Image from Oregon Metro.

Design your own Oregon Metro

To weigh potential extensions for the Portland metropolitan area’s transit system, Oregon created an interactive tool where you can “build a system” by choosing a combination of corridors. Each has a predefined capital cost, operating cost, ridership and environmental benefit, and the tool shows users the overall costs and benefits of their selected system. (Jess)  (Tip: Jess)  

Silly, confusing and a waste of space

City Desk puzzles over a peculiarity in the traffic flow at the Memorial Bridge Circle, off the GW Parkway. A better question is, why have we dedicated this entire park island (“Lady Bird Johnson Park”) to a crisscrossing jumble of semi-freeway-like ramps that are extremely confusing to navigate and aren’t usually even very crowded? Wouldn’t a simpler interchange between the Parkway and Memorial Bridge work better and free up more of the park to be an actual park?  

Rejected for being “too historic”

Historic Preservation staff pushed Shiloh Baptist Church to change the design for an infill building in one of their many vacant lots in Shaw. Shiloh was trying to match the historic building next door, but HPO felt that was “too historicist” and changed it to have more glass. Bloomingdale, For Now prefers the original plan.  

The Pullman Porters

Amtrak is looking for the last of the “Pullman Porters”, African-American men who worked in trains’ luxury sleeping cars until 1969, greatly influenced the civil rights movement and brought information about national affairs to small southern towns. (NYT via Infrastructurist)  

Lewis: Cul-de-sacs aren’t safer

Roger Lewis discusses Virginia’s new anti-cul-de-sac standards. He debunks myths that cul-de-sacs are safer, pointing out that any statistical difference probably comes from the correlation of (newer, larger) cul-de-sac neighborhoods and higher incomes. (Post)  

Overseeing bicycling

At a recent oversight hearing for the Bicycle Advisory Committee, Jim Graham and BAC members debated enforcement, the Idaho stop, a bike boulevard on Champlain Street, bike parking and more. (WashCycle)  

“Mystery rider” program reveals problems, may be cut

Metro’s “mystery riders” discovered that customer service agents gave out incorrect information 25% of the time, among other findings. However, Metro probably can’t afford to keep the program. Board member Peter Benjamin feels some objective analysis is valuable (and I agree), though they might switch to volunteers for economic reasons. (Examiner)