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For Rome mayor, transit is key issue
Mayor Ignazio Marino’s decision to limit traffic on Rome’s Via dei Fori Imperiali was not popular in the city.
If any city in the world has a good excuse for not having a modern-day transportation system, it’s Rome.
The Eternal City is 2,767 years old, at least by some counts. Winding streets and cobblestone paths are not exactly the makings of good bike infrastructure or rapid-transit lines. And Rome is, of course, the homeland of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, not usually associated with sedate driving.
And yet, Rome’s mayor, Ignazio Marino, insists that his city will soon be one of the best cities in the world for sustainable public transportation. Marino, who was elected last year, paid a visit to Boston this week to share some of his thoughts on strategies for grappling with transportation issues plaguing major cities and to offer some pointers for the Hub.
“I’m trying to demonstrate that biking in Rome is possible. In my personal experience, it gives me the opportunity to see some details that I never would have seen from a car,” Marino said at a talk sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects. “I can hear the voice of my town — and sometimes, somebody protesting the potholes.”
During his hour-long talk, Marino pointed out that Rome has a long way to go before becoming a more sustainable transportation city. The city has about 980 cars per 1,000 adults, he said, versus 350 and 415 cars in London and Paris, respectively. Additionally, the average Roman resident uses his or her car for about 5 kilometers of travel per day.
“You can imagine a huge box weighing 1 ton, just to move a 70 kilogram or 80 kilogram person, instead of a sustainable form of transportation — and this, for only an average of 5 kilometers per day,” Marino said.
It’s only been about a year since Marino’s ascent to office. (Random fact: He used to be a transplant surgeon in Pittsburgh before deciding to return to his native Italy to pursue politics.) In that short period, Marino has made some controversial transportation decisions: He rebooted the city’s bike-share initiative, which had been plagued by theft and vandalism. He wants to help commuters pay bus and subway fares with their smartphones. He decided to close the Via dei Fori Imperiali, a major thoroughfare with heavy traffic, to non-essential vehicles on weekdays, and created a pedestrian-only plaza on weekends. And he’s limiting traffic on Rome’s most noteworthy roundabout — the one at the Colosseum.
“I can tell you, the news of my decision to close car traffic around the Colosseum, it was extremely popular worldwide,” Marino said, “and extremely unpopular in Rome.”
He admitted that Rome’s public transit has a problem with fare evasion — sound familiar, Boston? — and suggested an unconventional method of cracking down: Dispatch cute kids to serve as enforcers. In Rome, Marino said, primary school children (under supervision, of course) approach commuters and ask to see their tickets.
“It was actually pretty good,” he said. “They were giving people who had tickets a free pass for a museum, and for those who didn’t have their ticket, they were writing warnings.”
Near the end of his question-and-answer session, a member of the audience talked about his disappointment with Massachusetts public officials’ dependence on cars. It’s been decades since we’ve had a governor who regularly rides the T, he lamented, and he made a thinly veiled nod to this week’s kerfuffle involving Attorney General Martha Coakley, and her predilection for parking in tow-zones while pounding the gubernatorial campaign trail.
“They bring a car and park in areas that the rest of us aren’t allowed to,” the audience member asked. “Everybody looks to the Italians for their exuberance. What advice do you have for us here in Boston about changing the mindsets of our political officials?”
Marino chuckled and said he had had similar experiences, especially when it came to the new pedestrian boulevard on Via dei Fori Imperiali.
“I’m not sure this is advice that politicians here will like, but I can tell you what I decided to do,” he said. “Via dei Fori Imperiali — it’s open, wide, and unfortunately the official cars of members of the Italian government, they think it is easier to go through there, and they do that all the time.”
He went further.
“I didn’t even announce this as of yet,” he teased, “but by June 29 we will take pictures and send to TVs and newspapers. We know by the plate who is in the car, and we let people know all over Italy.
“I think,” he added, amid peals of laughter, “this will change their habit.”
A map that’s useful to locals
People who frequent downtown Boston and the Financial District may have noticed new wayfinding signs that appeared several months ago, courtesy of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District. Like most public maps on display in Boston, they feature the usual navigational fare: street names, major landmarks, nearby T stations.
But these maps go a little further as well and cater to more than just the tourist set. Sure, it’s great to know the location of the Old South Meeting House, but how many times does the average Bostonian pay that landmark a visit?
But, this map shows the locations of all the nearest public WiFi hotspots, a much more useful thing to know if you ever find yourself in a communication pinch.
And it’s information that the average Bostonian — the ones who don’t need a map to find Faneuil Hall — may not know. Free WiFi at the Irish Famine Memorial? Who knew?
Charlie gets more bars on the T
In other wireless news, InSite Wireless — the telecommunications infrastructure company working to get cellphone service on the whole T system — has come out with a new announcement on when to expect more coverage within the bowels of Boston’s transit system.
Enthusiasm abounded when, a year ago, AT&T customers started noticing vastly improved cellphone service throughout the system. By now, they have blanketed the MBTA system.
Still, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint only offer service on some parts of the T. That’s going to change soon, an InSite representative said last week. T-Mobile and Sprint, which currently only operate lackluster 2G and 3G networks in the tunnels, will have 4G service in every tunnel within the next few months. And Verizon, whose full cellphone service only extends to the system’s core stations, will have 3G in outlying stations by the end of the summer.
