Leaving all that oil behind

From Grist :

10 ways cities and towns can kick the offshore-oil habit

No suprises here - these solutions have been known for quite a while. Build densely and in ways that fully accomodate a wide range of transportation choices. In other words, build places that are walkable, bikeable, and transit oriented.

When we create places that can only be accessed and traversed by private automobile, surprise! - we become desperately car (and thus oil)-dependent.

Demand a more livable future, not only for your own neighborhood, but for the thousands of people, and other creatures, that your daily decisions and errands impact.

Reliable transportation

Thanks to Michael Brugger for passing this along:

Parking it at UGA

The Red & Black compares UGA's parking facilities to those of its peer institutions.

“Parking is one of the biggest problems on most any large university campus,” [ University of Florida vice president of Business Affairs Ed] Poppell said. “On our campus we say, ‘We have enough spaces, but just not in the right places.’”

The saying is a result of one of UF’s initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and congestion on campus by enforcing certain regulations, such as the university’s “auto-free interior campus,” where only buses and service vehicles are allowed on the interior of campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“We have significant policies on our campus limiting what students can do and where they can park,” Poppell said. “We have also continuously increased the price of our decals, encouraging people to find alternative means of transportation.”

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the parking is highly selective. With 16,000 total parking spaces on campus, the school allows only 3,900 of its 28,136 students to park on campus. Unlike the University, UNC does not offer parking to incoming freshmen.

“There are a lot of folks who prefer to utilize the transit system,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the UNC Department of Safety. “We’ve gone to inordinate measures to make sure that the congestion and dependence on single-occupancy vehicles are attended to here on campus. We have 6,000 people on the Commuter Alternative Program.”

The program offers students an incentive to walk, ride bikes or use transit on campus by rewarding them with prizes and merchant discounts.

The University has a similar program called the Alternative Transportation Program, with a student participation of 1,200.

The program allows students who walk or take the bus* to receive 22 days of free parking per year in specified parking locations.

*ATP is also available for cyclists. With its campus pedestrian malls, campus transit, and bike racks, UGA certainly leads the county in supporting alternative transportation infrastructure.

Still, more can be done to encourage alternative behavior among a student body overwhelmingly conditioned to drive enormous SUVs for 2 mile errand trips. Increasing ATP participation should be a top priority. Given the comparatively low levels of participation, UGA has a ways to go before it can say it has "gone to inordinate measures to make sure that the congestion and dependence on single-occupancy vehicles" are minimized.

Indeed, since its inception, the Alternative Transportation Program has grown more restrictive, due to concerns that the program was being abused. Instead of marginalizing a good idea, UGA ought to develop creative enforcement solutions and then widely publicize the program's availability and benefits. Fewer cars means less need for bond-financed parking decks, which means less congestion, both on our roads and in our air.

Unfortunately, other considerations tend to distort the University's thinking on these things.

Welcome to Athens

Welcome to Athens, new UGA students! And welcome back, all who summered elsewhere.

Check out bikeathens.com or this blog for everything you need to know about transit, walking, and cycling in Athens. If you like to volunteer, we have plenty of opportunities! You can always check out the great local weekly, Flagpole, for transportation news and event announcements as well.

In its orientation-to-Athens issue, Flagpole generously mentions BikeAthens quite a few times...

* BikeAthens Co-Chair Amy Johnson is quoted in a story on the Long Range Transportation Plan.

Don't forget to come by Trappeze at 7 pm tonight! We'll be discussing the LRTP and finalizing BikeAthens' formal comment on the plan. If you can't make it, be sure to submit comment on the plan. If you haven't read it, don't worry! While we strongly advise you to read the plan, you can submit any comment you like on the future of transportation in Athens. It will all be considered. You can email comments to macorts@co.clarke.ga.us until August 18th. Or, stay tuned for our soon-to-be-live online comment form, where you can tailor your comments on the LRTP and submit them from a single web page.

* Also, City Dope talks sidewalks, Athens Rising covers downtown and parking decks, and a feature for new arrivals points folks to our free Bike Map.

* Finally, the events calendar reminds the volunteer-minded to consider our ongoing Bike Recycling Program.

BikeAthens encourages you to walk, ride a bike, or take transit whenever possible. It's easier than you think to get around without a car! It will save you money, keep you healthier, and reduce traffic all around.

When you do drive, watch for pedestrians and cyclists, and give them the right-of-way. It's not just neighborly, it's the law!

And when you bike or walk, just remember:

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Be visible
• Ride legally & predictably
• Wear a helmet
• Share the road with all users

Enjoy yourself, and take advantage of all that Athens offers. We hope you'll get involved with BikeAthens!

Athens' air quality will not meet EPA standards

Due to increasing levels of smog and air pollution, "Clarke County does not meet new, tougher federal air quality standards," reports the ABH.

Ozone, or smog, is created when pollution from car exhaust, fossil fuel-burning power plants and industries mix with sunlight during hot summer months. It can cause respiratory and heart disease.

When the EPA finalizes the nonattainment list next year, state and local officials will have three years to come up with a plan to bring the 27 counties into compliance.

Athens drivers may have to take their cars to mechanics for emissions testing, Field said. The county also could lose federal funding for widening roads, but gain funding for sidewalks, bicycle lanes, mass transit and other forms of transportation that pollute less than cars, he said.