Anatomy of a Local Transit Plan to Combat Racism

Where: San Francisco

How will San Francisco Transit Authority transportation plan combat racism?

 90 action steps to root out racism in seven areas — hiring, promotion, discipline, leadership, professional development, organizational culture and boards

Why is the transit agency working to combat racism? A review of agency employee sanctions, it was discovered that harsher sanctions were imposted against black employees for committing the same acts as white employees.

San Francisco Chronicle via Governing | San Francisco Transit Agency Adopts Plan to Combat Racism

SFMTA Racial Equity Plan

2020 Recap: Smarties.

If there was a transportation program in 2020, it was a smart something. Smart cities. Smart lamp posts. Smart traffic lights. Bikes that power street lights. Electric Vehicles that could power buildings. Smart roads that generate solar energy.

Smart cars.  Smart Concrete that can power EVs or store solar energy. Smart funding choices showed that  cities save money by switching to EV fleets, especially their police cars. Fewer repairs. Lower fuel costs. To make incentives for EVs smarter, the UK came up with a green license plate. A very smart and savvy partnership in Asia between ride share and telecoms.

The amount of new technology is transportation is mind boggling. This year we talked about flying pod cars, driverless trucks, hyperloops, electric dirt bikes, solar truck beds, and a University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics at Texas A&M. 

New Study. Reasons why Pacific Northwest Should Plan for High Speed Rail.

Where: Washington, Oregon & British Columbia

Step 1: Creating a coordinating entity between the 3 governments

Step 2: Choose the high speed option: high speed rail, magnetic levitation trains or a hyperloop

Step 3: Funding with a mix of state, federal, & private contributions from train operators or beneficiaries

Step 4: broader coalition of support and “ensure deep and equitable local engagement across the corridor.”

Astorian | Study says Northwest states, Canada should formalize interest in bullet train

COVID. Pros and Cons of Car Free Streets.

The Pros of streets that local governments have closed to through traffic because of COVID:

  • restaurants and cafes have COVID appropriate dining space
  • bars have benefited from outdoor drinking space

The Cons of streets that local governments have closed to through traffic because of COVID:

  • Retailers say it limits customer access to their storefronts

Streets Blog Chicago | Car-free streets have helped restaurants — don’t blame them for poor sales at your gift shop

What is a Green License Plate?

Green License Plates are new vehicle registration plates launched in the UK for Electric Vehicles (EVs).

A survey from Nissan says 28% of customers are more likely to buy an EV because of green license plates.

What benefits are there for green license plates? Easier to apply incentives or benefits like discounted parking for charging EVs.

Automotive World | ‘Green number plates’ will boost EV demand ahead of 2030 deadline, according to Nissan poll

Solar Paneled Roads in Georgia Pilot

Where: Peachtree Corners, GA

What: utilizing French-engineered road surface solar panels the city may charge:

  • A solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station at city hall
  • Power to street lights
  • Provide power to backup for grid outages

What other unique achievements will this solar energy generating road bring?

  •  the country’s first road surface solar panels manufactured by Wattway
  • A one-of-a-kind autonomous vehicle lane

Smart Cities World | Peachtree Corners reveals solar roadway system

City Cost Savings with EV Police Cars

Fremont, California began swapping out traditional police cars with Teslas. Here are the cost savings the city points to:

  • $30,000 in fuel costs saved for the lifetime of the vehicle
  • Longer lasting vehicle
  • Fewer repair costs

The city plants to swap out parks and services cars for EVs too and estimates a total savings of $3 million over the next two decades with about $2.5 million directly attributed to police vehicle replacement.

San Francisco Chronicle via Governing | Fremont Looks to Expand All-Electric Police Car Fleet

COVID. Some Communities Oppose Road Closures for Restaurants & Walkability

Some local governments in response to reopening businesses during the pandemic have closed roads to open the roads to walking, biking, and outdoor restaurants and retail.

Turns out some ares aren’t interested in the option. They say:

  • the projects have bypassed the standard community approval process
  • it is a benefit for white and wealthy portions of cities
  • support empowering communities to design their solutions

Government Technology & Governing | Not All Neighborhoods Want Slow Streets. Here’s Why