Arlington County installs new bike signal on Custis trail

Arlington County has installed a bike-only signal in the Rosslyn area of the Custis Trail at the corner of N. Oak Street and Lee Highway, which went into service on Tuesday, May 17.  This is one of the intersections on the "Rosslyn Hill" section of the Custis that includes several crossings.  There have been collisions at some of these crossings in the past.  This area is definitely the most dangerous section of the Custis Trail.


View Custis Trail bike signal location in a larger map

Even the IEA can't do math. No one understands growth!!

I was looking at the IAE statistics about coal, and I came across a couple of different statements that stand in sharp contrast.  First there was this:

Total recoverable reserves of coal around the world are estimated at 909 billion tons—reflecting a current reserves-to-production ratio of 129 years.  Historically, estimates of world recoverable coal reserves, although relatively stable, have declined gradually from 1,145 billion tons in 1991 to 1,083 billion tons in 2000 and 909 billion tons in 2008.  Although the decline in estimated reserves is sizable, the large reserves-to-production ratio for world coal indicates that sufficient coal will be available to meet demand well into the future. (emphasis mine)

Above this statement on the same page was this graph

 

accompanied by this statement:

The growth rate for coal consumption is uneven, averaging 1.1 percent per year from 2007 to 2020 and 2.0 percent per year from 2020 to 2035.

Corporate Responsibility & Energy as Design - May 17 event at House of Sweden

House of Sweden on the Potomac River

I want to bring to your attention an upcoming event that may be of interest here in DC.  This was forwarded to me from Maja Persson, a friend and colleague who works at the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce.

Please note the information about RSVPing

The perfect bike trail bollard installation

For those of you have read my previous post on this topic, you will know that I am not a fan of bollards on bike trails.  Hence this photo of what I consider to be the perfect bollard installation.

Yes, replacing street car parking with bike parking is a good idea.

Over the last week there has been a small controversy regarding the expansion of Capital Bikeshare into Arlington County, VA.  In particular the Arlington County GOP has complained that as many as eight metered parking spaces have been replaced with CaBi stations.

This is virtually a non-issue.  Prior to this, 100% of street parking in Arlington was for cars; now it's maybe 98-99%.  That still seems remarkably unbalanced toward automobiles.  Watch this video (yours truly appears near the beginning).




The contention that replacing these parking spots with bikeshare parking costs the county money and is a bad idea is wrong in so many ways.

Monday What's on the Web: DC Green Scene

The DC Green Scene web site (and email service) provides a list of upcoming environmental events in the Washington DC area.  I highly recommend subscribing to their weekly email notifications if you live in the DC area.  Even if you are unlikely to attend many (or any), it is very useful to know what is going on.

There are typically several listings for every single day, and many of the events are free.  Here are some examples, taken from tomorrow's list:

Hypermiling in our Camry Hybrid

We purchased our 2007 Toyota Hybrid Camry in March of 2007 and I have previously written about it six times (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth postings).

Last week I set a personal best for mpg on a trip we made to and from Philadelphia.  Our car records the mileage continuously from the time the tank is filled until it is filled again.  On the trip back, we stopped at the Chesapeake House rest area on I-95 at Mile Marker 98 in North East MD.  From there to our house in Arlington we traveled about 94 miles.  The mileage reading shown when we parked in front of our house is shown to the left.

Metro's "Service Nearby" tool

Last summer a friend of mine moved to a new apartment in Alexandria, an area of town he was not particularly familiar with.  He got in touch with me about trying to find a good way to commute by transit to his job in DC.  He knew that I was pretty savvy at figuring out the transportation system.

I pointed him to Metro's "Service Nearby" tool as a first step in figuring out his various options.  The tool identifies all the transit stops within 1 mile.  One can then use that information to look at schedules or use the Trip Planner to determine various ways to go where you want to go.  The trip planner does not always provide the complete list of options (and often not even the best options), so using "Service Nearby" can be really helpful.

Rationalizing services between Shirlington and the Pentagon

Travelers between Shirlington and the Pentagon have more than 160 buses in each direction per day that they can ride. However, the design of the bus bays and the lack of combined schedules creates inconvenience for passengers, requiring them to choose between bus bays that are far apart and knowing multiple schedules, among other issues that could be rationalized.

There are several routes between Shirlington and the Pentagon: Metrobus routes 7A, C, E, F, Y; 22A; 25A, D; and ART87. The 7 and 25 buses are express, traveling directly between these two stations in 6-9 minutes depending on traffic. The 22A makes a few stops before getting on I-395, resulting in a travel time of about 12-14 minutes. The ART bus takes a local route that takes about 23-27 minutes. (In almost all cases, those traveling between these two endpoints will get there sooner by waiting for the next, quicker Metrobus than taking the ART.)  There is also an ART 87X, which is express to the Pentagon during rush hours.

My Commuter Mug Reprise

photo by Scott Feldstien on flickr

Long ago I posted that by carrying my commuter mug around with me I would save money on my coffee purchases.  Starbucks always offers a dime and sometimes they just charge me $0.50 for a refill even though it isn't a "refill."

This morning I was in Shirlington and dropped into the Caribou Coffee shop.  They offer a $0.50 discount for bringing your own mug.  Wow!  And, it was prominently displayed on their big chalkboard.

I recently blogged on how Starbucks has failed in their efforts to improve use of reusable mugs.  Well, Caribou is kicking their butt!!

Google adds skateboard directions to Google Maps

Google announced today that it will be adding skateboarding directions to its currently available driving, walking, transit and biking directions. Simply click on the new icon that appears on the Google Directions page as shown below.

(Just in case - this was an April Fools post)

Pocket Bus Schedules Being Tested

A while back I suggested the idea of creating simple point-to-point bus schedules as a way to both simplify information for riders as well as make it easier for new riders to take the bus.  The example I used was between Westover Village in Arlington and the Ballston Metro (see original blog post here).

I finally got around to creating these little pocket schedules and they are now available at Toby's Ice Cream Shop in Westover.  Toby tells me that several customers have commented on the usefulness of these schedules. although so far not a lot of them have been taken.

Monday What's on the Web: The Geological Society Climate Statement

Last November, the Geological Society of London issued a "Statement on Climate Change."  It's a relatively clear and straightforward statement that summarizes the current state of our climate and relates it to significant climatological changes in the past.

The Geological Society of London was founded in 1807. It is the UK national society for geoscience, and the oldest geological society in the world.  As a highly regarded professional, scientific organization, one should take statements like these very seriously.  When individual scientists make statements, it is possible they are tainted by personal bias.  When the Geological Society of London makes a statement, it represents thousands of scientists, and carries much greater weight than any one particular scientific paper or one individual scientist's perspective. There are 10,000 members of the Geological Society.

 The Geological Society's statement is mirrored by statements made by virtually every other reputable scientific organization on the planet.  There are no reputable scientific organizations that dispute the scientific consensus that: 1) the planet is warming; 2) humans are partially to mostly responsible; and 3) the outcomes are likely to be significant and negative for human civilization.

Green Business Roundtable now on Facebook

I chair a monthly gathering of professionals called the Green Business Roundtable.  In partnership with the Wharton Club of DC, the GBR usually meets at the National Press Club for a buffet lunch and a guest discussion leader.  Click on the Facebook link to the right for updates and notifications of upcoming meetings.

Hope to see you there!

Monday What's on the Web: Reconnecting America

Recommecting America is a web site dedicated to promoting, advocating for and improving Transit-Oriented Development.

This is how they describe their mission on their site:

Reconnecting America is a national non-profit organization that is working to integrate transportation systems and the communities they serve, with the goal of generating lasting public and private returns, improving economic and environmental efficiency, and giving consumers more housing and mobility choices.

Their sister site, the Center for Transit Oriented Development is focused more on that specific topic, but the two are interrelated.

I recommend joining to receive their daily updates, which link through to a tremendous number of articles related to this topic.  I learn something new almost every day.