Story:
Hitching a ride?
Study shows that 90 percent of respondents will now consider other ways of getting around

DAPHNE, Ala. - A meeting of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce with Daphne and Spanish Fort officials on Monday revealed survey results and cost projections for public transit here.

The survey, funded by the chamber, found that 90 percent of 40 people surveyed would consider some kind of carpool when gas reached $4 a gallon - which it has, so the desire for public transportation is evident, according to Kevin Tilbury, an associate of transportation services at Gresham Smith and Partners.

For the full story - Article here

 

More people in Mobile riding buses as gas prices soar

Sunday, July 13, 2008  from the Press-Register
By DAN MURTAUGH
Staff Reporter
For years, Violet Robinson rode the bus from her home on Dauphin Island Parkway to work at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex. She would sit back and relax on relatively empty buses during the three-hour-long round trip.
But recently, as she's ridden with her 7-month-old daughter, Aiyana Dunklin, she's noticed a change. Open seats are no longer a guarantee, she said.
"You stand up, you pile up," she said. "I have to wrap her up in a blanket so people won't cough and breathe on her."

Robinson isn't the only one noticing the difference. The Wave Transit System has seen a 12 percent increase in ridership this year.
In June, the system gave nearly 92,000 rides, up more than 20 percent from last year. If the current pace keeps up through the end of the fiscal year, the Wave will surpass the 1 million-ride mark for the first time.
The Press-Register requested monthly ridership figures from the Wave in early June and received them Wednesday.
Wave General Manager Tyrone Parker attributed the increase to the system's level of service, as well as to high gas prices.
"We're going to continue to put out a viable product and hope that John Q. Citizen will consider using it as an alternative to driving," Parker said.
The Wave's increase mirrors a nationwide trend toward increased public transit use, according to data from the American Public Transportation Association.
In the first three months of 2008, people across the country took 3.3 percent more public transit trips than in 2007, according to a study the association published last month.
Mobile was not included in the survey, but if it were, it would have had the third-largest increase in bus trips taken, behind San Antonio and Denver.
Parker said the system is studying its routes and preparing for possible expansions in the wake of the increased use.
Parker took over Wave management last summer, when the Mobile City Council hired McDonald Transit Associates to replace First Transit as the system's operator.

Parker said he and other officials are looking at adding a route up U.S. 43. Thyssen-
Krupp AG is building a steel plant on the northern end of Mobile County on that road, and many officials expect commercial development to spread up and down the corridor.
The Wave would need federal permission to be allowed to run a bus service all the way to the plant because it is north of the Mobile urbanized area, which stops at Creola.
Wave officials also are thinking about adding routes across the Mobile River to get workers to shipyards such as Atlantic Marine, Parker said.
In addition to route changes, Parker said the system plans to put up new digital signs that include route maps and let people know when the next bus will be arriving.
Mobile City Councilman William Carroll said he takes the Wave's free downtown bus at least once or twice a week to travel from Government Plaza to Dauphin Street to eat lunch and run errands.
"For the citizens of Mobile and Prichard and everyone else who is feeling the high fuel costs right now, the Wave is providing routes to get places at a reasonable cost," Carroll said.
Darell Kimbell, who lives off the Dauphin Island Parkway, said she doesn't own a car so she takes the Wave everywhere she needs to go.
It's convenient, but it could be improved she said. There is no shelter at her stop on the Parkway, so she got soaked by a summer storm on a recent weekday while waiting for the bus. And the routes don't run frequently enough, she said.
"If you have to be somewhere at a certain time, you have to leave two hours early to make sure you catch the bus on time," she said.

Region 4 Coordination Partners:  Useful information from the American Public Transit Association on using your local public and community transit services.

