Posts by David Alpert — Founder
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The Triboro RX
In the heyday of the railroads, rail lines crisscrossed the country and ran right through major cities. Some lines are commuter railroads today, others were turned into transit lines or highways, but many were abandoned. A few still exist, relatively unknown to most people, because they were either abandoned but never completely turned over to other uses, or because they carry some… Keep reading…
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“Saving” a neighborhood in order to destroy it
Many neighborhoods in New York City have their local NIMBY civic groups, which believe that all development is bad and frequently use phrases like “preserving the low-rise character of the neighborhood” as arguments for resisting all development and all change. A group in and around the Bowery has such a petition now, which a friend forwarded to me, but I had to reply… Keep reading…
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Grander Army Plaza
Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza could be a terrific public square. Qt the northern end of Prospect Park, it was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to be a gateway to Prospect Park, and features a beautiful arch modeled on Paris’s Arc de Triomphe. Keep reading…
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Building real community in Allston
Drawing a pretty architectural diagram with lots of pictures of people is easy. Creating a real vibrant community where people want to go is harder. Harvard has noble intentions and many very good ideas for the new science campus (PDF) it is planning in Allston. I’ve praised it in the past. Keep reading…
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Georgetown never blocked a Metro stop
Conventional wisdom says that the Washington DC Metro was supposed to go to Georgetown (after all, it barely misses it between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom), but NIMBY residents in the 1970s blocked the station. But it’s not true. Keep reading…
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Proposed Metro expansion in 2001
In 2001, WMATA proposed a set of expansions for the overburdened system. Keep reading…
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Richardson supports light rail
New Mexico governor and Presidential candidate Bill Richardson is a strong supporter of light rail, according to the AP. In a speech made in Los Angeles, Richardson promised to “make it a major effort to refocus transportation construction of roads into light rail and more energy efficient transportation,” and to “make light rail at least an equal partner”… Keep reading…
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Conservatives for congestion pricing
“I can’t believe I’m saying these words,” wrote Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, “but I applaud the Bush Administration for their forward thinking on the issue of congestion and thank them for their willingness to work with local governments to address their unique problems.”… Keep reading…
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Soho shoppers seek sidewalk space
I’ve written before that SoHo streets could be enormously improved if we simply took away some parking (accommodating about 6 people per block) in favor of larger sidewalks (accommodating hundreds of people per hour per block). Keep reading…
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“Improvement”
Before: Keep reading…