Jeffco Officials on Board with Mass Transit After Sept 07 Denver Trip

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2007/09/jeffco_trio_touts_regional_tra.html

Letters, Faxes, and E-mail

"Letters, faxes, and e-mail"
Birmingham News, May 13th, 2007
http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1179074724313810.xml&coll=2

"Different consultants, different plan for 280"
by Hannah Wolfson in the Birmingham News
May 3rd, 2007
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2007/05/different_consultants_differen.html

"280 Plan has trees, low speed"
by Hannah Wolfson for the Birmingham News
Friday, May 4th, 2007
http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1178266582323500.xml&coll=2

"Lack of unity imperil plans, experts say"
by Ginny McDonald for the Birmingham News
Saturday, May 5th, 2007

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1178353011112420.xml&coll=2

"Must not stall on U.S. 280 - Pipeline or parkway?"
by Tom Scarritt for the Birmingham News
Sunday, May 6th, 2007
http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1178439697247430.xml&coll=2

Will Slow & Steady Win 280 Pace?

http://bhamweekly.com/blog/2007/05/07/will-slow-and-steady-win-280-pace/

News, Opinion

April 20, 2007
"Progress 280 Gives Thumbs Up to Elevated Lanes
on Eastern Part of U.S. 280"
By Kelli Hewett Taylor, Birmingham News staff writer
The Progress 280 Task Force on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend the state continue research on building elevated lanes on U.S. 280 from Interstate 459 to Double Oak Mountain but delay further action on elevated lanes on the west side of I-459....
http://blog.al.com/hoover/2007/04/progress_280_gives_thumbs_up_t.html

April 19, 2007
"280 Road Trip"
By Phillip Jordan and Kyle Whitmire, Birmingham Weekly
If you've got time (and can beat the traffic), be at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center at 2 p.m. The Progress 280 Task Force is expected to offer its long-awaited recommendation after hearing a final report on community support for elevated lanes above Highway 280. The word is that the very vocal opposition along the Jefferson County stretch of 280 has spared those communities from Alabama's omnipresent answer to sprawl – more roads! However, the task force's consultant, Florida-based Linda Figg, says enough Shelby County residents want the double-decker along their five miles to go ahead and fire up those ALDOT engines. Admiral David Farragut may have been a Yankee (from Tennessee, no less – how did that happen?), but we bet he'd enjoy making this call: "Damn mass transit! Road contractors, full speed ahead!) Anyways, if you've got a dog in the race, be sure to show up and see if the task force indeed decides to do this thing halfway....
http://www.bhamweekly.com/2007/04/19/news-280-road-trip/

Tour de 280 Walk-a-Thon/5K Fun Run

Why?

To help fund the Glatting Jackson study of alternatives to an elevated Highway 280 and to raise awareness of the importance of this issue

When?
Sunday, April 29th, 2:00PM

The Tour de 280 Walk-a-Thon/5K Fun Run, organized by Gravlee Fitness, was held in the historic neighborhood of Homewood and the shopping district of Mountain Brook Village. The race/walk allowed participants to see why this area should not be damaged by the construction of an elevated highway.

Roads Chief: Elevated 280 May Not Be Possible

http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2007/03/26/daily10.html?f=et53&hbx=e_du

Removing Urban Freeways

United States | Op-Ed | Transportation

19 March 2007 - 9:30am

Author: Charles Siegel http://www.planetizen.com/node/23300

"Instead of reducing congestion, the freeways encouraged people to move to remote suburbs and drive long distances to work and to shopping, increasing traffic dramatically. One study found that, five years after a major freeway project is completed in California, 95% of the new capacity fills up with traffic that would not have existed if the freeway had not been built¹.

The freeways also blighted the older parts of our cities."

See also, "Removing Freeways-Restoring Cities - The Movement Has Begun!"

http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/

Musings on Bham's 280 by a California Native

Can’t go around it, can’t go under it, don’t want to go over it…

February 7th, 2007

Like the camp song says, “can’t go around it”… “can’t go under it”… “can’t go over it”. On the subject of Highway 280’s congestion problems, some want to “go over it”. Personally, I think it’s best to improve our way THROUGH IT....

http://curtispalmer.wordpress.com/2007/02/07/elevatedhighway280/

Reclaiming Urbanism and Revitalizing Cities

America's twentieth century highway building era included elevated freeways which cut huge swaths across our cities, decimating neighborhoods and reducing quality of life for city residents. This massive concrete infrastructure had devastating effects on urban economies. It blighted adjacent property and pushed access to basic amenities further out. With the Federal and State Departments of Transportation confronting shrinking budgets and cities looking for ways to increase their revenues, it is an ideal time to offer less expensive, urban alternatives to the reconstruction of urban expressways.

New York City, Portland, San Francisco, Milwaukee and Seoul, South Korea have confronted this problem by replacing elevated highways with boulevards, saving billions of dollars and increasing real estate values and economic development on adjacent land. The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) believe that teardowns offer an attractive option for cities struggling with aging highway infrastructure. The strategies are proving themselves in adding value and restoring urban neighborhoods decimated by highway construction.

"The Highwaymen"

Why you could soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers, and Spanish builders for the privilege of driving on American roads.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/01/highwaymen?page=1