Printable version here

Calculate Your Savings by Riding Public Transportation This calculator will help you compare the price of using public transportation with the price of paying at the pump and then parking your car in town. This calculator has been set with default values based on national averages for June, 2008; however, you may set variables such as the price of gas and the length of the round trip to match the price of gas in your area and the length of your round trip. Public transportation agencies are encouraged to add a link for this calculator to their websites. Your Car's Gas Mileage (MPG)     [          ] Price of Gas per Gallon $ [          ] Number of Miles in Your Round Trip Commute     [          ] Size of Your Car     [Medium Car \/]  *  Daily Parking Cost for Your Car $ [          ] ** Daily Round Trip Commute Cost Using Public Transportation $ [          ] Totals: Yearly Cost of Commuting by Automobile Yearly Cost of Commuting by Public Transportation $ [          ] $ [          ] You saved  $  [          ]  *** [Calculate] [Reset] Find Public Transportation In Your Community Alabama               Footnotes * Based on the following estimates for increased costs of maintenance and tire replacement per mile.   Small Car per mile Medium Car per mile Large Car per mile Mini-Van per mile SUV per mile Maintenance 3.98 cents 4.67 cents 5.07 cents 4.76 cents 5.47 cents Tires 0.55 cents 0.85 cents 0.77 cents 0.67 cents 0.93 cents ** Those who receive free parking may instead be entitled to a public transit subsidy up to $115 per month.  Click on It Pays To Ride Public Transportation to find out more.  *** If you are able to eliminate a vehicle in your household, you save an additional $5,576 in car ownership cost (full-coverage insura

To All Alabama Transit Coalition participants, Public transit can work

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
IN A region where transportation means what you're driving, not what you're riding, Baylinc is proving that public transit can be successful in south Alabama.
The morning and evening commuter bus service across the bay between the Eastern Shore and downtown Mobile is about to add a third route. The service, created by the Baldwin Rural Area Transportation System and Mobile's Wave Transit System, has seen its modest passenger numbers grow to standing-room-only on occasion.
Increasing ridership so far seems to correlate directly with rising gasoline prices. Baylinc started running in November. In March, passenger trips per month were up 25 percent over February; in May the increase was 29 percent from April.
Based on the number of passenger trips (defined as one rider going from one stop to another) so far this month, Baylinc will set another record for June with more than 1,300 passenger trips.
Passengers save gasoline and wear and tear on their vehicles. They help the environment, let someone else do the driving in morning and evening rush hour traffic, and keep their own passenger vehicles off the Bayway and the Causeway, reducing traffic for everyone.
Across-the-bay public transportation could be even more successful if employers are willing to adjust work schedules where possible.
If gas prices stay fixed or continue rising, more people may be willing to exchange the freedom to drive their cars whenever they please for the overall savings in fuel and maintenance even after bus fare.
Meanwhile, BRATS is celebrating an additional success: One of its drivers has won the Community Transportation Association of America's National Driver of the Year award for the second consecutive year
This year, it was Lenzy Williams who won the van division of the "Roadeo" competition in New Orleans. The competition includes an obstacle course and several other tests of skills, procedures and knowledge.
Last year, BRATS driver Dwayne Brannan won the title at the national competition.
BRATS deserves praise for the skill of its drivers as well as its growth.

 

Courtney A. Newton
Community Initiatives Coordinator
United Way of Central Alabama
3600 8th Ave. South
P.O. Box 320189
Birmingham, AL 35232
Phone: (205) 458-2058
Fax: (205) 323-2872
www.uwca.org
E-mail: cnewton@uwca.org

June 25, 2008
Survey: L.A. residents support transit tax
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) released the results of a study showing that 73 percent of Los Angeles County residents surveyed would support a proposed half-cent sales tax on the November 2008 ballot to fund transportation infrastructure improvements, if an election were held today.
The poll was conducted from June 5 to June 15, 2008 with 1,400 likely voters surveyed by Fairbank, Maslin, Maulin & Associates (FMM&A). Respondents were asked about projects spread across the county, ranging from the extension of light rail systems and connectivity to the airports to local neighborhood projects such as repairing potholes and synchronizing traffic signals.
The study confirms a recently conducted third-party survey by MoveLA, a coalition bringing together key constituencies to explore alternative transportation funding and implementation strategies. Both surveys found support for the initiative exceeds the two-thirds margin needed to pass the measure.
The survey was conducted after the Metro Board’s April meeting where members asked Metro staff to examine the initiatives viability and report back with the results. If the measure is placed on the November 2008 ballot and musters the necessary two thirds voter approval, the new tax would generate approximately $40 billion over 30 years and would finance dozens of street and highway improvements and new public transit projects in Los Angeles County.
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NEAL PEIRCE COLUMN
  For Release Sunday, June 1, 2008

