Tool shed at The Shire, Bend, Oregon.

Gridlock Sam still shilling for Chevy Chase: New York’s “Gridlock Sam,” who coined the term “gridlock,” is still working for the town of Chevy Chase and pushing bad logic to stop light rail on the Purple Line. This time, he argues that light rail isn’t much better than BRT, while the buses are cheaper. But Sam neglects to mention that the BRT alignments Chevy Chase wants are much more circuitous, and the light rail is projected to convert 4,000 to 9,000 more vehicle trips per day into transit trips compared to the BRT alignment. (Tip: Andrew)

TOD does reduce car trips: Reconnecting America finds that transit-oriented development generates 50% fewer vehicle trips compared to conventional development. But the ITE formulas that many cities use to determine required parking and expected traffic totally undervalue the contributions of TOD, forcing unnecessary requirements on them and keeping costs unfairly high.

Union Station impounds ugly bike: According to this Post letter writer, Union Station officials cut her bike off a rack simply because security felt it was “unsightly.” (Tip: Bianchi)

“Mortgage crisis triumphs where Sauron failed”: A housing development in central Oregon based on the Shire from Lord of the Rings is in foreclosure, a victim of the housing market collapse. Via Stepwise (who came up with the headline) and Leigh on Google Reader.