Oil Prices on the Rise

  • Stephen Schork says the rising prices are based more on investor momentum than anything else, and that there’s plenty of oil on the market.(Photo courtesy of the Federal Highway Administration)

Oil and gasoline prices are going up this summer. Lester Graham reports, it appears the higher prices are not caused by lower supplies.

Transcript

The Energy Information Administration’s new short-term energy outlook says gasoline prices will average about $2.92 this summer– hitting $3.00 or more in some regions. That’s about 50-cents a gallon higher than last summer.

The outlook also predicts oil prices to average $82 a barrel this summer. But, oil already hit $86 a barrel this week.

Stephen Schork with The Schork Report says… the government projections were put together about a week ago… and didn’t really anticipate the investors driving prices up this week.

“So this rally that we are seeing and this upward buy is based more on investor momentum than it is on underlying fundamentals. There’s plenty of oil on the market right now.”

The government says prices should remain relatively stable but rising… although is notes uncertainty over crude oil price forecasts remains high.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

Related Links

Federal Government Invests in Sustainable Planning

  • Getting to work is now the second biggest expense for most Americans, after housing. (Photo courtesy of the Federal Highway Administration)

Planners say people are being forced to spend too much money to get to and from work. The government sees that problem in regions around the country and is ready to spend millions of dollars to plan improvements. Julie Grant reports.

Transcript

Planners say people are being forced to spend too much money to get to and from work. The government sees that problem in regions around the country and is ready to spend millions of dollars to plan improvements that put jobs and housing closer together… or at least give people more transportation options to get to work. Julie Grant reports.

Dwayne Marsh says for decades, the department of Housing and Urban Development has built housing in one part of a community, while the Department of Transportation invested in another — with no coordination.

“I THINK THAT BECAUSE THE RESPECTIVE AGENCIES WEREN’T IN TIGHT ALLIANCE, THERE OFTEN WOULD BE REGULATIONS THAT WERE AT CROSS PURPOSE.”

That’s one reason why highways often bypass rural communities entirely and split inner-city neighborhoods in two.

Marsh works in a new office within HUD that’s working to integrate housing planning with Department of Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.

“NOW WE’RE WORKING REALLY HARD TO ELIMINATE THOSE BARRIERS, SO WHEN COMMUNITIES GET FEDERAL DOLLARS THEY CAN BE USED IN A SYNCHRONOUS WAY.”

The three agencies have 140-million dollars in grants for local governments and regions around the country to do better planning.

And HUD has done something no one can remember it doing before: it’s gone on tour — to Seattle, Denver, Cleveland, and elsewhere. Before HUD starts doling out the planning money, Marsh says they want to hear the vision local communities have for sustainable development.

“YOU KNOW, I’M SNARKY ABOUT THE WHOLE THING ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.”

Ned Hill is Dean of the college of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. He says sustainability means so many different things to different people.

To him, sustainable goes beyond environmental effects.

“AT THE FOUNDATION OF ANY SORT OF SUSTAINABILITY IS HAVE AN ECONOMY THAT’S SUSTAINABLE. AND IN THE OLDER INDUSTRIAL CITIES, OUR FIRST CHALLENGE IS TO RELOAD THE ECONOMY.”

In many of those older cities, as people have moved farther into the suburbs, they’ve started new businesses close to where they live. Hill says that’s why in areas like Cleveland, the central city is no longer the central business district.

Highways have been built to connect the different suburbs – and people are driving all over the place to get to work in those suburbs.

But, getting to work is now the second biggest expense for most Americans, after housing.

Shelley Poticha doesn’t think that’s a sustainable model. She’s director of that new HUD sustainability office.

Poticha says the regions where people have to drive the farthest to get to work –and spend the most to get to work—also have the highest numbers of foreclosed homes.

“THE REGIONS THAT FARED THE BEST WERE THOSE THAT HAD A PATTERN OF LAND USE THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO GET TO WORK WITH OUT HAVING TO DRIVE.”

Poticha points to regions like Denver, where they plan a 100 miles of commuter rail, and bus rapid transit lanes, linking the 32 communities surrounding Denver proper. She says Denver wants to use this new federal grant money to design urban villages around those transit stations. So instead of acres of parking lots, there could be a grocery and other retail stores.