   © 2008 Washington Post Writers Group

  AMERICA'S METRO AREAS:
  TRACKING CARBON LEADERS AND LAGGARDS
 
  By Neal Peirce

        As greenhouse gases increasingly warm the globe, Which of America’s big metro areas are the “cleanest” and which the “dirtiest” in carbon emissions?  And what are the most obvious steps that could be taken to protect the planet’s future?
        A first-ever study of the climate footprint of America’s top 100 metro regions starts to tell the story.  Based on 2005 figures calculated by the Brookings Institution, each region’s carbon emissions caused by cars and trucks, plus power supplied to residences, is reported -- not a complete score (industries and office buildings are omitted), but close enough for a clear picture.
        The “winners” -- the most modest carbon generators, per capita -- turn out to be such regions as New York-Northern New Jersey, Portland, Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, Honolulu, San Diego, and a surprise performer -- Los Angeles.
        The biggest carbon emitters, by contrast, included such metro areas as Lexington (Ky.), Indianapolis, Knoxville, Oklahoma City, Nashville and St. Louis.
        So what explains the differences?
        The best performers provide a clue: high-density, compact development with new and expanded rail transit.  Many of the regions with the smallest per capita carbon footprints -- among them New York, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles -- fit that profile.
        By contrast, some of the metros with high per capita carbon emission scores have experienced dramatic sprawling, pedestrian-hostile development and are weaker on mass transit.
        There are some exceptions: the Washington, D.C. and Atlanta regions, for example, have significant rail transit ridership but they’ve also sprawled so much they have larger than average carbon footprints.
        And the source of power makes a real difference.  The Nation’s Capital region has a carbon footprint 10 times the Seattle region’s, chiefly because it’s heavily dependent on coal for power, while the Pacific Northwest has major hydropower sources that don’t emit carbon.
        Plus there’s a surprise geographic factor too: the heavy carbon footprint metros are overwhelmingly east of the Mississippi, the light carbon ones in the West.  And there’s a north-south divide too: the map shows a concentration of high emitters in America’s heavily coal-consuming, fast-suburbanizing Southeast.
        The implications are compelling: state officials, mayors, county leaders should push for protection of open lands, new transit lines that attract more compact development, and for rules and incentives to get utilities to switch away from coal (the most polluting, carbon-heavy energy source of all).
        But the federal government needs to play a far more constructive role -- “Metros can’t ‘go it alone’ in solving as vast a problem as global climate change,” says Mark Muro, policy director of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program.
        And arguably, how the metros go on climate emissions, so goes America: the top 100 account for two-thirds of the country’s population and almost three-quarters of its economic activity.  And their carbon output, despite all their mayors’ noble talk of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, rose 7.5 percent from 2000 to 2005.
        The federal government is a poor ally now, Brookings charges.  It fails to tax carbon fuels enough to discourage their polluting impacts and reduce the country’s massive dependence on foreign oil. While countries around the world expand their clean energy research budgets, Washington is spending just a third as much on energy research as it did in 1978.  Federal transportation funding is tilted heavily toward highways, away from transit; indeed its formulas reward states for the worst behavior -- high vehicle miles traveled, fuel use, and lane miles of travel.
        Solutions offered by Brookings include a targeted carbon tax or full “cap and trade” system so that polluting energy consumption pays its full costs.  Dramatic increase in federal research on potentials like wind and solar power.  A minimum power share of renewable sources that states must achieve (so that some, for example, can’t leave carbon-heavy coal riding high even while competitor states invest forward in more expensive renewables).  And “modal neutrality” -- an even playing field between highways and rail in federal transportation funding to states and localities.
        The tax code could be adjusted to give smaller houses and compact development a better break.  And some ingenious shifts in regulations.  Homebuyers, for example, now benefit from the federal Real Estate Settlement Practices Act that requires sellers to reveal hazards, impediments, detailed lending terms and the like.  But why not, says Brookings, also require clear, nationally standardized energy information -- factors such as the efficiency of water heaters or furnaces or lighting, that can make a big difference in a buyers’ real costs?
        America’s energy rules were written for a different world, a different century.  So Brookings has it right: We need a massive reevaluation -- federal, state, and metro-wide -- to reinvent our energy future and reign in America’s cumulative, massive carbon footprint.

Editors: For metro-by-metro rankings and maps illustrating the Brookings study, check this web site:

Details on the 4 regional meetings are attached. Click here

  NEAL PEIRCE COLUMN   
  For Release Sunday, December 2, 2007

   © 2007 Washington Post Writers Group

  HAS AMTRAK’S TIME COME?

  By Neal Peirce

        Are the stars finally coming into alignment for an American passenger rail system that’s even mildly comparable to 21st century world standards?
        America’s train advocates are mildly optimistic.  And for some good reasons.  Amtrak is reporting impressive ridership gains.  Oil has been pushing toward $100 a barrel, throwing a long shadow over affordability of travel on already-congested highways.  Airport delays hit an all-time high last summer.  Global climate concerns are mounting.
        Rail freight demands, meanwhile, are rising fast, suggesting joint improvements with passenger rail.  Worries are rising about mobility gaps hindering the ability of America’s “megaregions” -- the Northeast, Great Lakes, California and others -- to match the performance of competitive regions worldwide.
        Also positive for Amtrak: signs of a much friendlier reception in Congress. Add to that an array of states anxious to expand rail service, especially if they can get a federal “match” comparable to the 80-20 percent federal-to-state match for highways.
        For years, polls have shown Americans strongly in favor of Amtrak subsidies that would build a strong national rail system.  But only slowly have legislators -- federal and state -- shown an openness to system expansion.  And the Bush administration has been hostile; it has even tried to zero-fund Amtrak.
        So here’s the irony: Amtrak is able to report it carried 25.8 million passenger in the last fiscal year -- up 1.5 million from the year before.  Ticket revenue rose 11 percent.  Trains on the Northeast Corridor and other popular corridors are increasingly sold out.
        And no one knows, notes Rick Harnish of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, how expansive demand for Amtrak service would be if many more routes were opened, offering at least three or four trains daily for reasonable frequency.  His bet is that millions of Americans would opt for the more convenient system, especially as oil soars in cost: “For 50 years we assumed we could do everything by car. It’s now painfully clear that’s not true.”
        But there’s an irony: Amtrak expansion could get derailed.  Why?  If demand keeps rising as seems likely, Amtrak estimates it will lack sufficient cars and backup equipment by the 2010-2012 time frame.  Given the multi-year lead times for equipment design and manufacture, that means the procurement process needs to begin right away.
        Congress can help significantly if it moves swiftly on current bills -- the major boost being a $1.9 billion a year Amtrak support recently voted by the Senate, and a separate Senate Finance Committee proposal for $900 million a year to let states issue tax-free bonds to finance new intercity passenger rail infrastructure.  Critical first steps will have been taken (assuming both bills can be tracked around expected Bush vetoes).
        But state initiatives are also vital.  Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi heads the “States for Passenger Rail Coalition” of 30 state transportation departments appealing for an 80-20 federal-state funding split to put some real steam behind rail expansion.
        Fourteen states, notes Busalacchi, already provide operating support for Amtrak corridor services -- routes responsible for virtually all of Amtrak’s recent ridership gains.  The “Hiawatha Service” in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor, he boasts, has boosted ridership 48 percent, to 588,000, in the last five years, with 90 percent on-time performance.
        And there have been other breakthroughs. Pennsylvania, in a 50-50 cost split with Amtrak, electrified and rehabilitated the Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridor so well it now offers 110-mile-per-hour service.
        In California, a $2 billion rail bond issue that voters OK’d in 1990 sparked work on three major corridors (Central Valley, San Diego-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara and Sacramento-San Jose).  The bond issue, notes Ross Capon of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, was originally “rammed down the throat” of a highway-dominated Caltrans (state transportation department). “But today,” Capon continued, “Caltrans is proud to boast at every opportunity about the 4 million riders yearly on the combined California corridors.”
        Illinois made a splash last fall by doubling the number of trains it sponsors, increasing, for example, Chicago-St. Louis runs from three to five trains daily.  Cascadia service (Oregon-Washington) had 674,000 passengers last year. Maine scored a breakthrough (even when New Hampshire and Massachusetts wouldn’t help it) by starting up Boston-Portland “Downeaster” service; last year it carried 362,000 passengers.
        But many legislators, federal and state, remain skeptical.  A longtime rail system advocacy group, the National Corridors Initiative, aims to convince more of them through a Jan. 28-29 conference on U.S. transportation competitiveness at St. Louis’ Hyatt Regency Hotel (within the once-derelict, now restored historic Union Station).
        The affair will be called the “Carmichael Conference on the Future of American Transportation” in honor of Gilbert Carmichael, a Federal Railroad Commissioner who served under (remember him?) President George W.H. Bush.  Carmichael is an enthusiastic rail supporter -- a reminder that rails to meet America’s needs will have to be a bipartisan effort -- or likely not happen at all.

