Grieve-Smith on Transportation

Last year, some of us in the Queens Committee of Transportation Alternatives thought that it would be useful to have bike racks near subway and railroad stations so that people could ride to the the train without having to bring their bikes on board. That has now come to pass:

Last week I saw that the DOT had installed a brand new bike rack at the foot of the stairs on the 52nd Street station. Here's another view:

I thought this was great, but where it really seems like it would make the biggest difference is by the 61st Street station where people can ride to the express train or the Long Island Rail Road. Guess what I found when I was there a few days ago?

If you are also happy to see this, you might want to contact the DOT and thank them for installing these racks!

Lanes will be set aside for these mass transit modes in order to decrease congestion downtown.

Circulation à Bamako : BIENTÔT UN ANNEAU SOTRAMA ET UN COULOIR BUS. L. DIARRA, May 7, 2008.

The scene takes place in the area around the Finance Ministry. An argument breaks out between a driver and a motorcyclist. The two men come to blows after having exchanged harsh words. Police were forced to separate the two combatants. When a fight breaks out in the middle of traffic, the causes are not hard to guess. Lack of respect for the traffic rules brings about an angry reaction from others, and the gloves come off.

In a few months this kind of scene, today so common in the streets of the capital, should be just a bad memory for Bamakois. A new traffic plan named "Minibus Ring and Busway on the Boulevard du Peuple" is being prepared under the Transportation Sector Project Phase 2 (PST2). This ambitious project, which will be completed over the next four years, has a budget of 52.5 billion CFA francs [$114 million US], jointly financed by the World Bank and the government of Mali.

The plan was to the media by the Department of Infrastructure and Transportation last week in the conference room of DFA Communication. The press conference was led by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, Hamed Diane Séméga, accompanied by National Highway Administrator Issa Assimi Diallo, Land, Sea and River Transportation Director Djibril Tall, and PST2 Project Coordinator Tiémoko Yéro Koné. Other notable attendees were the governor of the Bamako District, Ibrahima Féfé Koné and representatives of unions and groups representing drivers and transportation companies.

The PST2 plan demonstrates the will of those in power to improve the transportation sector. It solidifies the common view that the government and the World Bank are coming to share with regards to the development of the transportation sector in our country. The PST2 will support the quality transportation services offered to rural and urban communities by improving key segments of the infrastructure.

The multifaceted approach of the PST2 brings in the agriculture, urban and rural development sectors. According to Minister Séméga, it has the potential to change the face of Bamako. "This project is dear to our hearts, given the frustration of traffic jams in the city," he said. Some of the major avenues downtown will be rebuilt to accommodate demand. He indicated that the movement of private vehicles will be structured so as to limit its negative impact on quality of life.

According to the coordinator of the PST2, Tiémoko Yéro Koné, the project involves three major sections. Costing slightly more than two billion CFA francs [$4.3 million US], Section A will improve access to rural areas in order to promote rural development and agro-industrial activities.

Section B aims to develop part of the urban transportation system in Bamako in order to support urban activities and regional growth. Meanwhile, Section C targets all activities relative to logistical and institutional support for the completion of the project and the subsequent evaluation.

With more than six billion CFA francs [$13 million US], Section B will create a 1.2 kilometer exclusive bus corridor along the Boulevard du Peuple. The Sotrama minibuses will have access to a 3.8 kilometer ring that is already being presented on several informational signs around the capital. Sidewalks and passageways will be built to help pedestrians and minibus passengers reach the downtown area. Two overpasses will allow pedestrians to cross the main minibus routes.

The coordinator assured attendees that "There will be no demolitions, only improvements. In the worst case scenario, it will be public buildings affected. In all cases, the improvements will be made on existing corridors." Land, Sea and River Transportation Director Djibril Tall explained that, "The goal we have in mind is the improvement of traffic in our capital. We have an obligation to show the drivers and transportation companies that the project is in no way designed to put anyone out of business."

The department, in the context of its mission to extend its activities to other sectors, has begun to develop a set of complementary improvements for the 2008-2012 period that will involve road, rail, air and river transportation.

Decentralized cooperation: our capital will soon have its streetcar line. The French company Lohr, based in Strasbourg, will construct it.

Translohr in Padua. Photo by Ambrosiana Pictures (G) / Flickr.

Coopération décentralisée : Bientôt une ligne de tramway à Bamako, A. Doumbia, L'Essor, April 14, 2009.

A signing ceremony for two agreements towards this goal was held by Malian head of state Amadou Toumani Touré. The initiative is part of the cooperation framework that has been established between France and our country. The signing took place in the Koulouba palace, in the presence of government ministers and the French ambassador to Mali, Michel Reveyrand De Menthon.

The first agreement was signed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, Ahmed Diane Séméga, and the representative of the Lohr Industrie corporation, Jean François Argence, for the delivery of the equipment. This was the first step in what will be the first streetcar line in Bamako, which the French representatives explained would be compatible with the particular requirements of the District and its population. In fact, Strasbourg has not only a streetcar network but also a factory that produces streetcars.

