I have been fascinated by the concept of civil disobedience to invoke change ever since I was a kid. We see examples all the time in our society where people willfully and arrogantly disobey laws to create a change they want to see. Depending on the subject this willful disobedience to laws is either accepted or met with scorn.
[From Maryland State Highway Administration]
We're big advocates for all things human-powered, but we really really like to see this particular efficiency put to use for transportation. Enter with a flash "Rollerblade Man" who's keeping all his options open by covering his entire body with a suit of wheels allowing one to travel up to 60 miles-per-hour while maintaining any position found in the Kama Sutra. More about Rollerblade Man after the jump and as always, please note well: he's wearing a helmet.
-> "If there's a supermarket in your zip code, you’re 10% less likely to be obese. If there are a lot of intersections in your neighborhood -- a sign of street connectivity and continuity -- you’re less likely to be obese. And, not surprisingly, the more time people spend in their cars, the more likely they are to be obese"
Much of the wealth invested in the US transportation system has disappeared. The Obama Administration's Government Accountability Project has revealed that Americans have been paying into a system of transportation that has actually been stripping wealth from communities and degrading the American quality of life for decades. While the findings are a shock to the country, the Obama administration is using this crisis as an opportunity to shift investment into a new system of transportation.
Gary Toth, Director of Transportation Initiatives at Project for Public Spaces, confirmed the anomaly while reviewing State DOT proposals for stimulus funding. He found that much of the money was not actually improving access for Americans. "Much like drug addiction, investments in high speed highway capacity led to a temporary high but were quickly followed by a craving for more," said Toth. "Each addition of road capacity created sprawl and degraded the very destinations the system is meant to connect people with. In the end, the funding was simply supporting driving more and more and accomplishing less and less."
Toth said he became suspicious after examining all the money that had gone into the transportation system over the last fifty years, and realizing how little had come out of it. "All that money, and things just became worse!" he explained.
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-> According to a Feb. 25th news release, \"INRIX(c), the leading provider of traffic information, today released its second annual INRIX National Traffic Scorecard, revealing a 30 percent decline in traffic congestion in 2008 during the peak periods on major roads in urban America. Overall the report found that 99 of the top 100 most populated cities in the U.S. experienced decreases in traffic congestion levels in 2008 as compared to the prior year...
-> According to a Mar. 26th news release, \"Funding is now available to communities interested in making their environment more \'walkable\' for residents. The Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) is seeking proposals from up to 10 communities or neighborhoods to pilot test the use of a newly developed guidebook on how to improve pedestrian safety in neighborhoods. Each selected site will be provided $2,000 as well as technical assistance from pedestrian safety experts.
US$100 In Prizes