The idea is that people won’t have to drive to work and then drive to the store. Instead, they can take mass transit, and get their shopping done and not have to drive all around.

Poticha says that can help reduce pollution and help families to save money.

Dwayne Marsh says the Obama administration is sending a clear message: improving the economy is dependent on transportation options, housing affordability and a cleaner environment:

“AND BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PLAYS A ROLE IN ALL OF THOSE ACTIVITIES, WE NEED TO BE FOSTERING INNOVATION COMING FROM LOCAL COMMUNITIES THAT CAN TAKE ON SOME OF OUR TOUGHEST NATIONAL PROBLEMS. AND WE CERTAINLY DON’T WANT TO BE AN IMPEDIMENT TO THAT CREATIVITY.”

Marsh says his HUD office will work with the Transportation Department and the EPA to help – instead of getting in the way – of local areas’ creative solutions.

For The Environment Report, I’m Julie Grant.

Related Links

Winter Cyclists Woo New Recruits

  • During the warmer months, this free bike garage near Chicago’s Millennium Park is filled to the brim, but on this winter day, it has room to spare. (Photo by Shawn Allee)

There are some people so determined to fight pollution and traffic congestion that they bike instead. There are even some brave souls who bike year-round, come good weather or bad. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee meets one woman who wants to join them:

Transcript

There are some people so determined to fight pollution and traffic
congestion that they bike instead. There are even some brave souls who
bike year-round, come good weather or bad. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Shawn Allee meets one woman who wants to join them:


For a lot of people, transportation’s more than just a way of getting from
point A to point B. They take it personally. They want to cut air
pollution, use less energy, or they want to save money on commuting.


For those kinds of reasons Julie Lenfest doesn’t own a car. For years, she
relied on buses, but she hated them. They ran late. They didn’t go
everywhere. She was fed up, so she tried biking.


“I hate to beat down on the buses, but I got really frustrated with the
buses and it made me want a car, and then having a bike made me not want a car
anymore … it took that whole frustration away.”


For a while, each ride was a kind of … personal triumph.


That was fine while she lived in California, but Julie’s routine hit a snag
after she moved to Chicago. She was used to mild, Californian winters,
not blustery, frigid Midwestern winters. Sometimes the cold here gets so
bad it brings tears to your eyes. No wonder Julie chickened out last
winter. She stayed off her bike and hopped the bus instead.


“I don’t know, just, ah, talked myself out of it, but we’ll see. Now, I need
adventure.”


Julie started thinking about winter biking weeks before there was any
snow. She needed advice. So, she came to a seminar on how to prep
herself and her bike for winter. She’s come to the right place.


“I’m Alex Wilson. This is my shop, West Town Bikes … (continue)”


If anyone’s capable of teaching Julie and the other folks here, Alex is.
He’s more than just a winter biker and expert repairman. He’s a bike
evangelist.


“I just can’t find any inherent bad in bikes. Plus, bikes are fun, you know.
What better reason to be interested in bikes than, bikes are a lot of fun?”


Alex starts the class with how to keep warm. The trick’s not to get too
warm, otherwise you get drenched in sweat. Layering’s good, but
there’re no hard and fast rules about which long underwear goes with
what rain gear. Alex says trial-and-error works best.


Then there’s safety. Alex suggests putting reflective tape on your bike as
well as your jacket.


“Motorists are not looking for cyclists in the winter, so you need to be
seen.”


The next lesson’s about street salt. Salt corrodes your bike and can make
it hard to peddle.


“After after you’ve gotten to your destination, do this:”


(Sound of a bang)


“Bounce your bike hard and knock off all the stuff that’s built up on your
bike.”


Alex says all this mechanical advice is important but misses the point.


“The biggest thing that holds people back from biking in the winter is not
any gear or special equipment. It’s having the will to do it or having the
courage to do it.”


And there’re plenty of things to be scared of. Everything from being seen
in geeky winter outfits to more serious stuff, such as frostbite, but Julie’s
encouraged and she peddles out of the seminar, with her resolve intact.


