New blog post! What's the future of Ballarat's bike network? https://the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-future-of-ballarats-bike-network.html

I was equal parts delighted and disappointed to find this in a bookstore the other day. Delighted because it's exactly the kind of travel book I love...disappointed because I've been planning and fantasising about doing almost exactly this trip, and documenting it, for many years - and evidently I've been beaten to the punch 🙁
Looking forward to reading it anyway!

The cycling network proposed for Somerville, Massachusetts looks pretty ambitious. I'm generally pretty skeptical about the use of one-way protected lanes, but aside from that it looks a very comprehensive, high-quality, well-connected network - most people should be within a few hundred metres of a safe route.
I'm not familiar with the area, but I do note it's quite close to downtown Boston and directly surrounded by Tufts, MIT, and Harvard, so perhaps a high student population helps? Pretty great stuff in a North American context, regardless.
https://www.somervillema.gov/news/somerville-reinforces-commitment-safer-streets
#cycling

The dollar amount isn't huge, but I'm so pleased to see the federal government investing in walking and cycling infrastructure! It's sorely needed to reduce emissions, and the feds should be prioritising this (and rail) over highways. https://thedriven.io/2024/05/07/on-your-bike-take-a-hike-active-transport-paths-get-100m-budget-boost/

New blog post! Taking a look at some more Ballarat cycling projects, including the Yarrowee River Connections and the Macarthur Street upgrade that is currently open for feedback: https://the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2024/05/more-ballarat-cycling-projects.html

It's good to see the government (and an academic) FINALLY calling out the BS nature of the Liberals' PBO costings for the Suburban Rail Loop.
But with so many pundits uncritically repeating the $200 billion figure for the last 18 months, and the government failing to challenge it that whole time, I fear that number's too firmly embedded in the public consciousness to dislodge https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/voters-won-t-know-suburban-rail-loop-cost-until-after-2026-election-20240313-p5fc4a.html

TIL: they've already started through-running (some) Sunbury Line trains to Pakenham, in advance of the Metro Tunnel opening

My take on the Federal government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standards https://the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-new-vehicle-efficiency-standards.html #EVs #climate