Bikes + Transit

Bikes are not as practical for long distance trips (although the definition of "long distance" changes once you switch from driving to cycling as your main transportation mode). In these cases it makes sense to have a good public transit system.

The good news is that with all the available room left by today's car infrastructure, we would have plenty of space to create dedicated transit lines through the city so that bicycles and buses or trolley cars can coexist safely and peacefully. Since their range and uses are distinct, transit and bikes compliment each other whereas transit and cars currently compete for space and for users.

The integration of bicyles and long-distance transit are even more compelling. Today, many commuters complain that train service is expensive and infrequent, but trains could partner with bicycles to their mutual benefit.

The catchment area for a bicycle-oriented train station would increase dramatically over mere pedestrian access. The station would no longer require a huge parking lot to accomodate commuters arriving by car, since bicycles take up so much less room. Each station could run very productively and frequently, with trains at frequent intervals.

Source: "Can the Bicycle Save Civilization?" by Ryan McGreal

DMU + Biodiesel

Portland, Oregon has announced a new commuter rail line between Wilsonville and Beaverton. When completed, the 15-mile-long line will serve one of Oregon's busiest commuter corridors. It will not be light rail, as in the MAX system that serves much of the greater Portland area. Instead, the new commuter rail line will use existing freight train tracks. The tracks will carry DMU's, quite popular in Europe for some time. These Colorado-built rail cars are self-propelled and are about 6 times more fuel-efficient than traditional commuter engines. One of the real benefits is that they are legal on freight lines without upgrades, saving potentially millions on infrastructure improvements.

The applicability of this technology to the metro Atlanta area cannot be overstated, with the city once know as Terminus sporting extensive "spoke rails" in all directions. DMUs could be deployed on these rails in the short term.

Add the potential of using biodiesel to power the railcars (currently being tested in Minnesota) and you've got a powerful blended solution for addressing Atlanta's transportation and environmental woes.

How Cuba survived peak oil

People will be doing a lot more bicycling and carpooling. Even hitchhiking could become socially acceptable. Cuba went through an energy famine in the 1990s, and traffic cops there halted cars with empty seats and made them wait for hitchhikers. Cubans also created more urban gardens, produced more of their own food, and made more public-transportation options available.

~ from "An Interview with Richard Heinberg", The Sun

Flexcar comes to Atlanta

Liz Wattenberg, General Manager of Flexcar - Atlanta, informed me today that I had the highest bid in a silent auction for Flexcar rentals. So I signed up today online.

Flexcar is a great development for Atlantans seeking to reduce their reliance on the automobile. Urban trend-setters in other cities have begun giving up their second car, or cars altogether, when they have discovered Flexcar. It makes transit-oriented living even more viable as you can now have access to a car as-needed with this innovative car-sharing solution.

Location-efficient mortgages, like those provided by my friend Jeff Cole of myEnergyLoan, factor the reduction of automobile expenses into the qualification equation, opening up the realm of possibilities for Buyers seeking to make Intown living financially feasible.

Now Flexcar has partnered with Novare Developments in Midtown and Downtown to offer residents of Spire, Metropolis, TWELVE, or Biltmore House special incentives and onsite vehicles. Check it out here.

I would consider it a privilege to serve as your Buyer's Agent in the purchase of these homes and could offer the Rail Estate Rebate for these purchases like we do other transit-oriented real estate.

Xebra EV is a great intown solution

A company called Green Planet is opening a ZAP EV dealership in Atlanta. The family and I test drove the Xebra last weekend (that's my daughters Shelly and April in and around the vehicle pictured). This three-wheeled vehicle is the first Chinese production vehicle to be sold in America and is the only city-class EV that you can actually purchase right now. The Xebra is different from it's predecessors, including the ill-fated GM EV-1, in that it charges with a standard 110v plug. You'll recall that in the late 90's when electric vehicles were in use for a minute, they required special charging stations to hook up to. Not so with the Xebra. Any accessible standard wall outlet is a potential charging station powering this little vehicle at a cost of three cents a mile.

The Xebra is an alternative niche product that is another weapon in the fight against traffic congestion, foreign oil dependence, and climate change.

Side Tracks

Readers will notice that the last few posts (and a couple to follow) have diverged from the thematic journaling of alternative transportation specific to rail and trail solutions. Flexcar and electric cars coming to town are too good to overlook, however, so bear with me. They do relate to trail- and transit-oriented real estate in that they enhance the viability of those seeking to be less car dependent.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

If you didn't catch the documentary in the theater, you can pre-order the DVD, scheduled for a November release.