Bamako is currently grappling with three problems: health, urban mobility and urbanization. The city is modernizing, but improvements are lagging. The other accord, within the decentralized cooperation framework, signed between the mayor of the District, Adama Sangaré, and his counterpart from Strasbourg, Senator Roland Ries, was aimed at improving the existing physical plant and bringing modern infrastructure to the District.

Mr. Ries, who is on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, thanked President Touré for the warm welcome he had shown the delegation from Strasbourg. He announced that the agreement had already been ratified by the Strasbourg city council. He reminded the audience that Strasbourg has extensive experience in public transit that it wants to make available to our country.

President Touré explained that Bamako's transportation needs are constantly growing. "We will no longer be satisfied with minibuses and other mass transit vehicles. This is why I wanted to bring a streetcar line to the District. The city of Strasbourg, which generously agreed to a preliminary technical consultation, wants to give its best to ensure our satisfaction," he enthused. Mr. Touré expects to double energy production here by 2012 to power the tramway.

A note on cooperation: many French towns have sister-city agreements with cities here. The relationship between Angers and Bamako, for example, is long-lasting. President Touré wants to guide the country towards a more open form of partnership. He observed with pleasure that the decentralized cooperation between our two countries is very dynamic.

Photo by Craig James

I was chatting with a friend today about long-distance travel. I mentioned how I've taken a number of overnight bus, train and ferry trips, and he told me about bus travel in his home country of Argentina. Turns out that there are several classes of bus travel there, and the highest class, "cama suite," is pretty swanky. (Cama is Spanish for bed.) The overnight buses have seats that fold down completely horizontal, with lots of room (three across), attendants, full meals and "lots of alcohol."

I went home and researched it, and everything I've found confirms Antonio's account. There are lots of reports from English-speaking travelers in Argentina, complete with photos, like the one by American tourist Craig James, who took the photo of "full cama" service above. Craig's daughter Caroline was less impressed by the "semi-cama" service on a subsequent leg of their trip.

More details can be found on the websites of the several for-profit bus companies, such as Expreso Alberino. That's right, several for-profit bus companies: according to the handy Omnilineas website, the popular Buenos Aires-Bariloche route is handled by at least five different companies, with prices ranging from about $60 to $90 US.

I'm seriously wondering about the economic factors that allow companies to profitably run such luxurious bus service, but somehow prevent planes, trains and private cars from taking all the business. And how this fits in with the results of the National Geographic Greendex survey that ranked Argentines as some of the greenest people in the world (PDF), except for the amount of beef they consume.

Could we ever see something like that here in the US? Well, we do have the LimoLiner between New York and Boston. That has seen mixed reviews, but seems to be doing well, having recently added service to Hartford. However, it's only a five-hour trip (max); as far as I know there's nothing similar for overnight trips. Maybe someone should try a NYC-Chicago or NYC-Atlanta run?

Photo by Mary Teresa Giancoli, Crisma Imaging

In May, Cap'n Transit highlighted this quote from J.H. Crawford:

Once the last car disappears from the street, it becomes a playground for people of all ages. This can be seen any day in Venice or Fes. Peace, safety and tranquility settle over the street, and a rich and vibrant social life takes the place of the stink, noise, and danger of cars.

This playground can now be seen on Governor's Island. On Sunday we went with some friends to visit the island; one friend wanted to hear Judy Collins perform.

We had last been to the island in 2003, when it was first opened to the public. It's a lot friendlier now. The ferry is relatively frequent and fast - except when it has to take on a full load of passengers on a weekend evening. Many of the houses have been turned into art exhibition spaces, and there is a creatively designed miniature golf course. There are multiple vendors of food and drink. These are especially necessary because the supply of potable water appears to have gone away with the coast guard.

Most excitingly, there are bike rentals. This gave me and my son the opportunity to ride a bike at the same time. We haven't done it in Queens because I don't feel safe with him on a bike unless I'm on foot to give him my full attention. On Governor's Island, for $30 an hour a friend and I were able to rent a two-person surrey. It had seats for our kids in the front, and they loved it. We rode around the entire island in half an hour, and spent the other half hour visiting various sights along the way.

What is especially nice is that there are almost no motor vehicles on the island. Judy Collins's equipment van was there, and a few other trucks for carrying large loads. There are several electric vehicles, including a few bus kinda things that seated about fifteen people, and shuttled them to far points on the island. The entire National Park Service appears to be suffering from severe muscle atrophy, since they seemed to be incapable of going five feet without getting into electric golf carts. On the whole, they were pretty easy to ignore, though.

Once we ignored them, what a feeling! In pretty much any park in the country, if you're on a path that's wide enough, you can't escape the feeling that some self-important jerk will want you to move out of the way at short notice so he can trim some hedges or deliver a load of charcoal briquets. On Governor's Island, we could walk all over without worrying about that. We could ride the surrey around the island and go as slow as we wanted without the possibility of being rear-ended by two tons of metal.

We had that peace, safety and tranquility, and that vibrant social life, that Crawford describes. Now that's demotorization!