(Sound of bike wheel)


A month later, I meet Julie to see whether her determination was a match
for the weather. Today, she’s biked to an outdoor ice rink. Snow’s
heaped along the sidewalks and we can see our breath. While she laces
her skates, she tells me the good news first. Turns out, she hasn’t been
alone.


“There are other people winter biking, I thought I’d be the only person.”


These strangers offered useful tips on clothes and safe routes.


There have been problems, though. Early on, Julie was looking for
adventure, but she changed her tune after the season’s first major storm.


“There was snow and it was slippery and they hadn’t put salt down yet.
So I decided I would walk on the sidewalk because I didn’t trust my
brakes and I didn’t trust other people’s brakes.”


That day sapped the fun out of winter biking, but she realized something
else. She’s kind of over the thrill. She’ll keep biking, but more and more,
it’s just the way she gets around. She doesn’t have to prove anything to
her friends.


“They just don’t understand how you can live without having a car, and
I’m just tired of explaining it to them over and over. So, I just say I can be
there at this time and I don’t tell them how I’m getting there; it’s my
business.”


So, she doesn’t talk about it so much anymore. It’s good to cut down on traffic or
save energy, but winter biking’s not so easy. If she chooses to keep it at, it’ll
be because she enjoys it, not because someone’s convinced her she has to. That’s
to say, it’s personal, and, to her, important.


For the GLRC, I’m Shawn Allee.

Related Links

Greenways to Garner Green for City?

  • Proposals to build greenways in Detroit are raising interest, hopes, and concerns. (Photo by Val Head)

Many cities looking to revitalize their urban centers
have turned to greenways to spur economic development. Greenways are pedestrian or bike paths that typically run between parks, museums, or shopping districts. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports on hopes that greenways will breathe new life into one of America’s most blighted urban landscapes:

Transcript

Many cities looking to reviatlize their urban centers have turned to greenways to spur economic development. Greenways are pedestrian or bike paths that typically run between parks, museums, or shopping districts. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports on hopes that greenways will breathe new life into one of America’s most blighted urban landscapes:


This abandoned rail line twenty-five feet below street level might not be many peoples’ first choice for a walk or a bike ride. But Tom Woiwode thinks soon it might be. Woiwode is the director of the GreenWays Initiative for all of Southeast Michigan. When he takes a look down this former Grand Trunk Western Rairoad line in Detroit, he doesn’t see the fast food wrappers, tires, and crashed and rusting shopping carts. He sees trees and grass and benches. And more importantly, he sees people, and places for people to spend their money.


“So maybe a bike repair shop, restaurants, some opportunities for music venues and those sorts of things, so people can ride their bike on down to the riverfront and along the way either stay here for lunch, or along the way stop and rest and enjoy the ambiance, or take their food and go on down to the riverfront where they can enjoy the extraordinary natural resources of the river as well.”


We’re standing near the city’s sprawling open-air produce market. It’s one of the most popular draws for people from inside and outside the city limits. When it’s complete, the greenway will link the market to Detroit’s greatest natural asset: the Detroit River. Greenways are a new redevelopment concept in Detroit. But elsewhere, Woiwode says, they’ve proven a well-tested urban redevelopment tool.


“In fact, back in the late 90’s, the mayors of Pittsburgh and Denver – two municipalities that are roughly similar in size to Detroit – both characterized their greenways programs as the most important economic development programs they had within the city.”


Minneapolis is another city that’s had success with greenways. In fact, backers of the greenway plan in downtown Detroit say they were inspired by a similar project there. Last month, Minneapolis completed the second phase of what will eventually be a five-mile greenway along an abandoned rail line much like the one in Detroit. It’s called the Midtown Greenway. And it’ll eventually link the Chain of Lakes to the Mississippi River thruogh neighborhoods on the city’s south side.


Eric Hart is a Minneapolis Midtown Greenway Coalition board member. He says even the greenway’s most avid supporters joked that people might continue to use it as a dumping ground for abandoned shopping carts like they did when it was just a trench.


“Since then, since it was done in 2000, there’s been a lot of interest in the development community to put high-density residential structures right along the edge of the greenway. And it’s viewed more like a park now.”


Since the first phase was completed in 2000, one affordable housing development and a 72-unit market-rate loft project have been completed. And five more housing developments – mostly condos – are in the planning stages. Hart says people use the greenway for recreation and for commuting by bicycle to their jobs.


