Tag: trains

10 Infrastructure Projects We’d Like to See Get Off the Ground

Posted on by robbie

In his victory speech, Donald J. Trump vowed to “rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals.” The investment is long overdue: The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its most recent national assessment, rated the country’s infrastructure as a D-plus, just above failing. The group estimates that, by 2025, the nation will need a $1.44 trillion boost over current funding levels to meet growing needs.

Since 2009, when Barack Obama doled out roughly $800 billion in a stimulus package, that money’s been hard to come by, largely blocked by partisanship. But advocates hope the election of Trump, who made his fortune in real estate, could launch a building boom. The Republican president, so used to seeing his name on gilded skyscrapers, hotels, casinos and golf courses, could cut a deal with congressional Democrats, who view public-works projects as an engine for job growth.

Assuming Trump can indeed pass a bill, we at NationSwell have a few ideas for him to consider. A big, beautiful wall’s not one of them; instead, here’s the top 10 shovel-worthy alternatives we’d like the new administration to undertake.

[ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph]
[ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph][ph]
Continue reading “10 Infrastructure Projects We’d Like to See Get Off the Ground”

With Parking Spaces Sitting Vacant, Atlanta Has a Bold Plan to Merge Communities With Transit

Posted on by robbie

Everyone who lives near a city knows all too well how much location – specifically, proximity to the commuter rail — matters. The shorter the drive is to the station, the better. And the ability to walk there trumps just about everything.
Such convenience is about to come to thousands in Atlanta. That city’s metro system MARTA has started making real estate deals to build housing to unused transit parking lots. MARTA plans to turn the space at the King Memorial, Edgewood, and Edgewood/Chandler Park stations into combination residential and retail developments.
“People have been looking at these parking lots for decades wondering why they were just sitting there,” Amanda Rhein, senior director of transit-oriented development at MARTA, told City Lab.
Now, that is finally changing — and it’s not only helping commuters, but also the railroad itself. Without state funding, MARTA’s bottom line is very easily impacted by the ups and downs of the economy. So, when Keith Parker took over the agency in 2012, he decided that a bold project like this is what was required to keep it competitive. The development will not only produce revenue from all the train riders, but also with each unit sold, will raise money for the transit system that it can use for improvements.
And so far, Parker’s decision is looking like a good one. MARTA has successfully leased land to developers for mixed-use buildings that are focused on the adjacent transit opportunities, including a project on a four-acre unused parking lot that features 13,000 square feet of retails space and 386 housing units.
The boon does not only belong to the railroads, though; it is the entire community’s as these projects could decrease traffic on the roads. And on top of that, there is more to the new spaces then one might think. Beyond all the great new housing and shops, each development will also feature a public park as well as have at least 20 percent of the units dedicated to affordable housing.
While construction has yet to start, there’s already hope for more in the future since this model is good for both the city of Atlanta, its citizens and the transit system itself.
“We’re going to make the stations themselves and the surrounding areas more pleasant and more easily accessible, and we’ll be providing amenities to our riders and to the surrounding community. So I think people will realize that and give MARTA a chance,” says Rhein.
DON’T MISS: Here’s How High-Speed Rail Is Inching Closer to Becoming a Reality In California

Thanks to Uncle Sam, Our Trains Are Finally Getting a Sweet Upgrade

Posted on by robbie

Let’s face it, America’s antiquated rail lines aren’t much to brag about. But it finally looks like they will enter the 21st century after the government put down some serious cash for some sleek new trains.
As Think Progress reports, the Illinois Department of Transportation has spent $225 million on 32 diesel-electric passenger locomotives last month. If things go according to plan, by 2016, you will be able to hop aboard one of these trains (that travel at speeds of up to 125 mph) in Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington.
MORE: Why Salt Lake City May Become the New Leader in Public Transportation
Citizens shouldn’t balk at this hefty price tag since these trains will actually play a big part in cutting carbon emissions. How so? According to a press release from Siemens (the manufacturer of the trains), “these modern locomotives are powerful and efficient and will deliver a cleaner ride, with better air quality and reduced emission rates ensuring compliance with the Federal Railroad’s EPA Tier IV regulation required to be in place in 2015.” Tier IV standards, by the way, require emissions of planet-harming particulate matter (soot) and nitrogen oxide (a powerful greenhouse gas) be reduced by about 90 percent.
Rail transportation is one of the greenest ways to travel. As Think Progress writes, trains account for about two percent of transportation emissions while cars are responsible for a whopping 70 percent. Since transportation is one of the biggest culprits to climate change, it’s about time the government makes a big investment on greener infrastructure such as this.

A Passing Statement and a Single Tweet Started One of the Most Brilliant Writing Residencies Ever Imagined

Posted on by robbie

Maybe we’re a bit biased, being writers and all, but it was a stroke of pure brilliance when author Alexander Chee, in a December interview with PEN America, stated his love of writing on trains. “I wish Amtrak had residencies for writers,” he said, and with that simple statement, Chee ignited a movement — literally and literary — to giving American writers an opportunity to see the country while working on their craft. After reading the Chee’s PEN America interview, Jessica Gross, writer for the New York Times Magazine, the Paris Review and many other prestigious publications hopped on Twitter and asked Amtrak how to get this program going. They responded, asking Gross and Quartz editor Zach Seward if they’d like to go for a test run. Gross took them up on the offer, and jumped on the Lake Shore Limited for a free ride from New York City to Chicago and back again. “I’m only here for the journey,” Gross wrote about her experience in the Paris Review. “Soon after I get to Chicago, I’ll board a train and come right back to New York: thirty-nine hours in transit — forty-four, with delays. And I’m here to write.”
MORE: Want a Free House? Write Two Paragraphs and Win It
It may be easy to assume that Amtrak’s writers’ residency program is nothing more than a ploy for media attention. But Julie Quinn, the company’s social media director, told the Wire that because of “overwhelming demand”, the company wants to turn the program into a regular operation. “We would’ve never known until really in the last 48 hours what type of response a program like this would warrant, and we have been pleasantly surprised,” Quinn says. The company isn’t sure yet exactly how the program will be structured, but Quinn says the goal is to “engage with writers several times a month”, possibly through a “tiered approach.” For now, the trips will remain free for writers, but Quinn says that could change, depending on the program’s regularity — and Amtrak’s bottom line. Interested writers — and Quinn says that anyone with a writing background would be considered, not just published authors — can apply through social media, by tweeting the company with the hashtag #AmtrakResidency.
There’s no telling how far this program could travel. Amtrak operates more than 300 trains a day on more than 21,000 miles of track. The company connects more than 500 destinations in 46 states, DC and Canada. And given the financial trouble the company has had in recent years, attracting a crop of successful writers, many of whom are active on social media — even if Amtrak is footing the bill — is a promotional opportunity that a fledging transportation business could only dream of. As for Chee, he tweeted last week that his Amtrak writer’s residency dream has come true. And he’s in it for the long haul, committing to a trip from New York City to Portland in May.
Updated: Monday, March 10, 2014: Amtrak has released an official application for its Residency program. Up to 24 writers will be selected for the program starting March 17, 2014 through March 31, 2015. 
ALSO: This Technologist Retweeted Only Women for a Year and It Broadened His Horizons