So my husband gave me and our daughter an epic Christmas present - tickets on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train from Portland, Oregon down to Los Angeles. Here's what to expect if you want to try it, in my latest for the Perceptive Travel Blog:
Excited to announce the release of {stplanr} v1.2.0, on CRAN and beyond 🎉
Key feature: new implementation of rnet_join(), allowing fast+flexible merging of route network datasets, leveraging {rsgeo} which has a fast (~1000x faster than {lwgeom}) #RustLang backend 🔥
Many people to thank for this release 🙏
It's been almost 8 years since {stplanr} v0.01 was released to support #DataScience tools for #Transportation planning. The first major use case was the Propensity to Cycle Tool 🚲 now publicly available at https://pct.bike
It’s an unpopular opinion among EV purists, but I think hybrids will reduce a lot more carbon emissions than BEVs, for the simple reason that way more people can switch. Even without access to charging outlets, hybrids are far more efficient thanks to their regenerative braking. With access to outlets, they are as good as EVs within their electric range, which will account for most of the daily commutes of their owners, and all with far smaller batteries and better costs of ownership than BEVs.
The way to eliminate emissions due to personal transportation is not to put people in BEVs. It’s to eliminate commutes and massively invest in (electrified) public transportation.
Going car-free for #EarthDay shouldn't be a difficult challenge for anyone. Nobody should be forced to drive to meet their daily needs. If you can't #LeaveTheCarAtHome due to your govt's misplaced priorities in #transportation spending, call your mayor and governor about it. It's not just land use and #parking policy that keeps people driving, it's the billions we spend maintaining deadly #stroads.
Norway goes big: company orders world's largest hydrogen ships:
-Two ferries carrying 120 cars & 599 pax each on NO's longest route
-6.4MW fuel cells, running on locally produced H2
-Deliveries on 2026
Thank you to everyone that is addressing the reality we’re increasingly faced with - a system that destroys our future. The #climate crisis is here. We have to stop the insanity of believing in trickle-down economics and imagine with open-mindedness a different way of doing things
5 Essential Strong Towns Articles
Strong Towns
January 31, 2017
...If you're just joining Strong Towns (or even if you've been following us for a while), there are some important articles you may have missed that we really think you should read. They include some of the foundational thinking that led to the Strong Towns movement, and they continue to speak to our goals today.
Take 10 minutes (or 30) to dive into some of these important stories. We guarantee you'll come away with new ideas for how to make your town stronger: