In testimony to the fact that china can truly make anything bigger and better comes the 100km long and 9 days running traffic jam on the road from Beijing to Huai’an in the southeast. S

A spokesman for the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau has reportedly released a statement to China’s ‘Global Times’ newspaper that the traffic jam has come about as a result of “insufficient traffic capacity… caused by maintenance construction.”  According to reports the traffic jam started on the 14th of August and could last for a while. Evidently there was another traffic jam in July that lasted for almost a month.

So next time you get frustrated because traffic delays for an hour or two, consider yourself lucky that you haven’t been stuck in a traffic jam for days!

Hopefully this encourages more people in China to leave the car at home and support public transit.  The people who  did, surprisingly enough made it to their destinations on schedule.

Read the CBC news article…

The Turcot Yards in the City of Montreal is the type of property that could be considered a city builder’s dream. Conveniently located near a number of major transportations routes, minutes from downtown,  near the new super hospital, it has it’s own wooded slope and a canal runs along side. The City of Montreal and the MTQ (Ministère des Transports du Québec) have been arguing over what to do with this space ever since its fate came into question with the reconstruction of the crumbling Turcot Exchange.  I worked on a proposal as part of a design studio to weave this space back into the city, and it follows: If you are looking for the City of Montreal’s proposal it can be found here.

The vision for the site is a development focused on healthy living and delivering better access to health facilities utilizing the McGill University Health Center as a pole in thein the development of the Turcot Quartier Eco Santé. With the construction of sucah a large development there is ample potential to make the site a center for innovation and creativity within the city of Montreal. Our emphasis on eco-city design creates an opportunity to put Montreal back on the map as a center for innovation. Our Project Coincides with the growing movement in eco-city design and we envision an opportunity to create a healthy human environment that can develop in stages depending on the needs of the residents and users themselves.

Stemming from this vision for Turcot Quartier Eco Santé, our objectives -  are to identify the site within Montreal while creating cohesion with the surrounding neighbourhoods. As the MUHC (McGill University Health Center) will cater to the entire island there is a great opportunity to conne ct both the local and regional through safe, effective and efficient transit corridors. It must also conform to the long term, sustainability – oriented vision adopted by the City of Montreal both in its Master Plan and Transport Plan, and to teh environmental vision the MTQ has set out in its own policy.

Turcot Quartier Eco Santé will not be developed like the traditional Montreal Suburb, rather it will demonstrate eco-city and sustainable development standards. The goal is to promote a development that effects how people travel in Montreal but also the way in which the urban fabric can be used. A vital goal is to incorporate various mixed use as well as mixed density and varying socio economic levels. Social and affordable housing will be combined with other types of housing, without allowing for differentiation based on design. The term Santé reflects our goal of creating a healthy human environment which promotes ecological ways of living and our goal to establish many specialized clinics in the new Quartier Santé neighbourhood in order to facilitate access to specialists and doctors working from the Mega Hospital and the local area.

In any large development there are both positive and negative aspects which may limit or enhance the development, however if we utilize all these in an equal manner just like a battery charge then the growth of the project can allow for a consistent distribution of pedestrian, transit and vehicular flows. This concept has the potential to charge the development by connecting our main concepts for green space and recreational space and thread them throughout the project in order to emphasize the potential healthy character of the site itself.

The average income in the areas surround the site are fairly typical for the Island of Montreal, excluding the highest distribution in Westmount. This allows us to stage development to attract a fair distribution of income groups while incorporating affordable and mixed housing and ideally attract those that would normally choose to reside in the suburbs. In and around the site there is a high distribution of both English and French schools, demonstrating a need to incorporate relatively few new educational facilities within the development. Access to educational facilities is however a key element in attracting families to Turcot Quartier Eco Santé and as such we envision the need for one French high school, one French elementary school and one English Elementary school. The service sheds are dependant on the proposed LRT (Light Rail Transit) station, and are measured to accomodate a 500m walking distance. The center of the sheds shall accommodate major services such as medium to large grocery stores, specialized commercial services, specialized health services, recreational services, and educational institutions.

Given a maximum estimated population for the given region of 22,000 people based on a 2.5km² area, we determined the mix of housing shown in the pie chart. Given the chosen five categories, we determined 15% social housing, 30% affordable housing, 35% middle income 10% middle high income, and 10% high income. These categories and percentages are based on socio-economic that we observed in the surrounding boroughs in Montreal, and are most logical in obtaining the largest possible population density.  A key component of the socio-economic plan is to incorporate adequate affordabel and social housing as it is currently in-high demand within the city of Montreal. Typically it is difficult to merge these housing types cohesively into the urban fabric as there is a stigma attached to housing provided for lower income residents. Mixed income areas can be considered more appealing by offering employment opportunities at a local level. For instance a portion of the residential units located above big-box stores could be affordable housign for those who are employed within those stores. Maintenance of green roofs and community gardens could also be done by those living in social housing, in order to provide gainful employment opportunities and encourage a sense of community.

Before the arrival of European settlement in Montreal, the area now known as Turcot was formerly a marshy lake know as lac St-Pierre or Lac aux Loutres (Otter Lake), which flowed into the former St-Pierre River. In 1832 the river began to be covered by engineers and it was eventually incorporated into the cities expanding wastewater and sewer system, while the shallow marshy Lac St-Pierre was drained and filled in during the construction of the Lachine canal. In the late 1800′s, the grand trunk railway established a rail yard in the area naming it the Turcot Yards. In 1923, the grand trunk railway corporation ceased to exist, and the Canadian National Railway took control of the Turcot yards and the adjacent rail lines. In the 1960′s construction began on the Turcot interchange, which was inaugurated on April 25th, 1967, in time for Montreal’s World Expo. The interchange was meant to ease traffic and connect Autoroutes 10, 15, 20 and 720. CN used the Turcot yards site until it was abandoned in 2002, and since then there have been various attempts to make better use of the vast empty land that the Turcot has become.

As the site has been a rail yard for nearly a century, and more recently has been used as a site for emergency snow dumping, there is high presence of lead and other toxins in the soil. As such it is necessary to attempt to decontaminate the soil before initiating development. A potential solution for this could be the use of Humic acids; they offer a cost effective, organic and simple way of remediating degraded and contaminated soils. Humic acids are nontoxic and biodegrade slowly. They have low oxygen demand and have excellent fixation and adsorption properties for xenobiotics in soil (Sita France, 2006).

A key factor in attracting suburbanites to move to an urban setting  and Turcot Quartier Eco Santé is not only the overall marketing of the project but also by way of providing more facilities that accommodate families. There must be an attempt to lure back residents who have fled the city in the past, but not at the expense of those who today call the district home (Gibson, 2002, p.262). If new housing opportunities are provided where in a private backyard that is commonly barely used is no longer considered more appealing than public green space consistent design elements could prove more aesthetically appealing. Private green spaces will also be provided both in the higher density areas through our regulations requiring active green roofs and our opening up of a number of the town home lots in the main residential zone for private purchase shall allow for this. The urge to attract suburbanites coincides with the socio-economic diversity, as it requires a sincere commitment to grapple with realities of class privilege in the contemporary urban landscape. As the Turcot site is practically a blank slate it proves easier to enhance this opportunity and not only attract the common demographic of the area, but also those from outside the area. As such the goal of attracting new residents must be coupled with an equally ambitious goal of expanding access to low-income and affordable housing. (Gibson, 2002, p.274). A component of this stems from attracting not only singles and couples, but families as well. Providing safe facilities to accommodate families in open space so that they feel comfortable using the ample public green space and parks.

Turcot Quartier Eco Santé will consist three main neighbourhoods, incorporating various areas with varying levels of activity depending on the location and time of the day, each generating different intensities of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The site will contain Light Rail Transit, pedestrian and bike zones that promote movement from the main station located on Rue Cavendish, to public parks, local playgrounds, and sporting areas. The variety of transportation options will benefit movement in multiple directions throughout the area, while the Lachine Canal, and the escarpment provide natural barriers and give the neighbourhood a feeling of containment. The Turcot Village square, located adjacent to the proposed marina, will contain the highest level of intensity as it will be the place where all types of traffic converge within the site. The intensity level will decrease when moving progressively further from this main node, however the intensity will again increase at the main public areas of parks and playgrounds, which will be located adjacent to our Light Rail Transit nodes.

The Turcot Yards transportation infrastructure is of both local and regional importance. At present a number of important regional transit links run through the site, the intersection of provincial highways 20, 15 and 720 are located in the north-east corner of the site. Highway twenty, known as Auto-route du Souvenir as well as highway 720 known as the Ville-Marie Expressway currently pass directly through the centre of the project site and all these attract approximately 150,000 vehicles daily. The Turcot Yards also has a long history of rail infrastructure, and the main CN freight line from the west, along with the main Via Rail commuter line also pass directly through the centre of the site parallel to the Auto-route du Souvenir.

The redevelopment of the Turcot Yards will respect the integral part of the regional transportation network that these pieces play in the greater Montreal region, and the province of Quebec as a whole. However contrary to other proposals for the highway the Turcot Yards development project recommends that highway capacity be capped at status quo preferring instead to focus expansion on the rail infrastructure and other mass transit links. The intersection of highways 15, 20 and 720 is an elevated structure that currently sits above a large area of land, while the elevated nature of the interchange permits other uses underneath the structure’s elevation has an impact on the maintenance and lifespan of the highway, the Turcot development project will attempt to reduce the impact of this interchange by reducing the size and amount of space that it takes up. The new interchange will be designed to have multiple levels for ease of transit for through traffic and interchange to the other routes.

Panel Gallery

In order to maximize the Turcot Yards site the regional transportation infrastructure will be relocated to near the base of the falaise St. Jacques following the current route of Rue Pullman, and then buried. The highway covers a total of 110, 440 sqm , half of this comes from the expansion of the escarpment (55, 220 sqm) which allows the steep incline to become useful. The other half, will become part of the boulevard. If the highway was left at grade when expanding the escarpment it would limit accessibility and a total of 110, 440 sqm would be lost, 55,220 sqm of which would not be developable since the road and buildings would be pushed further south. When trenching or creating tunnels for highways it is critical to provide adequate ventilation, as such we wish to use as much natural ventilation as possible and incorporate other systems if necessary. The basic design for the trenched part of the highway (Panel 4) will use fan and air movement to correspond to the flow of traffic and the number of fans used will be dependant on the specific tunnel length. The extension of Boulevard Cavendish will provide an essential connection between the South West,NDG and Lasalle.

A key component in the Ecological emphasis of Turcot Quartier Eco Santé is incorporating green building strategies to promote long lasting development potential. They provide an outstanding number of public benefits in areas such as air quality improvement, reduction in greenhouse gases, storm water quality and quantity improvements as well as long term economic benefits for building owners. Opportunities are not only available for vertical architecture, neighbourhood gardens, and composting centers but also through sustainable development technologies such as permeable paving, as well as storm water management and alternative energy generation.

Sources:
Photo Sources: Jenna Dutton, 2010
GIS Maps : Mike Rocco
3D Images: Peter Mouhteros
Sketches: Daniel Barham
School Maps: Google Maps

Gibson, T. (2005) Selling city living: Urban branding campaign, class power and the civic good. In International Journal of Cultural Studies 2005; 8; 259.

Kives, B. (2010) Take one downtown, fill it with people. In Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition, February 8, 2010.

Sita France (2006) Global Skills for the Environment: Site and Soil Remediation. Retrieved from www.sita.fr on March 18, 2010.

A copy of the Montreal 2025 part of the city of Montreal’s counter proposal to Transport Quebec’s $1.5-billion Turcot redevelopment project.
Présentation médias_2010-04-21

Panel Gallery

On Sunday March 8th 2010 Jeremy Dean made New york City history by taking his converted Hummer entitled Futurama out for a spin. Entering Central park in New York at 69th St. and Central Park West (at the old Tavern on the Green location) Dean had his hand crafted vehicle pulled by two white horse aptly named Duke and Diesel.

Dean has taken a gas guzzling 8 mile-per-gallon HUMMER H2, a symbol of extravagance, and converted it into a working horse drawn cart. Dean has pimped it out with silver chrome, working LED lights and a booming audio and video system. He calls this piece the CEO Stagecoach.

Location View: Jeremy Dean, CEO Stagecoach, Central Park, New York, NY. 2010
videographer Gareth Paul Cox, editor Diego del Sol
video courtesy of {CTS} creative thriftshop, New York.

to view more on this project please visit: http://www.creativethriftshop.com

Siemens is expanding its land holdings at its U.S. manufacturing plant to make sure that it has the capacity to meet future demand for High Speed Rail trains, It has purchased 20 acres of land adjacent to its train-making facility in Sacramento that sits on a 34-acre site. The company has made trains that run in Germany, China, Russia, and Spain. (CNN)

The Central Japan Railway Co. says it will throw its hat in the ring with other foreign companies in competing to develop the high-speed railway line earmarked for Florida, and suggests that it may partner with General Electric. (TampaBay)

The state Joint Finance Committee of Wisconsin voted 12-4 to confirm the states acceptance of the $810 million federal grant, to be spent on a 85 mile long high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. The vote was passed along partisan lines with the Democrats for and the Republican’s against. (BusinessWeek)

So Michigan has $244 million dollars allocated to construction of the of the Detroit-Chicago high-speed rail corridor, one  columnist from Freep weighs in on why the state should be happy it got so little — if they’d given more, then the they would have to figure out how to actually pay for the rest. (Freep)

Much has been made of re-purposing shipping containers for other uses, the Korean designers over at AnL Studio have come up with an observatory made out of them in Songdo New City, Incheon, South Korea.

The new observatory is called OceanScope, and was designed for Songdo New city as part of the city’s mandate to be a new forward looking sustainable city. The structure has three containers placed at different angles placed at ten, 30 and 50 degrees so that visitors can ascend and look out  over the harbour.

In Korea old containers are often re-purposed and used as shelters in many rural areas in Korea because of their inexpensive cost. The problem however is that use of many of these temporary re-purposed containers don’t blend in with their surroundings and contribute to visual pollution.

The OceanScope is a response to an initiative from the Mayor of Incheon City, who is in charge of Songdo New City. Incheon is one of the biggest harbours in Korea and thus has a plethora of cast off shipping containers to work with. The Mayor challenged designers to tap the potential of unused containers for practical re-use in public spaces and to provide the bleak containers with a functional aesthetic that could be assimilated within rural and urban environments.

Fact Sheet

Project name : OceanScope
Client: Incheon Metropolitan City,Korea / Cho Dong-Am, Ahn Young-Sik
Program: Public Observatory
Location: Songdo New City, Incheon, South Korea

Architect & Designer: Keehyun Ahn, Minsoo Lee
Planning & Producing : Chang Gil-Hwang, Kim Yong-Bae

Photography by Park So-Young and Chang Gil-Hwang.

An excerpt from the 1958 Disneyland TV Show episode entitled Magic Highway USA. In this last part of the show, an exploration into possible future Transportation technologies is made. It’s hard to believe how little we’ve accomplished on this front since 1958, and how limited the scope for imagining such future technologies has become. Witness an artifact from a time where the future was greeted with optimism. Note the striking animation style here, achieved with fairly limited animation and spectacular layouts.

It makes it easier to understand why people decided that the highways were such a great thing, I mean come on it was the 50s and this looks and sounds so great!

Corridor Of Life

Live, Learn, Work & Play

Daniel Barham, Jeremy Kloet, Jade Layton, Allison Reid, Marilyne Trembley.

Concordia University 2009

Go to Chapter 1

Go to Chapter 2

Go to Chapter 3

Go to Chapter 4

Park Ave Corridor Development Strategy

This first section, “Where We Are Today,” introduces and  describes a series of important questions: What is the history of the communities surrounding Avenue du Parc, and the history of the Avenue du Parc tramway? How would be community react if it were reinstalled? How can these neighborhoods be described today, socioeconomically, as well as physically? The purpose of this section is to introduce the central corridor, and to provide some background on the role and importance of the study of the implementation of a tram along the avenue.

In this section you will find:
Section 1.1 – “History and Background” which describes the history of the surrounding neighborhoods and communities, provides a background of the tramway along Avenue du Parc, as well as provides a survey of residents’ reactions to the idea of implementing a new tram.

Section 1.2 – “Neighborhood Analysis” provides a detailed analysis of the corridor as a whole. For formatting purposes, the corridor was divided into three sections for analysis of key destinations, neighborhood characteristics, commercial activity, as well as dominant modes of transportation.

Section 1.3 – “Physical Analysis” is a broad look at the opportunities and constraints along the corridor; transportation flow, important streets, physical and psychological barriers, and zoning.

Continue Reading

Park Ave Corridor Development Strategy

Section 1 details the nature of our corridor, highlighting the opportunities and constraints the existing urban fabric posed on the potential LRT development. This section, “What We Want,” solidifies the vision and framework of the development strategy for the integration of the LRT system in the corridor to support the local and regional functionality. It also explores the concept for the development strategy.

In this section you will find:

Section 2.1 – “The Vision” describes the corridor we wish to create.

Section 2.2 – “The Goals” sets out three key concepts to guide the realization of the vision.

Section 2.3 – “The Concept” allows to visualize the enhancements we want to implement.

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Park Ave Corridor Development Strategy

With the completion of our contextual analysis, and the identification of our vision statement, section three of the Avenue du Parc Light Rail Transit proposal outlines a number of objectives and strategies that will help reinforce the primary neighbourhood functions within the transit corridor. These strategies are intended to enhance, support and provide additional opportunities for local and regional residents to LIVE, LEARN, WORK and PLAY.

The following section will be broken down into four parts:

Section 3.1 will briefly describe how the LRT will be introduced within Avenue du Parc.

Section 3.2 will describe how a balanced transportation system will be achieved.

Section 3.3 will explain how the LRT will be integrated into the corridor.

Section 3.4 will identify opportunities to enhance the vibrancy of the corridor.

Section 3.5 will Introduce the Master Plan.

Continue Reading

Park Ave Corridor Development Strategy

The Ave du Parc Light Rail Transit project offers an opportunity to create significant improvements to the neighbourhoods it passes through and to the city as a whole. To fully capitalize on the project, the involvement of multiple stakeholders at both the local and regional scale is required.

In this section you will find:
Section 4.1 – “Moving Forward” describes the the stakeholders in the project.
Section 4.2 – “Parc LRT; Live, Learn, Work & Play” provides a summary of the projects goals, and approach.

Section 5 – Reference Materials

Continue Reading

Our dependence on automobiles and the miles of asphalt required for them is considered by many to be one of the greatest problems with our current way of life, but what if these roads could be changed to be part of our green future?

The Department of Transportation has awarded $100,000 to Solar Roadways to build a 12′ by 12′ prototype road section to test their proposals for a solar highway. The idea behind the solar roadway is that the miles and miles of roadways would be able to harvest energy from the sun. With embedded LEDs that will light up for the centre lane and also flash messages to motorists regarding hazards or accidents up ahead.

Solar Roadways creator Scott Brushaw suggests that if every inch of America’s 25,000 miles of roadway infrastructure then the system would generate three times as much energy as the country consumed in 2006. The roadways would replace power lines and the energy would flow straight from the streets into our homes. Embedded heating elements would keep the roads clear of snow and ice, and eliminate the need for snow clearing services.

The Solar Roadways website has a lot of information and answers a number of questions about the uses and impacts of the technology. I suggest checking them out.

From Solar Roadways,

Overview

When multiple Solar Road Panels™ are interconnected, the intelligent Solar Roadway™ is formed. These panels replace current driveways, parking lots, and all road systems, be they interstate highways, state routes, downtown streets, residential streets, or even plain dirt or gravel country roads. Panels can also be used in amusement parks, raceways, bike paths, parking garage rooftops, remote military locations, etc. Any home or business connected to the Solar Roadway™ (via a Solar Road Panel™ driveway or parking lot) receives the power and data signals that the Solar Roadway™ provides. The Solar Roadway™ becomes an intelligent, self-healing, decentralized (secure) power grid.

Road Surface Layer – translucent and high-strength, it is rough enough to provide great traction, yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells. It is capable of handling today’s heaviest loads under the worst of conditions. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer beneath it.

Electronics Layer – Contains a large array of cells, the bulk of which will contain solar collecting cells with LEDs for “painting” the road surface. These cells also contain the “Super” or “Ultra” caps that store the sun’s energy for later use. Since each Solar Road Panel™ manages its own electricity generation, storage, and distribution, they can heat themselves in northern climates to eliminate snow and ice accumulation. No more snow/ice removal and no more school/business closings due to inclement weather. The on-board microprocessor controls lighting, communications, monitoring, etc. With a communications device every 12 feet, the Solar Roadway™ is an intelligent highway system.

Base Plate Layer – While the electronics layer collects and stores the energy from the sun, it is the base plate layer that distributes power (collected from the electronics layer) and data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) “downline” to all homes and businesses connected to the Solar Roadway™. The power and data signals are passed through each of the four sides of the base plate layer. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer above it.

The Sun UK reports that there is a new breed of commuter riding the subway, well a couple different breeds. There is a set of stray dogs that have taken up the modern dream of a job in the city with a home in the suburbs. Experts studying the phenomenon have found that the dogs have learnt to judge the amount of time they need to be on the trains to make sure that they get off at the correct stop.

Its believed that the dogs started commuting in the late 1990s after the fall of the soviet union and industrial complexes left the centre of town and moved out to the suburbs. Back in the Soviet era dogs were barred from the system, but with the fall of of the union and as time goes on, they have become a fairly common sight.  They even have their own website;  www.metrodog.ru.

The commuting dogs  are studied by Dr Andrei Poiarkov, of the Moscow Ecology and Evolution Institute. The dogs most often choose the least crowded cars at the front and back of the train. Along with learning how to use the subway, the dogs have also learnt how to use traffic lights, and have also learnt how to come up with the most appropriate tricks for getting food out of their fellow commuters. When its adults eating shawarma, they walk of behind them and bark, hoping to surprise the food out of their hands, and dogs have always known that kids are a sucker for a cute face.

A group of Zoologists are studying Moscow’s stray dog population and how they are adjusting to life in a rapidly growing and changing city. Alexei Vereshchagin is one of those scientists and has been studying them since his original funding for wolf research fell apart when the soviet union did.

“The behavior of stray dogs is like theater” Alexei Vereshchagin

The dogs had a problem because they use the industrial complexes as shelters, but the best place to find food is in the middle of town. So the dogs learnt how to use the subway system to get the best of both worlds. Strays have also learnt other things like using pedestrian crossings to avoid being hit by cars, and wait for green lights or pedestrian walking signals, since most dogs are colour blind.

Its possible that the dogs learnt to use the subways by going down there for food, on of the chief tactics that they use to get food is to just lay down in busy subway passages and simply wait for someone to throw them a bone as it were. The dogs also appear to go out of their way to refrain from upsetting the paying metro riders, it is surprisingly rare to find dog poop in the metro considering the number of strays using the system.

One of the more interesting things that Vereshchagin has noticed is that the dogs in Moscow don’t have a lean and hungry look. Apparently the fall of the soviet union has resulted in the dogs being better fed.

The Sun UK

The Wall Street Journal

Would you buy property on a bridge? The city of London is examining the idea of building a new crossing to the east of Tower Bridge, which is not to be confused with London Bridge which was at one point a habitable bridge.

The idea of building a habitable bridge over the River Thames is not a new idea, the plans were originally drawn up back in the nineties, however after the Labour government came into power in 1997 the planes for this bridge were dropped. However the current mayor of London, Boris Johnson is giving the project another look. The mayor has been saying for a while now that the city needs another crossing east of the tower bridge and the habitable bridge proposal is under consideration as a link between Greenwich and Silvertown in the Royal Docks.  Part of what what is giving this proposal a more serious look is that the £80 million price tag for the bridge could theoretically be recouped from the sale of properties located on it. The original design had the bridge suspended from a pair of 35 story towers on the north side that would combine flats and residential properties.

If the bridge is built it would be the first time in 178 years that a bridge with residential and commercial properties existed in the city. The last being London Bridge before its buildings were leveled to reduce congestion on the crossing.

Would you buy property on a bridge? I have to admit its a novel idea and there is no doubt that the view would be stellar. Not to mention that you wouldn’t have to worry about another condo development springing up in front to steal your view. I think that that only thing that might concern me would be if someone else came along and decided that the properties needed to go for the sake of reducing congestion, though with this design, seeing as the apartments are in the support structure that is a little less likely. When it comes to development the sale of properties is pretty much a sure fire way to raise capital and I have no doubt that apartements in a location like this would have a pretty hefty premium for the wow factor so they might just be on to something.