The Burgh, Part 2

You won't see me criticizing Pittsburgh very much on this blog, but there's one thing that's been on my mind lately. One thing that Pittsburgh needs for its transformation into a truly world class city is a functional and highly developed light rail system.

For whomever is unaware, the city does have a light rail system called the "T", but it is mediocre at best. It runs about 20 miles from the Southern suburbs to Station square, crosses the Monongahela River, and goes underground for a few stations downtown. The Port Authority has been working on an extension to the line to go from the Gateway center station through a tunnel bored under the Allegheny river, and coming above ground for two new stations at PNC park and Heinz Field.

This decision to extend it to the stadiums was a perfect example of the poor transportation planning that we see so much of in the states. According to gmaps pedometer, the walk from the Gateway center station (in downtown) to PNC park, across the Allegheny River, is half a mile, or about 10 minutes at a normal pace. But for political and financial reasons, the Port Authority decided to lobby the federal and state governments for hundreds of millions of dollars to dig a tunnel for a half mile line under the Allegheny, and the project is well underway. Turns out that the project is way over budget--from an original estimate of $350 million to over $550 million, according to the Post-Gazette.

It baffles me why anyone would think that a link to the stadiums would be more important than a line to the airport or to Oakland (the transportation, educational, and medical hub for the city). In transportation planning, it's all about reducing VMT, or vehicle miles traveled. The point of having a light rail system is to get people to where they need to go without having to rely on an automobile for transportation. It can be seen as a way of social and environmental justice--cleaner air for city residents, and the opportunity for poorer folks (or anyone else) to get around without having to pay the high costs for a car. A rail line out to the airport or Oakland would dramatically reduce VMT, not to mention the fact that it would be incredibly convenient. Sadly, the line across the river will have little effect on reducing automobile usage in the city.

It turns out that this planning decision was a result of local politics, just like how the poor planning decisions--or lack of decisions--in Atlanta are usually a result of state politics. I won't expand upon it here, but you can check out this article..it explains exactly what went wrong.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09074/955761-52.stm

The silver lining about this entire thing is that the port authority, governor, and media realize that it was an awful decision. We can only hope that more money will become available in the near future for some transit that will actually help the city and make other places envy our excellent public transportation system.

New and Exciting forms of Transportation

I wrote earlier about how I decided to sell my car over the summer. I've now been carless for half a year and it was a great decision. One of the most interesting parts of not having a car is coming up with other ways of transporting yourself. Although Atlanta isn't the most walkable city, it is very possible to live here and not own a car. The weather is nice enough and the terrain is flat enough that walking, biking, and public transportation are pretty legitimate options for transportation.

The first few months of being carless, I relied almost entirely on my bicycle and ZipCar, which is a car-sharing service available in most major cities. But then I realized how efficient and useful a scooter could be, so I decided to buy one. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was a good decision or not. But it's a perfect way of getting around the city. It's got a basket and everything. Perfect for running errands or going grocery shopping. Also, it gets about 70 mpg, and I don't have to spend $600 for a GT parking permit. I can park the thing wherever I want! No registration, no insurance, no motorcycle license required because it's under 50cc. And there's room for a passenger. This is usually what I look like when I'm riding it around:



Also, Grey and I decided to build a tandem bike from 2 vintage road bikes that we found on craigslist. This thing took a ton of time and effort to build, and it's still not complete. But at the moment it's rideable. I'd say it's the definition of a franken-bike--we used 3 frames, various parts from other bikes, tires and wheels from my bike, and brakes from Grey's bike. So neither of our personal bikes is rideable at the moment, but it's alright because we have an incredible homemade tandem. Onward to the pictures.


This was when we still had 2 frames..trying to get the spacing right before welding.

Our roommate Clayton helped with cutting and welding. He did a great job.
"Best Friends for Life". Molly was the head decorator/painter.

Lots and lots of clearcoat.

Working at the local bike co-operative, Sopo.

Coming together, but still missing a few things.

We turned our hallway into a bike workshop.

This is the current state of the tandem. It's definitely a head-turner.

It's impossible to be upset while riding a tandem, or a scooter with a basket on the back. Two-wheeled transportation is the way to go!

To Shoot or Not to Shoot

I've been thinking lately about some things that I'd like to experience in my life but haven't gotten a chance to yet. If you know me you might be a little surprised by this, but I really have the desire to go hunting at least once. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, hunting was a big deal to a lot of people. There was always a pretty noticeable amount of my friends missing from school on the first day of hunting season, and I always got a chance to eat some deer jerky later on in the season.

Nowadays we are so far removed from our food that most of the time we don't even think about where it came from. Some people may think of this as a good thing, but I think it's one of the major downfalls of having a highly industrialized food industry. Our food is not something to be taken for granted, and one of the reasons I don't eat a lot of meat anymore is because I really have no idea where it came from or how the animals were treated. Fruits and vegetables aren't a big deal because anyone can grow them in their back yard, but meat is a different story. I have a feeling that if everyone could see the industrialized and non-regulated process of turning a cow into a McDonald's hamburger, the beef industry would be absolutely screwed. Veggie burgers for everyone! Yum.

Anyways, I would think of my hunting experience as kind of an emotional experiment. I've never seen an animal die in order to become someone's food. I wonder if I would feel happy after shooting a deer or a boar or a turkey. I'm sure that after a day of waiting outside in the freezing cold for even the slightest glimpse of an animal, I would feel relieved at finally getting one. Maybe I would feel remorseful and upset that I took the life of another creature. I wonder if it would make me feel more thankful about getting the opportunity to eat meat, rather than taking for granted our seemingly endless source of factory-farmed meat. Regardless, I would feel a thousand times better about eating a wild animal that I killed rather than one that comes pre-marinated in some shrink wrap in the meat section of Kroger.

So someone please take me hunting, and I'll let everyone know what it's like to actually feel connected to my food.

The Burgh, Part 1

It has really been a while since I updated. My apologies. I've been spending the summer so far either working at Newcomb & Boyd or outside enjoying (and sweating in) the hot Georgia summer. I just got back yesterday from a trip to Pittsburgh, a place I rarely get to see anymore. I'm beginning to realize that my love for the city grows more and more each time I go back. Maybe it's the nostalgia that many people feel for their hometown after they have been gone for a while. That definitely has something to do with it, but there are a couple other reasons in my case. This may seem kind of superficial, but Pittsburgh's recent sports success has made me even more loyal and proud of the city.

I'm sure you all know that this past year both the Steelers and the Penguins won championships in their respective sports. This may not seem like a big deal to most people, but for a Pittsburgher, it's like winning the lottery. When Santonio and Big Ben held up the Lombardi Trophy for millions around the country to see, it was as if we as Pittsburghers were also up there, proudly holding that trophy for everyone to see. It was the same way with Sidney Crosby and the Stanley Cup. I felt as if I were right next to him drinking champagne out of that big shiny Cup. And I'm not even that big of a hockey fan compared to some of the people I know. Chad Hermann describes our pride at that moment of sports history so well...

"And I'd like them, if only for a moment, to consider the sustainable growth, or perhaps the community benefit, of living and sharing and carrying those moments within you, of waking up with an extra bounce in your step and what feels like a fluttering rally towel in your chest, knowing that everything you do, every last bit of work or stress you face between now and the end of the week or maybe the start of next season, will come a little easier, will carry a hop and a smile and a whole lot of buoyant, extra energy because those gritty, gutty kids just kept on working and winning and making you feel, even on the most dark and dismal of days, that you, your family, and your wonderful little corner of the world had one more thing to look forward to, to be thankful for, and now forever to celebrate, together."

I ran into Evgeni Malkin (#71 for the Pens) in the Atlanta airport the other day, and I was so starstruck that I didn't even know how to react. I knew that I had to say something to him to congratulate him and the Penguins for their championship, but I ended up stumbling over my words while saying something along the lines of "nice job Geno..we're proud of you!" I think I spoke so quickly that he didn't really understand what I was saying. Poor Russian. It's funny that he can walk all over the Atlanta airport and no one will know who he is, but as soon as he walks up to the gate for the Pittsburgh flight, people are smiling at him and congratulating him right and left. Instant celebrity status.

It was an incredible season for the Penguins and made me so proud to call Pittsburgh my hometown. Nice job Geno.

Five down, four to go

Last week I finished up my fifth semester at Georgia Tech, and it ended up being the best semester that I've had since I've been in college. It was not only the best grade-wise, but also the most well-rounded and worthwhile semester so far. 