Energy and the Global Economy: The Transportation in a Changing World. November 15, 2007 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. EST You will need to register to view this article.

 The availability of cost-effective and efficient ways to move people, goods, and services is a key issue in the health of local, national, and global economies. How will global economic trends and the far-reaching consequences of energy consumption and availability impact the economic health of North America and the role of public transit in the future? Discover the answers to these important questions at a special TransitVision 2050 webinar -- Energy and the Global Economy: The Transportation Outlook in a Changing World.

Jeremy Rifkin

The event will feature Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends. Rifkin is the author of 17 books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment, including The Hydrogen Economy and The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream. A dynamic and thought-provoking speaker, Rifkin has lectured extensively around the world, and has been a fellow at the Wharton School's Executive Education Program since 1994. The National Journal named Rifkin as one of 150 people in the U.S. that have the most influence in shaping federal government policy.

 Presiding:
 Lee Sander, executive director and CEO, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York

 Respondents:
Clarence Marsella, general manager, Regional Transportation District, Denver. Angela Iannuzziello, P. Eng., President, ENTRA Consultants.
Janet Kavinoky, director, congressional and public affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and executive director of the Americans for Transportation Mobility coalition.
Deborah Lynn Bleviss, energy consultant and former manager for the Sustainable Markets for Sustainable Energy (SMSE) Program at the Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC.

This event is part of APTA's TransitVision 2050 initiative and is aimed at informing and spurring further discussions as we shape the future of public transportation. We invite you to attend this free event and then share your comments, experiences, and insights on the topic at the TransitVision 2050 web site. A TransitVision 2050 Webinar - Energy and the Global Economy: The Transportation Outlook in a Changing World November 15, 2007 3 - 4:30 p.m. (EST) Sign On. Share. Shape the Future.

Sunday, October 21, 2007
2007 Press Register
By VIRGINIA BRIDGES
Staff Reporter

Next month, commuters and shoppers could trade in the drive across Mobile Bay for a ride that allows them to read the newspaper, check their laptops or knit a sweater.
On Nov. 6, public transportation agencies serving Baldwin County and the city of Mobile plan to begin a cross-bay bus service Mondays through Fridays.

