Current Stories
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Groups push for a less expensive I-5 bridge
Portland Tribune
11/06/2009
Groups are urging WA and OR leaders to toss out the proposed massive $4 billion, 12-lane Columbia River Crossing bridge project and start over, using a new approach that starts with region's shared values of economic vitality, affordable transportation, safe and healthy neighborhoods and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
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All in a tree's work
Oregonian
11/06/2009
Twenty years ago, a group of children planted a sugar maple tree behind Boise-Eliot School in North Portland. The tree was supposed to grow tall and spread a graceful canopy, but looks more like a lollypop. The unremarkable tree goes about its remarkable job: cleaning the air of pollution, capturing carbon dioxide and filtering stormwater, while providing shade and a sense of well-being.
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Missoula ordinance targets sidewalk sprawlers
New West
11/05/2009
Once Missoula’s pedestrian interference ordinance takes effect on Thursday, less space will remain available for sidewalk sprawlers. The ordinance itself does not expressly target homeless people but debate leading up to the vote pit downtown commercial interests against advocates for the homeless.
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BC has enough power for millions of electric cars
CBC BC
11/04/2009
There's enough under-used capacity in British Columbia's power grid to charge 2.5 million electric vehicles, almost the number of vehicles on BC roads right now, a new study suggests.
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McGinn leads tight Seattle mayor race
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle's mayoral race was too close to call Tuesday night, with environmentalist attorney Mike McGinn holding a narrow lead over T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan. McGinn's insurgent campaign was outspent 3-to-1 and threw a Hail Mary pass by backing away somewhat from his signature campaign issue: opposition to the deep-bore tunnel planned for Seattle's waterfront.
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'Treebates' help stormwater programs branch out
Portland Tribune
11/04/2009
A rebate to plant trees? That's the city of Portland's plan to encourage property owners to plant more trees, which help suck up hundreds of gallons of rainwater every year, reducing the amount that flows into storm drains and, eventually, into local rivers and streams.
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Streetcars are our desires
Boise Idaho Statesman
11/03/2009
In Boise, a proposed $60 million trolley plan became a major theme of local elections Tuesday but also represents an American revival. Some 80 US cities have proposals for streetcars, which they hope will become engines for prosperity that will reduce congestion and air pollution by turning back the clock.
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Constantine wins King County exec
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Riding a late-breaking wave of liberal support, Dow Constantine - a pro-abortion-rights, pro-labor, pro-transit Democrat - handily defeated Susan Hutchison on Tuesday in a rancorous race for King County executive. Now he has to clean up the county's budget, which is projected to face a $110 million shortfall over the next two years.
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Views: Smart, green and humane
Vancouver Sun
11/04/2009
According to the latest UN population projections, the next 40 years will see an almost doubling of urban populations. This growth will offer both unprecedented challenges and great opportunities to cities around the world.
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Beauty of a bioswale
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
A few months ago, a good-lookin' bioswale was a tangled forest of blackberries and scrubby trees gone out of control. Subdivision owners didn't realize that maintaining the stormwater facility - vital to filtering the dirty water draining off their streets into streams and groundwater - was their responsibility until a sternly worded letter arrived in their mailboxes.
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MEC raises ire of bicycle industry
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
Vancouver BC's Mountain Equipment Co-op, which has built its retailing reputation on a feel-good image of environmental and social responsibility, has ignited anger in an unlikely place - the bicycle industry.
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Bay Area has high housing burden
Contra Costa Times
11/03/2009
A research group that promotes affordable housing has unveiled a new way of calculating what many already know: Housing and transportation costs eat up nearly 60 percent of the median income of Bay Area families.
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Views: The cool factor matters
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
Auto companies big and small are so focused on the technology of green cars – the hybrid drive systems, the batteries, the electric motors, the controllers and software that are the “brains” of the things – they seem to have lost sight of something very important: electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids need to grab buyers with their looks.
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Seattle supports affordalbe housing levy
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle voters approved Proposition 1, continuing a pattern of generosity toward affordable-housing measures despite an ongoing economic crunch.
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Backyard cottages OK'd in Seattle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Backyard cottages will be allowed in single-family zones throughout Seattle under an ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council. City Councilman Tim Burgess said it would help people provide housing for family members or to offer low-cost rental units. "That's a positive way to create affordable housing in our city."
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Portland aims for Denmark-style bike culture
Willamette Week
11/02/2009
If city planners have their way, Copenhagen will be the model for Portland's urban transportation network. Bikes account for 55 percent of all trips in the Danish city, and 37 percent of commutes. Portland's commuting number -- near tops among large US cities and growing -- is a comparatively scanty 8 percent.
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Dog's eco-pawprint vs. driving an SUV?
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
A New Zealand study claims a medium-size dog leaves a larger ecological footprint than an SUV. Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry disagrees.
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Vancouver, BC, bike lanes win public support
CBC BC
11/02/2009
The temporary bike lanes on Vancouver's Burrard Bridge could be here to stay after a city survey found bike traffic was up, accidents were down and supporters outnumbered opponents nearly two to one.
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Converting garbage to fuel for CA garbage trucks
Contra Costa Times
11/02/2009
A new plant, which is operated by Waste Management, will take landfill-generated methane gas and turn it into liquefied natural gas to fuel garbage collection trucks.
Statewide, 495 trucks now are being supplied with garbage fuel from the new facility, which has been up-and-running for about two weeks. Of those, 49 are in the Bay Area.
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Seattle could lead electric car "revolution"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Seattle could be a leader in the electric car "revolution" when next year it becomes one of five cities to get 2,500 charging stations under a $100 million federal grant.
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Streetcars on the ballot amid trolley revival
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
A streetcar revival in American cities isn't just kicking up sparks from the tracks, they're flying down at city hall, too. In Idaho's capital, a proposed $60 million trolley plan has become a major theme of local elections Nov. 3.
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Vancouver bike-lane trial a success so far
Vancouver Sun
11/02/2009
The Burrard Bridge bicycle-lane trial in Vancouver, BC, is a success with cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers, according to a survey. That means the bike lane could remain well past this February's Winter Olympics.
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San Fran may extend hours for paid parking
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/01/2009
San Francisco's transportation agency, anticipating a multi-million dollar deficit, is proposing a plan it says will help ease parking snafus. It wants to extend parking meter hours - up to midnight in the trendiest neighborhoods, and on Sundays everywhere.
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Electric bikes trace route of car execs to DC
Coos Bay World
10/29/2009
An Oregon company that makes electric motorcycles thinks it has a homegrown solution to the nation's energy woes. To prove it, the company sent two riders on a 10-day odyssey from Detroit to Washington, re-creating the 2008 trip of automobile company CEOs looking for billions of dollars in government aid.
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The great BC real estate bust
Toronto Globe and Mail
10/29/2009
Offering mountain views and golf on the doorstep, developers spared no expense to draw retiring boomers to rural, sprawling BC housing complexes. Now the projects are in creditor protection.
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