CitiesGoGreen - October 2008 - (Page 7) In Motion Streetcars in Boise, ID Cleaner than buses, cheaper than light rail, and perhaps locally affordable, the allure of streetcars is growing. Streetcars can be a good fit for cities emphasizing mixed-use development and trying to deal with transportation issues. “People all the time approach me and say, ‘Mayor, give me an alternative, get me out of my car,’ “ said Boise Mayor Dave Bieter in a recent State of the City address. Now, Boise is one of about 80 cities considering adding or returning trolleys to their urban landscapes, following the example of cities like Portland, Tampa and Little Rock. “The attractiveness of it for us is that we could potentially do it without federal funding, without state funding and in a reasonable amount of time,” Bieter said, as quoted in the Boise Weekly, referring to the possibility of a Local Improvement District to finance the project, in combination with existing federal planning grants. Photo courtesy Hillsborough Area Regional Transit The permanent nature of a tracked system could give those who own land along the route incentive to help finance the project through an LID, and which would also efficiently double Boise’s capacity. This streetcar is in Tampa, FL. Dancing in the Streets Comments and additional materials at CitiesGoGreen.com Religion and the Environment The badly polluted Ganges River is sacred to the Hindu faith. Priests daily and ritually touch, bathe in, and drink the water, exposing themselves to diseases (typhoid, jaundice, dysentery and polio) and a toxic chemical stew. Two Hindu holy men are demanding action, according to the TimesOnline. With followers in the millions, including prominent industrialists, they say agitation will take a “fierce turn,” with mass protests and political ruin unless action is taken before the general election in May. Taking another approach, Veer Bhadra Mishra, retired professor of hydraulics and hereditary high priest of a Varanasi temple, has secured a pilot project for his plan. Developed with experts from UC Berkeley, gravity-fed lagoons would use bacteria, algae and sunlight to clean wastewater. According to the Christian Science Monitor, he hopes the approach will become a model and replace the expensive and ineffective wastewater plants created over the last 23 years. The Ganges River is a focus for clean-up. Ciclovias (“cycle ways”) began in Bogotá, Columbia some 30 years ago as an inexpensive way to promote walking and bicycling. Cities throughout Latin America, Europe and in the US from San Francisco to Baltimore now invite people onto car-free streets to walk, bike, run, dance, and just have a good time. These popular events may include free classes in dancing, aerobics and yoga and help build community and social integration as people begin moving outside their familiar neighborhoods to mingle with others. You can get a DVD copy of the film on Bogota’s Ciclovia to help advocate for it in your city. Email Lily Bernheimer at info@ streetfilms.org with your address. Mayor Sheila Dixon of Baltimore, MD, which will launch its version, called Summer Streets, this October. October 2008 © Gaylna Andrushko - Fotolia.com 7 http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/streetcars-in-boise-id http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/dancing-in-the-streets http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/religion-and-the-environment http://citiesgogreen.com
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