Planetizen op-ed before he introduced the Transportation and Housing Choices for Gas Price Relief Act (H.R. 6495), stressing, ''we've seen the last of the cheap oil on which we've built our economy, our communities, and our daily lives.''

Agreeing with former Maryland Democratic Governor Parris Glendening, now Smart Growth Leadership Institute President, that the global-competition-driven oil shortage can't be cured ''by increasing our domestic supply,'' because even ''if we drained America's oil supply dry, our 3 percent of the world's total is a mere drop in the bucket,'' Congressman Blumenauer pointed out that ''the solution is clearly not more oil, but less demand.''

His bill -- co-sponsored by Democratic Representatives Jerry McNerney, Hilda Solis and Ellen Tausher of California and Jay Inslee of Washington, along with Republican Representative Chris Shays of Connecticut -- seeks to ''equip American families with the means to live better with less oil.''

Congressman Blumenauer lists six bill goals.

One, to increase commuter choices ''by equalizing the transportation fringe benefit'' between those who drive and those who take transit, bike, use car pools or telecommute, including the self-employed -- all allowed to ''to cash in their parking benefit.''

Two, to help public transit agencies cover rising fuel costs ''by providing federal funds for fare subsidies, service improvements, fuel purchases, and technology assistance,'' and requiring the Federal Transit Administration to include land use, density, economic development and carbon emission reduction factors in evaluations of Streetcar proposals.

Three, to assist communities ''by providing additional funding for the successful Safe Routes to School program and expanding it to include high schools.''

Four, to provide families with more housing options ''by expanding the Location-Efficient Mortgage program and providing funds to help states acquire, construct, and preserve affordable housing close to public transit.''

Fifth, to make the federal government a better partner ''by providing transportation fringe benefits to all federal employees,'' and encouraging agency participation in local Transportation Management Associations.

And sixth, to assist smaller cities and rural communities by making them eligible for a portion of the funds going to large cities and metropolitan regions.

''By investing in American families and communities instead of our gas tanks,'' Representative Blumenauer wrote, ''we can reduce gas prices, reduce our long-term oil dependency, and create more livable, sustainable communities in the bargain.''

Congratulating Representative Blumenauer on the bill, 16 transit, smart growth and environmental organizations -- including the American Public Transportation Association, Smart Growth America, the American Planning Association and the Environmental Defense Funds -- said in a letter ''this bill will foster timely solutions to reduce our dependence on oil and our national vulnerability to the movements of the oil markets.'' -- Planetizen, Grist.org   7/16/2008  

Resource(s):  http://grist.org/ ; www.planetizen.com/

Sen. Obama Pledges Strong Urban Policy at U.S. Mayors Conference

As someone who after college worked with Chicago churches as a community organizer ''to help lift up neighborhoods that were struggling after the local steel plants closed,'' he learned firsthand ''that in this country, change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up,'' said Illinois Democratic Senator Barack Obama at the 76th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami, clearly making the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program's agenda part of his presidential campaign platform by highlighting the crucial role of cities and metro regions in the new global economy, quoting Program Director Bruce Katz on competitive advances abroad, and pledging to appoint the first White House Director of Urban Policy.

''You know what happens when Washington puts out economic policies that work for Wall Street but not Main Street -- because it's your towns and cities that get hit when factories close their doors, and workers lose their jobs, and families lose their homes because of an unscrupulous lender,'' Senator Obama said, stressing that mayors ''need a partner in the White House'' and that they also can count on him in their push for better education, comprehensive immigration reform, and real energy solutions.

''Neglect is not a policy for America's metropolitan areas,'' Senator Obama observed, acknowledging Arizona Republican Senator John McCain as ''a true patriot,'' but telling the mayors Senator McCain ''won't be that partner'' since his ''priorities are very different from yours and mine'' and he ''isn't proposing a strategy for America's cities.''

What's more, he continued, mayors need a White House partner ''who knows that the old ways of looking at our cities just won't do; who knows that our nation and our cities are undergoing a historic transformation, with the national population expected to grow by 50 percent in the decades ahead.

''This is creating new pressures, but it's also opening up new opportunities -- because it's not just our cities that are hotbeds of innovation anymore, it's those growing metro areas,'' Senator Obama said, citing Brookings research data.

The top 100 metro areas generate two-third of the nation's jobs, claim almost 80 percent of patents, and handle 75 percent of seaport tonnage, with 42 of those areas ranked amon