jetlag links

Brewing a summary piece on the whole connection-activated plaza issue, but I may need to get past the jetlag first.  Meanwhile:

  • I really love the spirit of the Bay Area's new Transit & Trails service.  As a transit expert who's also an amateur botanist and fierce lover of wilderness, I've always been frustrated by the gaps between transit stations and major trailheads.  This is one of the few aspects of public transit in Sydney that works brilliantly well, even yielding reveries such as this
  • Nathan Wessel is fundraising to promote his Cincinnati Frequent Network Map and guide.
  • From DePaul University's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development comes an interesting study on how portable electronic technology is affecting transportation choices.  The institute's Caitlin Allen wrote, in an email to me: "To our knowledge, our data set is the only one of its kind in the country.  The data confirms that transportation environments that Baby Boomers avoided have become more attractive to Gen Y or Millennials because they can 'privatize' their space with tech use."  PDF:  Download Privacy Invades Public Space, The Growing Use of Portable Electronic Technology…2011

5 Responses to jetlag links

  1. Eugene Wong March 22, 2011 at 3:31 am #

    I’d like to look over those other links later, but in the mean time, I’d like to comment on trails and transit.
    The closest thing to a trail head that I can think of for Metro Vancouver and SkyTrain is Patterson Station and Central Park. Unfortunately, it is made in such a way that transit riders will feel like they are taking the back entrance to the park. It is interesting to me, because the exercise circuit’s half way point connects to Patterson Station. If only Burnaby could think of Patterson Station as the main entrance, then maybe we would have more people exercising and enjoying.

  2. Carter R March 22, 2011 at 10:51 am #

    Hi Jarrett,
    Thanks for pointing out the Transit & Trails service — it’s an impressive tool. Over at the Source, I’m working on my own version of that called “Trailhead Hunter,” where I profile Metro accessible hikes in the Los Angeles area.
    I’ve been surprised and pleased to see so many options for the car-free hikers. It helps that we have so much mountainous wilderness smack in the middle of the metro area.
    Here are my first two features, with one on Griffith Park on the way.
    http://thesource.metro.net/topic/trailhead-hunter/
    -Carter

  3. Alon Levy March 22, 2011 at 3:18 pm #

    Some of the trails through the Hudson Highlands are accessible by Metro-North, so that car-free New Yorkers could use them.

  4. Jarrett March 22, 2011 at 3:31 pm #

    Eugene. Sounds like you’ve never taken the bus to Grouse Mountain!

  5. Peter March 22, 2011 at 7:45 pm #

    Eugene: lots and lots of trailheads in Metro Vancouver are conveniently accessible by public transit, and many more are manageable to get to. Most trails on the North Shore can be gotten to by transit–the only major exceptions are the ones that start on Mt. Seymour or Cypress.