As a part of the New York City Streets Renaissance Project, PPS is working with communities in NYC to create streets that are shared spaces for pedestrians, cyclists, and cars.

“Reno’s city limits have reached the California border and long-range plans call for them to stretch further north in the coming decades. Acres of cow pasture have been converted to strip malls, athletic clubs, warehouses and tract homes. What was once rural is now suburban, or even urban.

…With most of Reno constrained by the Sierra Nevada and Virginia ranges, city officials would like to put more people and places along the main arteries: Virginia and Fourth streets.

Build up, not out, planners say. Create walkable, unique neighborhoods. Provide a variety of housing options and encourage people to live near their jobs. Improve public transportation and find a way to get residents to ride it.”

“Holiday shoppers who are feeling mauled at the malls are finding refuge, charm and unusual wares in Lebanon, one of the Cincinnati region’s few remaining real downtowns.

…In an era of big chain stores offering discounts and Web sites providing convenience, independent retailers such as those in Lebanon, Hyde Park and Bellevue must surmount tough odds to remain afloat.

But some national trends seem to be working in their favor: “mall backlash” and the quest for an unusual gift that doesn’t appear mass-produced, experts say.”

“For many commuters, the Hoboken Terminal is not much more than a place to hustle through during rush hour en route to waiting trains, buses, boats and cabs. Yet those commuters could soon be in less of a hurry, and maybe even stop and stay awhile.

New Jersey Transit, the state’s largest public transportation agency, and the owner of the green-roofed terminal on the Hudson River waterfront, is restoring the building, which was originally the home of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.

In the process, the agency hopes to unlock the earning potential of an underused resource by adding stores, restaurants and possibly apartments on the 65-acre site. If passengers treat the terminal as more of a destination, it will in turn increase passenger trips, the thinking goes, which will generate additional revenues. Ultimately, New Jersey Transit might collect rents from tenants that never existed before.”

This morning members of the PPS staff made our way to our office in Manhattan on foot, by water taxi, car, taxi, and several on bikes.

For tips on how to get around the city during the transit strike, visit the Transportation Alternatives’ “Bike the Strike” resource page.

Tell us your story - how were you affected by the strike and how did you get around town?

Cars get horns, why not pedestrians?

“After three years of preparation, the city of Madison is set to adopt a sweeping comprehensive plan that reverses the trend of sprawling growth in the last half-century.

Instead, it envisions more dense, attractive projects filling parking lots and replacing single-story strip malls - while respecting the character of older neighborhoods. And it promotes “New Urbanist” mixed-use neighborhoods on the outskirts where people can rely less on cars while preserving farmland and open spaces.”

More than a recreational venue, the BWI Trail circles Baltimore-Washington International Airport to link neighborhoods, communities, and five modes of transportation. It is the nation’s only trail that circles a commercial airport.

What are we giving up by providing so much space on our city streets for parked cars?

The Rebar Group in San Francisco conducted an interesting experiment last month to show how easy and effective it is to reclaim a parking space. They created a temporary park out of a parking space on the street - they fed the meter, rolled out turf, put out a bench and a tree, and watched as people stopped to relax, read the paper, or have a chat with a stranger.

The population of Frisco, TX, an exurb of Dallas, grew nearly 450% from 1990 - 2000, turning what used to be short car trips across town into maddening crawls through traffic.