Colin Hubbell is a developer in Detroit. He says he’s all for greenways, as long as they’re not competing for dollars with more pressing needs in a city like Detroit: good schools, for example. Or safe neighborhoods. Hubbell says the question needs to be asked: If you build it, will they come?


“I’m not sure. I’m not sure, if, given the perception problem that we have as a city, how many people on bikes are going to go down in an old railroad right away, I’m not sure even if that’s the right thing to do, given the fact that – I mean, we have a street system. And just because there’s a greenway doesn’t mean if somebody’s on Rollerblades or a bicycle that they’re not going to stay on a greenway.”


Hubbell says Detroit already has a lot of streets and not much traffic – leaving plenty of room for bicyclists. Hubbell says it might be cheaper to paint some bike lanes, and put up signs. But he says connecting the city’s cultural and educational institutions, the river, and commercial districts with greenways is a good idea – as long as they’re running through areas where people will use them.


Kelli Kavanaugh says that’s exactly what’s happening with greenway plans in the city. Kavanaugh is with the Greater Corktown Economic Development Corporation in southwest Detroit.


“You can’t just stick a greenway in the middle of a barren, abandoned neighborhood and expect use. But when you put one into a growing neighborhood, a stabilizing neighborhood, it really works as another piece of the quality of life puzzle to kind of support existing residents, but also attract new residents to the area. It’s another amenity.”


Greenway backers say for a city struggling just to maintain its population, Detroit can only benefit from safe, pleasant places to walk and bike. And if other cities are any indication, they say greenways should also help bring another kind of green into Detroit.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.

Related Links

Bike Commuters Coast Through Winter Weather

  • Winter cyclists in Ottawa brave the weather on their daily commutes. (Photo © Richard Guy Briggs)

By the first snowfall, most of us have long ago put our bicycles away. But in every city, there are a few die-hard souls who keep pedaling all winter long. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly offers a profile of the winter cyclist:

Transcript

By the first snowfall, most of us have long ago put our bicycles away. But in every city, there are
a few diehard souls who keep pedaling all winter long. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Karen Kelly offers a profile of the winter cyclist:


I remember the first time I saw a winter cyclist in Ottawa. It was during a snowstorm and I had
just moved to the capital city of Canada. I looked out my window to see a guy on a bike plowing
through a snow drift. He had one glove on the handlebars – and the other carrying a three foot
long art portfolio. It was outrageous. But even more surprising – Ottawa is full of these people.


We’re talking a good four months of frigid temperatures here. And there are bicycles on the road
every single day. I wanted to know what could possibly motivate someone to hop on a bike when
the temperature is well below freezing.


To find an answer, I went to see Juergen Weichart. He’s a 37 year old father. A website
developer. And an avid winter cyclist.


“Okay, ready honey, why don’t you bring me your snowpants now?”


It’s 8:30 on a Monday morning and Weichart is preparing for his first ride of the day, transporting
his daughter to daycare.


Weichart is a rare breed – not only does he climb on a bike in the middle of winter – he drags his
kid along too. Unfortunately, guests are also invited. Next thing I know, I’m trying to fit a bike
helmet over my ski cap.


“It definitely fits different, right? What you can do is actually pull out these things.”


Weichart says you should dress in layers that are easy to remove. Once you start pedaling, and
sweating, the biggest challenge is often to stay cool and dry.


Today, it’s just below freezing, so Weichart throws on a long sleeved t-shirt, a fleece vest, and a
windbreaker with vents under the armpits. He hustles his daughter into a snowsuit and we’re out
the door.


As soon as we reach the driveway, Weichart is smiling.


He eagerly brushes the snow off his bicycle.


“It just brightens my day. It’s so sunny and beautiful and fresh out here and you get a little bit of
exercise, a little bit of warmth in your body and I realize if I don’t drive for a day or two, I realize
afterwards I’ve been typically crabby if I don’t get my morning ride.”


“Okay, so all the bikes look in good shape!”


Weichart covers his daughter with blankets in a trailer that he pulls behind his bicycle. Then he
and I hop on our bikes, inching them towards the top of the driveway, which is covered with ice.


“Probably the most dangerous spot right here on this whole ride is that patch down at the bottom
of the driveway. This up here has all been in shade, it’s been wet and now it’s frozen. Once we
get out on the main road, we’re going to have dry pavement.


“Here we go!”


We slowly make our way over the frozen tire tracks. It reminds me of cross country skiing or
skating. Weichart tells me to steer and brake, but preferably not at the same time.


(squeak of tires-road)


It’s actually pretty easy. And on the street, the conditions range from packed snow to dry
pavement. Weichart sticks to the bare road – even if that means taking over the lane. By law,
cyclists here have the right to do that. And the city actually encourages it – to make sure that
drivers see people on bikes.


But between the cars and the weather, it’s not surprising that most people assume winter cycling
is dangerous. Researcher Lisa Routhier decided to take a closer look at that assumption. She
recently earned a degree in environmental studies from Carleton University in Ottawa. While
there, Routhier surveyed 60 winter cyclists and 62 people who don’t ride in the winter. She
calculated the number of riders with the number of collisions and found no increase in cllisions
during the winter months. And generally, Routhier found the people on the bikes aren’t really
worried.


“One of the questions I asked was do you feel safe when you’re riding your bike in the winter and
82 percent responded they feel safe all or most of the time when they’re on their bike. And what I
found and what many people will notice is that many days during the winter, the roads are
actually bare and dry curb to curb. There’s no difference from summer cycling conditions.”


But what distinguishes many winter cyclists from the rest of us is experience. Routhier says these
are people who are used to commuting, regardless of the traffic or the weather. Juergen Weichart
fits that description. He says he’ll always choose his bicycle over the car. For a number of
reasons: It’s a way to exercise. It saves money on gas. And it’s better for the environment. But
mostly, he says he just loves being outside.


“One day I was riding not that long ago and there was a whole flock of birds on a lawn. There
must have been 200 little black birds sitting on a lawn and as I drove by on my bike, one of them
took flight and then the whole flock took flight and as I drove by, they flew right over top of my
bike and over my head and I thought wow, I could hear their wings beating, I could hear every
little feather going past me and the wind rushing and I thought, that’s amazing. You’re never
going to experience it that way in a car.”


(sound of riding)


After an uneventful ride, Weichart drops his daughter off at daycare. Even on a frigidly cold day,
he’ll choose the longer, scenic route to the office. Today is no exception.


(bell)


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Related Links

Voluntary Toll Lanes to Help Traffic Flow?

Transportation experts say new toll lanes are needed to relieve traffic congestion around major cities. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Transportation experts say new toll lanes are needed to relieve traffic congestion around
major cities. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham:


The experts say it would be a market-based solution. If you want to avoid heavy traffic,
you can pull your car into a voluntary toll lane and pay for the privilege of going faster.
Rob Atkinson is with Progressive Policy Institute, and is one of the experts who testified
before a congressional committee about the idea.


“You would expand those highways and add a couple lanes in each direction, but those
lanes would be tolled. So if you don’t want to pay the toll, you can just stay in the regular
lanes and actually you’d be a lot better off because there’d be people who would move from
those lanes – the free lanes – over to the tolled lanes. So it’s sort of one of those win-win
situations.”


Atkinson says gasoline taxes and other fees don’t pay the full cost of roads, so an alternative
such as voluntary toll lanes would help get closer to paying the actual cost of commuting.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

Climate Change Programs Hit the Streets

The Canadian government is taking its battle against climate change to the streets. It’s committing more than $3 million to programs intended to get Canadian drivers off the road. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:

Transcript

The Canadian government is taking its battle against climate change to the streets. It’s
committing more than 3 million dollars to programs intended to get Canadian drivers off the road.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:


The ‘Walk to Work Challenge’ in Calgary is one of 21 new programs sponsored by the federal
government. Many will educate Canadians about the link between driving and greenhouse gas
emissions. Other programs plan to reduce vehicle idling and increase car pooling.


In Calgary, city officials are offering prizes and discounts for people who start walking to work.


Transportation specialist Ron Shaver says that if you provide incentives, people will change their
behavior.


“If people find an activity that’s not a challenge for them to participate in, if they’re pursuing it
over an extended period of time, it will become the new norm.”


Shaver says Calgary tried a similar program four years ago, when a major bridge was closed
down. He says many people who adopted commuting alternatives then are still using them.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Bike Commuters Coast Through Winter Weather

  • Winter cyclists in Ottawa brave the weather on their daily commutes. (Photo © Richard Guy Briggs)

By the first snowfall, most of us have long ago put our bicycles away. But in every city, there are a few die-hard souls who keep pedaling all winter long. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly offers a profile of the winter cyclist:

Transcript

By the first snowfall, most of us have long ago put our bicycles away. But in every city, there are
a few diehard souls who keep pedaling all winter long. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Karen Kelly offers a profile of the winter cyclist:


I remember the first time I saw a winter cyclist in Ottawa. It was during a snowstorm and I had
just moved to the capital city of Canada. I looked out my window to see a guy on a bike plowing
through a snow drift. He had one glove on the handlebars – and the other carrying a three-foot-long art portfolio. It was outrageous. But even more surprising – Ottawa is full of these people.


We’re talking a good four months of frigid temperatures here. And there are bicycles on the road
every single day. I wanted to know what could possibly motivate someone to hop on a bike when
the temperature is well below freezing.


To find an answer, I went to see Juergen Weichert. He’s a 37-year-old father. A website
developer. And an avid winter cyclist.


“Okay, ready honey, why don’t you bring me your snowpants now?”


It’s 8:30 on a Monday morning and Weichert is preparing for his first ride of the day, transporting
his four-year-old daughter to daycare.


Weichert is a rare breed – not only does he climb on a bike in the middle of winter – he drags his
kid along too. Unfortunately, guests are also invited. Next thing I know, I’m trying to fit a bike
helmet over my ski cap.


“It definitely fits different, right? What you can do is actually pull out these things.”


Weichert says you should dress in layers that are easy to remove. Once you start pedaling, and
sweating, the biggest challenge is often to stay cool and dry.


Today, it’s just below freezing, so Weichert throws on a long sleeved t-shirt, a fleece vest, and a
windbreaker with vents under the armpits. He hustles his daughter into a snowsuit and we’re out
the door.


As soon as we reach the driveway, Weichert is smiling.


He eagerly brushes the snow off his bicycle.


“It just brightens my day. It’s so sunny and beautiful and fresh out here and you get a little bit of
exercise, a little bit of warmth in your body, gets
the system going, and I realize if I don’t drive for a day or two, I realize
afterwards I’ve been typically crabby if I don’t get my morning ride.”


“Let’s hop in!”


Weichert covers his daughter with blankets in a trailer that he pulls behind his bicycle. Then he
and I hop on our bikes, inching them towards the top of the driveway, which is covered with ice.


“Probably the most dangerous spot right here on this whole ride is that patch down at the bottom
of the driveway. This up here has all been in shade, it’s been wet and now it’s frozen. Once we
get out on the main road, we’re going to have dry pavement.”


“Here we go!”


We slowly make our way over the frozen tire tracks. It reminds me of cross country skiing or
skating. Weichert tells me to steer and brake, but preferably not at the same time.


(squeak of tires on road)


It’s actually pretty easy. And on the street, the conditions range from packed snow to dry
pavement. Weichert sticks to the bare road – even if that means taking over the lane. By law,
cyclists here have the right to do that. And the city actually encourages it – to make sure that
drivers see people on bikes.


But between the cars and the weather, it’s not surprising that most people assume that winter cycling
is dangerous. Researcher Lisa Routhier decided to take a closer look at that assumption. She
recently earned a degree in environmental studies from Carleton University in Ottawa. Routhier surveyed 60 winter cyclists and 62 people who don’t ride in the winter. She
calculated the number of riders with the number of collisions and found no increase in collisions
during the winter months. And generally, Routhier found the people on the bikes aren’t really
worried.


“One of the questions I asked was do you feel safe when you’re riding your bike in the winter and
82 percent responded that they feel safe all or most of the time when they’re on their bike. And what I
found and what many people will notice is that on many days during the winter, the roads are
actually bare and dry curb to curb. There’s no difference from summer cycling conditions.”


