The Strategic Mobility Plan's take on Environmental Stewardship
The mobility network should be compatible with the natural and human environment and to the extent possible protect air and water quality, manage storm water runoff, maximize urban natural habitat areas, and preserve green space.
Investments should reduce Austin's carbon footprint to the extent possible by providing alternatives to driving, supporting sustainable development patterns.
Measures of Effectiveness:
- Within Desired Development Zone (DDZ)
- Fuel consumption (reduction in VMT)
- Design consistent with Best Management Practices (BMPs)
- Access to recreation and green space
- Access to neighborhood retail centers
Here are some other ideas:
Environmental Stewardship
Fleet operators pushing toward 'green'
By Barry Harrell
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Industry tries to balance cost, efficiency against environmental issues
If the average Joe wants to reduce his environmental impact, he might switch to a car that uses less gas or one that runs on alternative fuels.
But what would be the environmental impact if the people who operate hundreds, even thousands, of vehicles decided to do the same?
Turns out, a number of them are doing just that.
Driven in part by tougher federal and state emissions rules and in part by the recession and uncertain fuel prices, many major companies have decided it's good business to reduce the environmental impact of their fleets, industry experts say. As a result, owners of many of the nation's largest commercial fleets are experimenting with alternative-fuel vehicles.
***
"In general, just like there is no one path to get overall good health, there's no one path to get to sustainability for our vehicles," Hance said. "We try to deploy as many alternatives as we can, because there is no miracle cure right now. There are a lot of solutions, but not one that is the clear-cut winner for our future."
This electric vehicle uses lithium battery systems designed by Austin-based Valence
The Death of U-haul
By Ryan van Duzer
Jun 10, 2010
Moving by bike is easy, all you need are bikes, trailers a group of happy bicyclists, pizza and beer!
Boulder is known as a weird town….or maybe progressive is the correct word. DC native turned crunchy Boulderite Jeff Pedelty recently decided to move his house by bike. Yes, that includes mattresses, couches, love seats, dressers and dirty underwear. He rounded up about 25 bike lovers to help, some of them were friends, some of them were just 'strangers' inspired to help the cause.
Jeff's entire house buying process was accomplished by bike actually. Jeff used Pedal to Properties and he and Realtor Matt Kolb pedaled the streets of Boulder looking for the perfect place to live. Turns out, he found a nice little studio at the Peleton, which is a new development all about catering to bikers, hence the name. The video below will give you a good idea of all the wonderful people who came together to make this move a success. Talk about an inspiring community of people!
Novel real estate franchiser 'pedals' niche concept in Austin
AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL
BY Francisco Vara-Orta
Friday, June 4, 2010
Pedal to Properties provides bicycles for clients to travel between homes they're shown.
A Colorado-based residential real estate franchise is pedaling into Austin quite literally, branding itself as the first organized effort in the real estate industry to show homes using bikes. Pedal to Properties wants to open at least five franchise locations in Austin in the next 24 months — focusing first in the downtown area, where bike paths and cyclists are a staple of the landscape. The firm gives clients the option of looking at homes by using its Electra Cruiser bikes on their own or with an agent.
It's the brainchild of Boulder, Colo.-based real estate agent Matt Kolb, who lost a deal in 2006 when a client found a private seller — bypassing Kolb — while riding a rented bicycle around town. The missed sale sparked his business idea: leading clients on bicycle tours of neighborhoods as a hook to engage and sell. He started Pedal to Properties in 2007, marketing it as a full-service agency that incorporates bicycling as a nod to national trends that suggest buyers are placing more importance on shorter commute times and living near urban centers and public transportation.
Our Bodies, Our Cars
Austin Chronicle
April 11, 2010
BY KATHERINE GREGOR
The links between urban design and public health
That blunt assertion, by keynote speaker Lawrence Frank, captured the nut of the argument at New Urbanism: Rx for Healthy Places, the 18th national conference of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Held in Atlanta May 19-22, CNU 18 was co-organized with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both organizations address public health through the design of the built environment, as well as human-powered transportation. National experts spoke to about 1,300 attendees - including a dozen or so from Austin - about how walkable, bikable compact communities encourage healthy lifestyles, where physical activity is part of everyday life. Participants considered how compact traditional neighborhoods and communities, where residents can walk to a corner store and have only a short commute (e.g., the kind of places where most presuburbia Americans lived), can reduce obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer, and national health care costs.
***
Presenters cited data showing a clear association, although not always causation, between development patterns, transportation patterns, and public health. Frumkin described the CDC's recent work on encouraging walking to public transit stops and schools and discouraging car-based sprawl as a national health initiative. "The growing partnership between health professionals and those in design, planning, and architecture," he said, "reflects our many shared goals and the many synergies between our two worlds."
Traffic fatalities are the leading cause of death for America's young people between the ages of 3 and 33 - by reducing vehicle miles traveled, we might well save lives. For example, Frumkin said, if the whole country had proportionately as few car-crash deaths as transit-rich Portland, Ore., the U.S. could save 15,000 lives a year. By contrast, the car-crash rate of sprawling Atlanta, nationally extrapolated, yields 15,000 additional deaths.