The two trips each morning and late afternoon could help local people and communities address issues such as congested roads, rising fuel costs and limited parking in downtown Mobile. Officials said they hope that the service, dubbed Baylinc, will attract professional downtown workers who never considered taking a public bus, and eventually expand into a regional transportation network. "It is such a baby step," said Linda Ingram, director of community and governmental affairs for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. "But it is a significant step." Taylor Rider, director of the Baldwin Rural Area Transportation System, said the Baylinc schedule is essentially aimed at connecting Baldwin's Eastern Shore to Mobile's downtown business district, and vice versa. The fares will range from $1.50 to $3 one way, depending on the distance from departure to destination. The new route features several stops along the Eastern Shore, then two stops each morning and afternoon at Mobile's Bienville Square. From Bienville Square, riders could take a WAVE bus to the WAVE system hub -- the GM&O Building beside Water Street -- and continue on to destinations across Mobile.

The schedule wasn't designed to connect to other buses in Baldwin because BRATS has no strong central link to the rest of the county, Rider said. "This is just the start," said Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce President Darrelyn Bender. "This is the skeleton to get it going and then see where it needs to be tweaked." The Baylinc routes could also appeal to cruise ship employees and tourists staying in downtown Mobile who might want to shop at the Eastern Shore Centre or visit Fairhope or Point Clear, said chamber and economic development officials.

An expanded regional system could even bring hospitality workers to south Baldwin and to the anticipated ThyssenKrupp AG plant in north Mobile County, Ingram said. Civic, government and chamber agencies have lobbied for a cross-bay bus service for about a decade. Rider said that state and federal transportation agencies signed off on the plan earlier this year. "You had issues with rural vs. urban mixing," Rider said. "It was just kind of one of those things where you were just working through a lot of red tape." The next challenge, chamber and transportation officials said, is persuading people to get out of their cars and onto a public bus. "It is time that can be productive instead of time sitting behind the wheel driving," said Carol Hunter, spokeswoman for the Downtown Mobile Alliance. Since April, BRATS has offered bus service from Lillian to the Pensacola area every Wednesday. Interest has been increasing after a relatively slow start. Rider expects the Baylinc route to be much more popular. Mary Mullins of Fairhope, a partner with the downtown Mobile public affairs firm The Bellwether Group, said she looks forward to a morning commute that would allow her to ignore the traffic and read the newspaper or check e-mail on her Blackberry. "It is stressful to drive to work in the morning," said Mullins, 42, who used public transportation when she lived in Washington, D.C. "That is not a good way to start your day."

Sunday, October 7, 2007
2007 Washington Post Writers Group

"GROWING COOLER" --
AN INESCAPABLE CHALLENGE

By Neal Peirce

WASHINGTON -- Increasing the fuel efficiency of the cars we drive -- the environmentalists' perennial battle to get Detroit to improve vehicle gas mileage -- is a great cause. But it's not enough. We have to go a giant step farther with sharp cuts in how far, and how often, we drive. If we don't, there's virtually no chance we can reduce our cars' massive greenhouse gas emissions -- now responsible for 45 percent of automobile carbon emissions worldwide. The message and the math are incorporated in a just-released report -- "Growing Cooler" -- issued by the prestigious Urban Land Institute in collaboration with Smart Growth America and allied organizations. The problem's complex and fierce. There's now broad agreement among scientists that to restrain an upward spiral in global warming -- with dangerously rising seas and spreading deserts -- global temperature rise must be limited to 2 degrees Celsius. And that to reach that goal, the U.S., up to now the world's champion polluter, must cut its carbon dioxide emissions between 60 to 80 percent by 2050, relative to their 1990 levels. The authors projected that even if stiffer new fuel economy standards currently now before Congress are approved, and even if there's progress on hybrid cars and lower-carbon fuels, the nation's transportation-related CO2 emissions in 2030 would be 12 percent above the 2005 level and 40 percent above the 1990 level, casting a deep shadow across the 2050 goal.

So is there any way out? Yes, they reply: cut back sharply on the miles we drive our vehicles. Since 1980, total miles driven by Americans has grown three times faster than the rise in our population, even twice as fast as vehicle registrations. The vast majority of new development is laid out assuming people will use cars for virtually all trips. Homes have been built ever-further from workplaces. Shopping malls, big retail boxes, office parks and new schools are routinely built without a thought to pedestrians or public transit. The net result: more and longer auto trips, most often driving alone. But what if we switched to develop more compactly? Surveys show at least a third of us would now prefer more compact communities in which homes, town centers, shops, parks and schools are in walking or biking distance. It's true that many young families feel obliged to "drive 'til you qualify" -- ever-longer commutes for an affordable mortgage. But 88 percent of household growth from 2000 to 2025 is expected to be by elderly people or childless families. Aging baby boomers will be driving less and looking for walkable environments; one survey shows Gen Xers tend to value diverse, compact communities and show disillusionment with "bland vanilla suburbs." "Growing Cooler" offers a "smart growth" recipe of walkable, transit-served and "New Urbanist"-style developments, more compact new housing, shops and offices filling in vacant lots or sites of failing shopping centers rather than replacing forests or farmland. In such developments, people typically drive 20 to 40 percent less than on the The chance for change could be great because there'll likely be a massive two-thirds turnover of the nation's building stock by 2050 -- close to 90 million new or replaced homes, 190 billion square feet of new offices, stores and institutions. If only 60 percent of that development is clustered in compact, mixed-use areas, the "Growing Cooler" authors calculate vehicle miles traveled would be cut back enough to slash transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by a significant 7 to 10 percent. But declaring such a vision and achieving it won't be easy. As Rick Cole, urban author and city manager of Ventura, Calif., observes, our predominant dream "remains a suburban one, enforced by rigid zoning codes and churned out by developers on autopilot." And changing it will churn the political waters. Cole cites the political firestorm set off when California Attorney General Jerry Brown sued rapidly-growing San Bernardino County and pressured other counties to show how their development plans will reduce greenhouse gases. Brown's San Bernardino suit spurred opposition from the building industry and the state Chamber of Commerce, as well as local officials and Republicans in the state's legislature. But the county recently did agree to devise strategies to reduce CO2 emissions. Beyond court suits, Cole suggests cities themselves must be more proactive by finding room for more people in their already developed footprint, and assuring prospective new residents the attractions Americans are sure to demand -- "far greener urban building, far better urban schools, far more attractive urban parks, far safer urban streets." Plus, I'd add, develop the same kind of comprehensive, reliable rail and bus systems that Europe and Japan offer - real alternatives to the private car. Carbon-saving communities may be a 21st century imperative. But the transition to them is likely to be one of the most challenging adjustments Americans have ever made.

 

    I need for you all to know that the WAVE/BRATS plans to begin routes between the two counties on September 10 is on delay.  Chief of  Staff, Al Stokes and WAVE manager, Tyrone Parker regretfully had to make the decision to delay the start date for several pertinent reasons:

1) McDonald Transit  is the new contractor for the management of Mobile's WAVE Transit System and Tyrone Parker has only been in directorship for a little over a month. The McDonald's corporate office has much to consider in restructuring and re-evaluating the WAVE system.  Tyrone will continue to work diligently with Taylor Rider bust as the new person on the block, the City of Mobile recognizes that every detail of linking the routes will need to be understood allowing management time to get fully on board with this long-sought after and much needed transit plan. I am sure that we all totally understand the significance of well laid plans and good communication with a new corporate contractor.

2) The City of Mobile fiscal budget year begins October 1, 2007. The City Council will need to be fully apprised of all of the plans in considering the WAVE budget for 2008.  That will include Baldwin County link-ups and service to the City of Prichard plus proposed annexation area in west Mobile if approved by voters on September 18.  All of this will play into future routing plans for the WAVE.  

Therefore, the announcements to Baldwin County Commission and to the Mobile City Council set for August 21 are delayed until futher notice.  If you have handled any of the special details for September 7 press conference and the September 10 kick-off plans, please make sure all with whom you have spoken are notified of the situation.