But what distinguishes many winter cyclists from the rest of us is experience. Routhier says these
are people who are used to commuting, regardless of the traffic or the weather. Juergen Weichert
fits that description. He says he’ll always choose his bicycle over the car. For a number of
reasons: It’s a way to exercise. It saves money on gas. And it’s better for the environment. But
mostly, he says he just loves being outside.


“One day I was riding not that long ago… there
must have been 200 little blackbirds sitting on a lawn and as I drove by on my bike, one of them
took flight and then the whole flock took flight and as I drove by, they flew right over the top of my
bike and over my head and I thought ‘wow,’ I could hear their wings beating, I could hear every
little feather going past me and the wind rushing and I thought, that’s amazing. You’re never
going to experience it that way in a car.”


(sound of riding)


We have an uneventful ride, and Weichert drops his daughter off at daycare. Even on a frigidly cold day,
he’ll choose the longer, scenic route to the office. Today is no exception.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Higher Speed Train Gains Momentum

Another link in higher-speed rail in the Great Lakes region is in place. Railroad officials have begun testing passenger trains at speeds never before attempted. It’s part of an effort to establish Chicago as a hub for cities from Cleveland to Minneapolis. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Willis Kern reports:

Transcript

Another link in higher-speed rail in the Great Lakes region is in place. Railroad officials
have begun testing passenger trains at speeds never before attempted. It’s part of an effort
to establish Chicago as a hub for cities from Cleveland to Minneapolis. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Willis Kern reports:


(nat sound train going through station)


A four-car Amtrak passenger train is rolling through the depot in downtown Normal,
Illinois.


(sound of train continues)


Usually, passenger trains stop to pick up passengers. But this one is chugging through,
picking up nothing but speed as it heads north toward Chicago, and eventually, a new land
speed record for passenger trains in Illinois. Never before has a train eclipsed the 110-
mile per hour mark, but that’s what this one is about to do during a five-mile stretch, as
another step toward implementing high speed rail in the Midwest.


(fade sound)


Before the train backs up from the Amtrak station in Normal and races forward, it sits
idling while engineers from the state bureau of railroads, Amtrak and Lockheed Martin test
new technology the train will use called Positive Train Control, which is a key component
of making the trains go faster. As it sits at the train station, Steve Gossard, the station’s
lead ticket agent, notes that the twin engines on this train look different than the ones
Amtrak usually push up and down the Chicago to St. Louis corridor.


“Well I guess its a little more streamlined, a more angular kind of thing, and its really
very plain. I guess the aerodynamics has something to do with the style.”


The ‘Bureau of Railroads’ is using two Amtrak engines that have been configured to
operate on what’s known as Class 6 tracks, or those that have been upgraded to support
speeds of 110 miles an hour.


“It’s a very sophisticated piece of equipment.”


Bureau chief John Schwalbach says the testing helps determine the difference between
traditional Class 4 tracks that have been upgraded and the new rails to be used for higher
speeds.


“Particularly the track guage. That is to say the distance between each of the rails.
That’s a key component and at Class 6, there are certain standards that are tighter
than a class four track. And you’re talking about measuring in the millimeter range
here, or even smaller than that.”


Which makes for a smooth ride for the faster trains. Schwalbach says the engines being
tested today are quite different than the one the state has been testing at the more
conventional speed of 79 miles per hour over the past few months, but it will be a couple
of years, at least, before new high speed diesel train sets are ordered. They will efficiently
get passengers up to speeds of 110 miles an hour. A year ago, state rail officials were
pointing to a December ’02 launch of high speed passenger service. Now, Schwalbach
says that’s not likely to happen until sometime in 2004, mainly because of federal red tape.


“From a regulatory perspective, after Lockheed Martin delivers their finished
product, it of course has to meet or exceed regulatory requirements put upon them by
the Federal Railroad Administration. We expect that process will take us through the
year 2003.”


“That may be accurate but it sounds like an awfully slow pace. I guess it assumes
little or no federal support.”


Ross Capon is the Executive Director of the National Association of Rail Passengers. He
talked to us on a cell phone as he rode an Amtrak passenger train from California to
Maryland. Capon says he’s disappointed in the Bush Administration’s attitude toward high-
speed rail. But, he’s confident things on the federal level will improve and states starving
for funding not only for high speed rail, but basic Amtrak service, will get much needed
help.


