December 16th, 2009
World Wide Wednesday: Streetcars, Subways and Bikes
By Kat Snukal // No Comments
Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
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• An ongoing bike-lane-battle in Brooklyn New York just got more heated as two "vigilante" cyclists were arrested for repainting lane lines that had only days before been sandblasted away by the city. The feud began after city officials agreed to remove the lane due to complaints from the local Hasidic community that cyclists were causing a "safety and religious hazard" in the neighbourhood.
• An ambitious new initiative proposed in Saskatoon's City Hall calls for the creation of a two-year public engagement process that would both inform citizens and gather their opinion on the future of the city. According to the Star Phoenix, the citizen engagement plan would involve "gathering community vision through numerous public forums, online discussion groups and a speaker series". The project's end goal is a document outlining "what matters to Saskatoon" which would then become council's guiding document.
• Design Boom recently featured some of the the most stunning and unusual subway stations from around the world. Check out the amazing photos. From Moscow's classic 1930s Komsomolskaya Station (featuring chandeliers, vaulted plaster ceilings and arched walkways) to geometric green light sculptures in Tokyo to Barcelona's ultra modern all white Srassanes Station.
• At least 45 cities across North American "are seriously considering implementing new streetcar networks" according to research conducted on Infrastructurist.com. The website, which defines streetcars as "distinct from light rail because they share their rights-of-way with automobiles", provides a comprehensive list of all cities in Canada and the U.S which currently rely on streetcars as well as those which seem likley to implement them.
• The New York Times Magazine released their 9th Annual Ideas Issue last week, looking back over the past year to find the most "innovative ideas from around the thinking world". Bike highways, banning cul-de-sacs, man-made greenery and artificial car noise are among the notable ideas that made the cut this year.
photo of Komsomolskaya Platform by Simon Lee
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