Most of you know that last fall I got involved in a student organization on campus called Environmental Alliance. I hadn't been involved in any real organizations until then and i decided that it was about time to get involved in the campus. By the time spring semester came around, I got drawn further and further into the organization and ended up being deeply involved in almost every environmental event and made contacts with some of the most important people at Georgia Tech. I felt like if I wasn't at class or doing homework, I was at some kind of meeting with Housing, Facilities, RHA, Recycling, or SGA. It was almost too much to handle at times.

Why does all of this matter? I think the key to success in college or in the real world is to find a cause that you care about and become passionately involved in it. Whether it's the environment, human rights, volunteer work, charity, the arts, or anything else that ultimately helps to make the world a better place--it adds more of a meaning to your life. It gave me the motivation to keep working hard in my classes.

At this point in my college career, I have no idea how I made it through past semesters without being involved in some sort of organization. The monotonous nature of Georgia Tech's course curriculum (especially for engineering) seems like it's enough to drive a student to madness without something else to balance it out. One of the things that GT needs drastic improvement on is overall balance of it. As a science and math school, it should require students to take at least one humanities or arts course each semester. The amount of science and engineering classes that they make us take is borderline ridiculous. There's no way for us to become well-rounded people who can contribute to society without having a balanced curriculum. This doesn't just apply to math and science-related majors--liberal arts majors should be taking plenty of science and math courses as well.

We students need to become more involved in the world around us. Next semester I'll try to dedicate even more of my time to sustainability initiatives at Tech and in Atlanta. We made some big steps last semester with the overall sustainability of Georgia Tech, but it still has a long way to go. And as you can tell from my last couple posts, I'm really excited about the direction that the city of Atlanta is moving in. The Beltline keeps progressing and I really want EAGT (my organization) to get more involved in the community by volunteering for the Beltline initiative. Something else that I'd like to get involved in is Engineers Without Borders. With so many things going on around me that I'm interested in, I couldn't think of a better time to be a college student.

Critical Mass

On the last Friday of every month, people organize an event in every major city called a Critical Mass. It's a group of people, anywhere from a couple dozen to several thousand, that take over the city streets on their bicycles. They stop traffic and ride around the city in order to raise awareness for bicycling. Since I'm selling my car soon and getting more and more into biking, I decided to participate in Atlanta's Critical Mass with a couple friends. 

The Atlanta CM website said that they start meeting at 6pm at Woodruff park, which is right smack in the middle of downtown Atlanta. We headed down there from campus right around 6 and waited for about 30 minutes as bikers poured in from all directions. It was a beautiful day and the park had a celebratory atmosphere. By 6:45, there were several hundred bikers of all different shapes and sizes scattered around the park. I noticed so many different kinds of people: young, old, gay, straight, black, white, asian..even a guy riding a GIANT purple unicycle. Not to mention I got a chance to meet a local celebrity (sorta): Angel Poventud. And yes, he was wearing the same green dress that he's wearing in that picture.

The guy in the green dress yelled out "MASS UP!" and everyone got together and started biking. We rode the length of Peachtree Street from downtown to the south edge of Buckhead, through Tech's campus, up to Piedmont Park and through Virginia Highlands, and ended up in Little 5 Points. I felt like I was involved in a giant celebration of Fridays and Bicycles. Wherever we rode, people came out of their houses and restaurants and waved to us. The frat houses at Tech held up a sign that said something like 'You honk and we drink'. And even though we didn't have horns, I still saw them drink a lot of beer. Even drivers didn't seem that upset that we blocked up traffic along some of the busiest roads in Atlanta. Most of them just had a confused look on their faces. It's not every day that you see hundreds of bicyclists riding down Peachtree Street. 

I can see how a lot of people dislike the idea of a Critical Mass. It's a great idea to promote bicycles and to make Atlanta a more bike-friendly city, but it seems like CM might give cyclists a negative image around the city because we were blatantly violating traffic signals. It might not be a great thing if it happened more than once a month, but I'm all in favor for designating one day for the cyclists to take over the streets and not have to worry about the constant threat of cars. It seemed like the police were pretty supportive, or at least neutral, to the whole event because I didn't notice a large presence anywhere along the route. I look at the whole thing as a celebration and not a protest. And I'm all for celebrations.