“The general public is way ahead of the politicians on this issue. That 9-11 has only
reinforced that, and that sooner or later, the administration is going to figure that out
and respond to it.”


(sound of trains)


Meanwhile, the Great Lakes states wait for the federal government to sort out Amtrak and
high speed rail service and it’s commitment to each. Michigan has been testing a stretch of
track between Detroit and Chicago for sometime. Now it’s Illinois’ turn to showcase the
baby steps they’re making in an attempt to get some kind of service up and running as soon
as possible.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Willis Kern.

A Cure for Sprawl

Sprawl affects urban and rural residents of every Great Lakes state. Rapid development continues to swallow farmland and leave impoverished urban cores in its wake. But one Great Lakes mayor believes there’s still time to preserve land and revive cities. Mayor John Logie shares this commentary:

Transcript

Sprawl affects urban and rural residents of every Great Lakes state. Rapid development continues to swallow farmland and leave impoverished urban cores in its wake. But one Great Lakes mayor believes there’s still time to preserve land and revive cities. Mayor John Logie shares this commentary.


Urban sprawl is alive and well in Grand Rapids, my hometown. The term refers to the insidious way that webs of suburbs, manufacturing plants, etc., are expanding in unplanned, ever-widening circles around our city. Such sprawl results in longer commutes, pollution, and the loss of undeveloped land. The American Farmland Trust reports that 70% of the country’s prime farmland is now in the path of rapid development. On the list of 30 of the most sprawling cities in the entire United States, Grand Rapids, which has experienced a 48% increase in its urban area between 1990 and 1996, ranks right in the middle, behind such hyper-growth communities as Las Vegas, Austin, and Tucson, but well ahead of Cleveland, Chicago, and Portland in our rate of sprawl increase.


This Land-use change has rarely been done in a responsible fashion. Some sprawl apologists say what we’ve ended up with is that’s the American Dream, and any problems are easy to fix. They say there’s plenty of land left in America. They say congestion would go away if we just build more roads. But sprawl matters. Pollsters say it’s the most important issue in the Country.


Distress about urban sprawl arises from many factors: loss of open space, traffic congestion, economic segregation, a lack of affordable housing, and a lost sense of community. According to Harvard University political scientist Robert Putnam, the longer people spend in traffic, the less likely they are to be involved in their community and family.


To solve these problems, it takes a combination of land conservation and real free market economics, which can actually provide smaller lots for those who want them. However, many communities try to maintain what they believe are high property values by allowing only large-lot homes to be built. This effectively excludes several types of households, including singles, some empty nesters, single-parents, and the elderly, along with lower-income people. And the favored “middle-class family” with kids, today represents just 25% of new homebuyers. Only 11% of U.S. households are “traditional” families with children and just one wage earner. One size no longer fits us all.


Here’s what we need now.


We need smaller houses in walkable clusters, town homes in real “towns,” lofts in vital urban neighborhoods, and affordable housing just about anywhere. The development of compact communities that offer urban amenities and street life will show that the market actually supports more density and more housing diversity—not less. But we’re not building communities like those; communities that can help reduce many symptoms of sprawl, including traffic. Instead, we’re just building new roads. But for every 10% increase in new freeway miles, a 9% increase in traffic is generated within 5 years as sprawl continues. You just can’t build your way out of gridlock. More importantly, today we can no longer afford to keep building new freeways. The key is building more walkable communities. All this depends on promoting different land-use patterns, and not just building new roads.


Property rights advocates argue against regional planning, or any planning for that matter. They say that people should have a right to develop their properties as they please. As a historic preservationist, I have heard that for years. But what if one person’s development decision adversely impacts another’s property, or the whole neighborhood, or the whole region? What if certain choices require more public tax dollars to pay for infrastructure and services than others? At the regional level, it is public dollars that enable development on private property. Without highways, roads, sewers, water systems, and public services, development cannot occur. Therefore, we must use the tool of government spending appropriately – and seek out and implement the most cost-effective public investments which creatively and positively support growth, but discourage sprawl. My name is John Logie, I’m the Mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan.