a clean-
fuel downtown shuttle, bicycles, taxis and pedestrians and eventu-
ally be linked to the Den ver International Airport by rail.
5 .Pu rple Line, Wa s h i n g to n , D. C . Ma ry l a n d Vi rg i n i a
The Purple Line, a circular rail line around Washington, D.C., would
roughly parallel the Capital Belt way, connecting the existing lines
of the Me t ro sys tem and the inner suburbs of Vi rginia and
Maryland. New stations would be added at employment, retail and
residential centers. The Purple Line would generate about 230,000
daily trips, help alleviate the regions traffic congestionnow the
second worst in the nationand reduce air pollution.
6. KissimmeeDeland Commuter Rail, Florida
This 55-mile commuter-rail service connecting Kissimmee and
Deland would run on existing freight routes through four counties
during morning and e vening rush hours . It would car ry six to 10
times as many commuters as one lane of I-4 and would eliminate
the need to build another bridge across S t. Johns River.
7. Primary Corridor, Hawaii
The 32.2-mile bus rapid transit system would carry 46,000 passen-
gers a day to 31 stops between downtown Honolulu, Pearl Harbor,
the University of Hawaii and area beaches. The project would serve
8,613 low-income households within a half-mile of the stops , and
would reduce air pollutants by more than a third. More than 50
percent of the island s population and 80 percent of the island s
jobs are located along the transit route.
8. New Orleans Canal Streetcar Line, Louisiana
The five-mile Canal Streetcar Line will pr ovide cleaner transporta -
tion than the bus service it replaces and connect the t wo existing
light-rail lines (St. Charles and Riverfront lines). Ridership is expect-
ed to reach 31,400 passengers every weekday and 5,300 daily new
riders for the forecast year 2015. The project will benefit around
5,900 low-income households within a half-mile of the lines pro-
posed stations.
9. NorthSouth Rail Link, Massachusetts
Co n n e cting the two co m m u ter rail sys tems that curre ntly te rm i n ate
at Bo s to ns No rth and South St at i o n s, the one-mile co n n e ction wo u l d
a l l ow Amt ra ks successful No rtheast Co rridor Acela high-speed ra i l
s e rv i ce to extend through the city to Ma i n e,New Ha m p s h i re,Ve rm o nt
and Ca n a d a . It would also co n n e ct communities to the nort h ,s o u t h
and west of the city, and re m ove 24,000 cars a day from the ro a d s.
10.Hia watha Light-Rail Line, Minnesota
The 17-stop, 11.6-mile light-rail line will connect the three largest
areas of development in the Minneapolis and Bloomington region
and promote de velopment on land already ser ved by transit . The
Hiawatha stations are located close to 217,430 jobs, and the
regional transportation plan expects the line to serve 10 per cent
of regional travelers by 2025.
11. Missoula in Motion, Montana
Missoula in Mo t i o n is a fe d e rally funded ince nt i ves prog ram fo r
co m m u ters who pledge to get to wo rk by any means other than
alone in a car at least one day a we e k .This includes bus tra n s i t, va n-
poo l i n g, ca rpoo l i n g, cyc l i n g, wa l king and te l e co m m u t i n g. Re s i d e nt s
who join the Way to Go ! Club are cove red by the Gu a ra nteed Ri d e
Home Prog ra m , and they can track their commuting be h av i o r
online and learn how much ca r bon dioxide and other po l l u t a nt s
t h ey have kept from the air by leaving their car be h i n d.
1. Anchorage Commuter Rail, Alaska
A nearly co m p l e ted train station at the An c h o rage Ai rpo rt will
a l l ow to u rists to travel to the airpo rt dire ctly from the po rt of
Sewa rd. The pro posed Pa l m e r Wa s i l l a An c h o rage co m m u ter ra i l
line would provide additional dire ct serv i ce from dow ntow n
An c h o rage to the airpo rt. The pro j e ct would pro te ct we t l a n d s
near the airpo rt from being paved over for parking lots, re d u ce
t raffic and air po l l u t i o n , and provide public-transit access to
the 10,000 jobs at the airpo rt, which could help those maki n g
the transition from we l f a re to wo rk .
2 .College Avenue Bi cyc l e / Pe d e s t rian Bri d g e,
Ari zona
As part of the U.S.60 reno vation project, the Arizona Department
of Transportation is replacing the 30-year-old College Avenue
bridge with a new bridge which will be more accessible for users ,
including people with bic ycles, wheelchairs and strollers . College
Avenue is the most highly tr aveled bikeway in Arizona. The city of
Tempe and ADOT staff involved lo cal residents in the design
process through a neighborho od workshop.
3. California High-Speed Rail
A high-speed rail system could initially go from San Francisco to
Los Angeles, and later extend to San Diego and Sacramento700
miles total, at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour . With stations in
transit-served cities and at air ports, it could reduce the need for
widening highways and expanding the San Francisco and Oakland
airports. Operating on Caltrain tracks bet ween San Jose and San
Francisco would save costs for both rail systems and increase con-
nectivity between state and regional bus and rail systems. Funding
to complete the current planning process is needed to understand
the impacts and feasibility of a future high-speed rail system.
T RA N S P O RTATION SOLUTIONS
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
41. Paseo del Norte Extension, New Mexico
This six-lane highway through Pe t roglyph National Mo n u m e nt
would ca rry a pro j e cted 24,000 vehicles per day and desecrate a
p l a ce of spiritual impo rt a n ce to Nat i ve Am e ri ca n s. The park co n-
tains more than 15,000 pe t roglyphs (pre h i s to ric and histo ric Indian
religious rock drawings) that are sacred to the Pueblos People of
New Mex i co. The highway would co n n e ct the city to a 19,000-unit
housing deve l o p m e nt to be co n s t ru cted west of the park .
42. Eastern Corridor Highway (U.S.32), Ohio
For decades citizens have wor ked to protect Cincinnatis Little
Miami River, which received a N ational Wild and Scenic River des -
ignation in 1980. This $77 million,10-mile , four- to six-lane high -
way and bridge would worsen water, air and noise pollution,
increase traffic congestion and spr awl,and threa ten this rare and
natural treasure. Transportation alternatives such as light rail and
expanded bus service would decrease congestion, cost less in the
long run and protect the river.
43. Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern
Beltway, Pennsylvania
A 105-mile, $3.2 billion pro j e ct alre a dy under co n s t ru ct i o n , Mo n -
Faye t te Ex p re s s way will run from Pi t t s b u rgh to Ch e at La ke, We s t
Vi rg i n i a , and the So u t h e rn Be l tway will co n n e ct the Mo n - Faye t te to
Pi t t s b u rg h . It will pull jobs and dive rt inve s t m e nt from Pi t t s b u rg hs
rev i t a l i zed dow ntown into the ru ral areas along the new highway.
H u n d reds of miles of farm l a n d, wate r s h e d s, s t reams and lakes will
be destroye d, including five miles along the Monongahela Ri ve r
.
44.Highw ay 840 Loop, Tennessee
The $1 billion loop around Nashville will destroy the rural land -
scape of central Tennessee while doing little to relie ve traffic con-
gestion in the cit y. Local citizens ha ve won an injunction against
further construction on the southern half of the loop because of
insufficient environmental review and research into alternatives.
45. Grand Parkway Highway, Texas
Texans are kn own for thinking big, and the Texas De p a rt m e nt of
Tra n s po rt ation is no exce p t i o n . Pe rhaps the worst of seve ral enor-
mous pro posed highway pro j e cts is the $4 billion,177-mile Gra n d
Pa rkway, a fo u rth be l tway for Ho u s to n ,t h at would slice thro u g h
w i l d l i fe habitat in La ke Ho u s ton and Bra zos Bend state park s
and the bird - rich Katy Pra i ri e. It would also destroy some of
the last wetlands and bo t tomland hardwoods near the city.
Major malls, two huge landfills and numerous planned
communities have been announced along the ro u te
a l re a dy. The pro j e ct would pull the citys re s i d e nt s
along with its tax and job baseinto the suburbs and
worsen Ho u s to ns seve re air pollution pro b l e m .
46.U.S. Route 29 Bypass, Virginia
The six-mile, four-lane highway bypass will acce l e rate sprawl fro m
Ch a rl o t te s v i l l es ce nter and increase congestion and traffic on the Rt.2 9
co rri d o r. The U.S. E PA cites runoff po l l u t i o n , re s e rvoir siltation and haz-
a rdous spills as major co n ce rn s.A po te ntial future co n n e ction with I-83
would further destroy the ru ral landsca pe of the surrounding co u nt i e s.
I n s te a d, e nv i ro n m e ntal groups suppo rt a sys tem of ove rpasses at key
i nte r s e ctions that would ease long-te rm co n g e s t i o n .
47. Chittenden County Circumferential Highway,
Vermont
Ignoring public wishes for maintenance of existing roads, planners
are pushing for a 16-mile, four-lane bypass around Burlington that
will increase congestion and contribute to air pollution. Vermont
and Chittenden Coun ty are dangerously close to violating provi-
sions of the Clean Air Act, and autos account for most of the pollu-
t i o n . Co u nty and Me t ro politan Planning Org a n i z ation officials
admit the bypass will encourage sprawl and drain money from
other needed improvement projects.
4 8 .U . S . 395 No rth Spo kane Co rri d o r, Wa s h i n g to n
This 13-mile pro