I overheard one of the other bikers saying that being involved in CM is like turning Atlanta into a giant park. We had the ability to bike down some roads that I would never even dream of biking down because of the ridiculous traffic flow. We got the chance to see the city in a way that I've never seen it before. I felt like I was actually a part of a community because I wasn't shut away from the rest of the world in a car. I'm free to see all the people and places that make Atlanta such a unique city. Hopefully more people become involved in it in the future and our numbers grow from several hundred to several thousand. Can't wait until Critical Mass next month!

Two Sides of Atlanta

I went on a bike ride today through the Midtown/Virginia Highlands part of Atlanta. A lot of people might not think of it as the most bike-friendly city, but parts of it are actually pretty good. When you first drive into the city on one of the highways, it looks like a sprawling mess of roads and skyscrapers. It has some of the widest and most congested roads I've ever seen in my life.You can be driving on an 18-lane highway at midnight and traffic will still get backed up. How the hell does that happen? Most of the time, people can't even walk to the grocery store. The public transportation system is sparse considering the population of the metro area. Downtown is so spread out that it doesn't even really feel like a downtown. Buckhead is so far away that it looks like a separate city. It's been rated as one of the most wasteful cities in the country. This is the image of Atlanta a lot of people have. But I'm starting to see a separate side to Atlanta that makes me very hopeful.

The neighborhoods in Midtown and VA Highlands are a great start. They're mostly small houses with little gardens on tree-lined streets, right in the middle of Atlanta. When I was biking, I felt like I was transported back in time. I saw things that you don't see much in most suburbs. Almost no cars on the streets, people walking around and biking, neighbors visiting each other, and even some little markets advertising their ice cold Cokes and old-fashioned coin laundries. All within walking/biking distance of the shops, restaurants, and office buildings of Midtown. Not to mention Piedmont park, where there's lots of space for people to take a break from the city.

A lot of condos and apartment buildings have been coming up along Peachtree street and Atlantic Station. People that live there can use MARTA, work nearby, and walk or bike almost everywhere they need to go. This is the way a city should be. There's high income housing, middle income, and lower income housing. If you live at Atlantic Station, you can go almost anywhere you want without the need for a car. There's a movie theater, grocery store, restaurants, office buildings, gym, and almost everything else within walking distance. And if it's not close by, the shuttle takes you to the nearby Arts Center MARTA station. It's the opposite of the suburban sprawl that's been eating up the entire metro area and a model of how a community should be designed.

I guess it's kind of ironic that I'm so against the idea of suburban sprawl since I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh. Being under the age of 16, there's no way to get around unless someone drives you around in his or her car. To me, the idea that I need a car to get anywhere is kind of ridiculous. That's simply not how cities should be designed. The suburbs were created as a way for people to escape the poverty and problems of the city. If there's a problem in the city, it doesn't mean that all the rich people should run away from it and have a nice house with a two-car garage while other people are suffering. They should come together and help the less fortunate people. It's too bad that this is just the way it works in America. I could go on about this, but it can wait until another post.

Back to Atlanta. Besides the new housing thats sprouting up all over the city, there are a lot of new initiatives to make it a more sustainable and people-friendly place. A couple weeks ago, the Freshman Council at Georgia Tech organized a "blackout party" in honor of Earth Hour. I was really surprised to hear that our city councilman Kwanza Hall was going to show up and talk to us. I didn't get a chance to meet and talk with him, but I really like that he showed us so much support by coming out to an event and talking to the students.

It really seems like Atlanta is committed to making itself a better and more progressive city. Every new building in both the city and on campus has to be LEED silver certified. There can't be a net loss of trees from this point on within the city limits. Downtown is aiming to be a 'zero waste' zone. The beltline initiative is gaining momentum and support from both citizens and congress. Suburban sprawl is slowing and more people are moving back to the city. Mayor Shirley Franklin is going to hire 200 new policemen. There will be an electric streetcar running up and down Peachtree Street. Georgia Tech will be reducing its energy usage by at least 15% by 2020. Trees Atlanta and other NPOs seem to be gaining more and more support by the day. Car sharing programs like ZipCar are making it possible to not own a car and still live in Atlanta, and bike lanes are popping up everywhere.

It's still no Portland or New York, but there's much more to Atlanta than meets the eye.