Both Al Stokes and Tyrone Parker assure that the initiative will continue to make progress as rapidly as possible.  At 2:00 PM on Tuesday,  Tyrone Parker and WAVE staff will host a meeting with Taylor Rider and staff from BRATS to begin process of understanding and outlining details for both systems.

Due to this turn of events, the meeting scheduled for Friday, August 17 at the Eastern Shore Chamber is cancelled.

We will reset after WAVE and BRATS staffs meet jointly  to proceed.  The start-up is delayed but the enthusiasm and passion for the linkage remains.  Thanks to all of you for all that you have done and will continue to do as we see this very important initiative to fruition.  Then we will start work on that long hoped for ferry service!

 

Linda Ingram
Director, Community and Governmental Affairs
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 2187
Mobile, AL 36652-2187
251-431-8628
FAX 251-431-8646
E-mail: lingram@mobilechamber.com
Visit our Web site: www.mobilechamber.com

Bus service could reduce south Baldwin traffic
Friday, August 31, 2007
By GUY BUSBY
Staff Reporter

A public transit system could carry more than 1 million people a year between Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Foley, but could also cost more than $50 million, according to officials. Consultants from three private companies have been working with the cities of Foley, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to develop plans for the route linking the three cities. Officials said recommendations should be ready in about a month. Generating public interest in the system and finding ways to keep buses on schedule in tourist season traffic are some issues facing the proposal, supporters said. At a series of public meetings held last week, about 30 people turned out for five sessions. Foley Mayor John Koniar said that before officials consider spending money, they need to know the system will be used.

"What I don't see is public awareness," Koniar said. "We need grassroots support for public transit. I recognize that we need it, but those who need it aren't coming out." The system would also need to maintain a schedule from the northernmost point at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center to the beach if the service will attract customers, said Christine Hines of McDonald Transit Associates. "We can put buses out of the hospital every 15 minutes and it's going to be a logjam like everywhere else," she said. Planners need to find ways to move buses through heavy traffic, said Steve Ostaseski, senior transportation planner for Gresham Smith and Partners of Birmingham, another of the consulting firms. He said creating bus lanes in the medians of Alabama 182 along the beach might be one way to improve service on that highway. The area around the Dr. W.C. Holmes Bridge, where Alabama 59 crosses the Intracoastal Waterway, is a major bottleneck for traffic moving north and south. Ostaseski said bus lanes could improve traffic flow in that area as well. The roadwork and total price of the system today, including buses and a 21,000-square-foot garage and storage facility, would be about $53 million today, Ostaseski said. The cost is expected to go up about 4 percent a year. If officials in the three cities decided to start the system in 2010, the project would cost about $62.7 million, he said.

Two options, each with a schedule for peak and off-peak seasons, are being studied, Ostaseski said. The first plan would use buses running four routes between Foley and the coast from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.. The buses would be expected to reach each stop along the route every 15 minutes during the peak tourist season between Memorial Day and Labor Day. During most other times of the year buses would run every 30 minutes. Under the second option, buses would run more routes and operate from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Ostaseski said officials could expect about 950,000 riders a year with the first option and 1.2 million if they chose the second option. Each rider would pay a fare of about $1. The actual cost to the system, however, would be about $3.86 for each rider, he said.Local governments would have to make up the rest of the cost, he said. Using the first option, cities or other entities would have to pay about $2.7 million a year. If the agencies adopted the more extensive option, the cost would be about $3.4 million, according to estimates. Gulf Shores City Councilwoman Carolyn Doughty said that before any decisions are made about public transit, officials would have to weigh the costs and benefits. In 1999, local officials started a beach trolley service on Alabama 182. The system was stopped, however, due to a lack of riders, according to reports at the time. "The most important thing from the very beginning is for us to have all the facts and not have a knee-jerk reaction and Gulf Shores and Orange Beach just write a check like we did one year," Doughty said.