And the biggest news of all: The company is currently installing the infrastructure to introduce Comcast XFinity WiFi on all Green Line platforms by the end of the year.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/05/31/italian-mayor-not-that-one-declares-that-cars-are-longer-king/wVZWyoRGJUOHS6ceHg3rVK/story.html
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La UCI promoverá la bicicleta como forma de movilidad
Publicado en 2 junio, 2014
adelaideLa Unión Ciclista Internacional (UCI) ha creado una nueva Comisión de Defensa de la Bicicleta que se reunió por primera vez esta semana en Adelaida, Australia del Sur. El organismo rector del ciclismo mundial busca trabajar con aquellos que luchan por mejores condiciones para los ciclistas para fomentar la bicicleta como medio de transporte y no sólo como un deporte o actividad de ocio.
La reunión inaugural de esta comisión coincidió con la Conferencia Global Velo-city de 2014 en Adelaida (Australia), que reúne a más de 500 responsables políticos, expertos y activistas de todo el mundo.
La comisión está presidida por la vicepresidente de la UCI Tracey Gaudrey, quien es directora de la Fundación Amy Gillett, creada en memoria de la pistard asesinada en 2005, cuando un conductor adolescente se estrelló contra el equipo femenino de Australia, mientras entrenaban en Alemania. La organización aboga por condiciones más seguras para los ciclistas de Australia.
Pertenecen además a la comisión la alcaldesa de Copenhague, Pia Allerslev, Patrick François, presidente de la AEC (Asociación Europea Cyclosport) y Tim Blumenthal, presidente de la asociación estadounidense, People For Bikes.
La UCI por fin afirma que “considera que su misión debe ser más amplia que simplemente la defensa del deporte de élite. Además, debe asociarse con aquellos que abogan por mejores condiciones que muevan a más personas a usar la bici para desplazarse por cualquier razón, ya sea deporte, ocio, salud o como un modo de transporte”. Tal parece que fueran palabras del “evangelio” de 30 Días en Bici. Aleluyah!!!
También puso de relieve un comentario hecho por el director ejecutivo del Tour de Francia, Yann Le Moenner, quien dijo que “si no hacemos frente a problemas de seguridad vial, en 50 años no habrá Tour”.
De acuerdo con el órgano rector, tres áreas principales de interés de la nueva comisión son:
Facilitar el acceso de los niños al uso de la bicicleta
Promover la inversión en infraestructuras para el uso cotidiano y deportivo de la bicicleta.
Impulsar mejoras en la seguridad vial para superar las barreras a la bicicleta.
Gaudry dijo en la Conferencia VCG2014 que “El futuro de nuestro gran deporte mundial depende de una base sana y un sector de ciclismo vibrante”. Y añadió “En colaboración con los demás, queremos hacer nuestra contribución a la aceptación, el crecimiento y la sostenibilidad de la comunidad ciclista”.
Presidente de la UCI Brian Cookson dijo que “Los temas que abordaremos a través de esta área de nuestro trabajo son relevantes para todo el mundo que monta una bicicleta, ya sean ganador del Tour de Francia, un corredor aficionado o alguien que va en bici al trabajo. “Necesitamos carreteras seguras para pedalear, inversión pública en el ciclismo y políticas para alentar a todos los niños a andar en bicicleta”.
Hay que decir que la VCG2014 no fue bien recibida por todos en Adelaida… hubo un evidente enojo entre “los automovilistas atrapados en los atascos de tráfico” en el distrito central de negocios de la ciudad el miércoles por la mañana cuando 500 ciclistas participaron en la Big Bike Ride Brekky.
Velo-city_Global_2010_ParadeVelo-city es organizado por la Federación Europea de Ciclistas (ECF) y la conferencia del próximo año se celebrará en la ciudad francesa de Nantes.
Puede encontrar más detalles sobre los temas tratados en la conferencia de este año aquí.
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b0c3ff3f53e4c6a8be5677245&id=9f737a2bad
http://gijonenbici.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/la-uci-promovera-la-bicicleta-como-forma-de-movilidad/
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La motomaleta, último invento chino
Publicado por Alejandro Alonso el Vie, 30/05/2014 - 10:38.
Un agricultor chino ha inventado la motomaleta, un vehículo que funciona a la vez como moto y como equipaje. Motor eléctrico, 20 km/h de velocidad máxima y una autonomía de 60 km son sus prestaciones más destacadas... ¡y su capacidad como maleta!
Motomaleta
La motomaleta ha sido inventada por un agricultor chino con pocas pero suficientes nociones de tecnología.
El ingenio nos sigue sorprendiendo. Un agricultor chino llamado He Liang, ha desarrollado una motomaleta. Lo que lees. Después de 10 años de desarrollo e investigación, ha tenido como resultado un vehículo que alcanza 20 km/h, con llave de contacto, manillar, depósito y otras funcionalidades típicas de una moto.
Lo mejor es que al fin y al cabo se trata de una maleta y puede funcionar como equipaje. ¿Te imaginas llegar al aeropuerto montado en tu equipaje y facturar la motomaleta? También tiene un GPS integrado. Y todo ello diseñado por un agricultor que sólo fue a la escuela primaria.
Esta motomaleta, ya patentada y conocida comercialmente como El Tronco, puede transportar a dos personas y su motor eléctrico tiene una autonomía de entre 50 y 60 km.
He Liang ha afirmado que la motomaleta es muy estable gracias a sus tres ruedas y es muy fácil de manejar. En Moto1Pro ya estamos pensando en probarla...
http://www.clubmoto1.com/actualidad/noticias/la-motomaleta-ultimo-invento-chino
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