Powerful, peaceful, poignant, pedal parade

Riders arriving at the State Capitol

Yesterday evening, I had the great honor to take part in my first Greater Lansing Ride of Silence. One of more than 350 such events being held in all 50 states and 21 countries on May 15th, the Ride of Silence was initiated in 2003 by cycling advocates in Dallas, Texas after a local bicyclist was struck and killed by the side mirror of a passing bus. Since then the event has grown steadily in geographic reach and poignancy.

Here in Greater Lansing, the 2013 Ride of Silence took on even greater significance as a local cyclist was struck and killed by a hit and run driver Monday night, right in front of Sparrow Hospital. This tragic event clearly highlighted the dangers that both commuting and recreational bicyclists face each and every day. While it cast a pall over the celebratory events of Bike to Work Week, it did have the positive side effect of drawing much greater media coverage of the local Ride of Silence, as two television stations and two area newspapers covered the event, some participating in the ride and others providing live news feeds.

I would like to say that the efforts of the four of us who served on the organizing committee led to the impressive 70% increase in participation over 2012 (170 versus 103), but the notoriety from Monday’s tragedy probably had more to do with the terrific numbers than anything. Spectacular spring weather also helped draw more riders.

This year’s ride began at Wells Hall on the Michigan State University Campus and proceeded silently westward for 4.5 miles through parts of campus and then along Michigan Avenue from East Lansing to Lansing and the Michigan State Capitol. Aside from the powerful visual image of 170 brightly dressed bicyclists pedaling two abreast in formation, the ride took on a greater meaning as many riders displayed the peace sign while passing the scene of Monday’s tragedy and as a bouquet of flowers was laid at the street corner where the cyclist passed away. Rarely does one have the opportunity to participate in such a moving experience.

The Ride of Silence means exactly what it implies – all cyclists ride in silence to solemnly honor those killed or injured in accidents with motor vehicles. Throughout the entire ride, all that could be heard was the shifting of gears and the hum of tires rolling over the pavement. Otherwise, we were all left to reflect and remember…and that is exactly the way it should be.

Now is NOT the time to relent – fossil fuels are still fossil fuels

Source: evrdr.com

Given the ongoing North American oil production boom, there will no doubt be a tendency by those without any foresight (and in Big Oil) to push for scaling back incentives for clean, renewable energy resources like wind and solar; funding for transit and active transportations options; and incentives for producing and buying hybrid/electric vehicles. That is exactly the WRONG thing to do!

Since the nation has been given a temporary window of opportunity to get our collective acts together, we better not relent on our push for clean/green energy sources now. If we want a smoother transition to clean/green energy and not another energy shock, the our leaders must remain steadfast in pursuing a growing and diversified renewable energy portfolio.

One would think the United States would learn from past history, but given the tendency of some in this country to re-write or outright disregard history altogether, I am not confident the nation won’t fall off the wagon and become re-addicted to oil. Aside from that, fossil fuel is fossil fuel. It doesn’t matter whether it comes from the Middle East or the Midwest, it’s still the same nasty pollutant that increases our carbon footprint, fouls our waters, and increases global warming. Now is definitely NOT the time to relent. NOW is the time to accelerate our transition to cleaner/greener energy options. Our children and grandchildren will thank us for doing so. To do otherwise would be a shameful legacy.

World’s sky-high seaport control towers

Aberdeen – Source: flickr.com

Back in February a comprehensive list of the world’s tallest airport control towers was provided on Panethos. While preparing that blog post, I stumbled across a number of interesting seaport (or harbor) control towers used for directing ships at major seaports. Though not as much information could be found on the internet, below is a list of the tallest seaport control towers that could be located – tragically, the tower in Genoa, Italy was destroyed in a ship collision just this past week, with the loss of possibly as many as nine lives.

Aqaba – Source: unc.edu

Gdansk – Source: unc.edu

Genoa prior to being destroyed in a shipping accident – Source: gcaptain.com

Any additional information on these or similar structures would be appreciated.

Jeddah – Source: unc.edu

• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – 431 ft. (1990)
• Sydney, Australia – 285 ft. (1987)
• Antwerp, Belgium – 262 ft. (2010)
• Aqaba, Jordan – 236 ft. (1991)
• Mombasa, Kenya – 230 ft. (2007)
• Durban, South Africa – 220 ft. (2001)
• Gdansk, Poland – 200 ft. (1984)
• Cape Town, South Africa – 197 ft.
• Melbourne, Australia – 187 ft. (1997)
• Genoa, Italy – 177 ft. (destroyed in a ship collision on 5/8/13)
• Dubai (Jebel Ali), UAE – 164 ft.
• Yokohama, Japan – 157 ft.
• Le Havre, France – 148 ft.
• Lisbon, Portugal – 125 ft.
• Aberdeen, UK (2006)
• Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Alexandria, Egypt
• Almeria, Spain
• Folkestone, UK
• Port Elizabeth, South Africa
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2003)
• Keelung, Taiwan
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Veracruz, Mexico
• Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Mombasa – Source: portsstrategy.com

Sources

• http://www.zetron.com/Portals/0/PDFs/case_studies/2002/005-7308.pdf
• http://en.shippingchina.com/worldport/index/detail/id/378.html
• http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/~cannon/mideastports/JebelAli/Geogloc.html
• http://www.marinelink.com/news/article/314551.aspx
• http://www.emporis.com
• en.wikipedia.org
• http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/new-portcontrol-tower-doubles-as-weather-centre-2000-07-21
• http://www.unc.edu
• http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=208385
• https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:HozJABOZGegJ:www.sydneyports.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/1444/HarbourControl.pdf+sydney+harbor+control+tower&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESihOBwsCXQUM6iU3ZNZ6T7-ocS7SxG5yMjy4R67RKK-MTgZ84_AxyRgC1ARbaCyMZZOltiFUZ_5lAjjRmuzD9C6UAp-bF8HPtSFg96Cnqy4WnJGlNUehHe5NSVHQOA_rBkhztYW&sig=AHIEtbSuzvWXC51H3qD2WxFcgzp07SBT0Q
• http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/JOR_Port_of_Aqaba_359.php
• http://www.neutelings-riedijk.com/index.php?id=10,187,0,0,1,0
• http://www.architectus.com.au/projects/victoria-channel-authority-control-tower
• http://www.blinkfueer.de/thema/blinkfueer/lm_polska_gdansk_port_polnocny.html
• http://www.e-architect.co.uk/aberdeen/marine_operations_centre.htm
• http://www.portstrategy.com/news101/world/africa/transas_secures_mombasa_vts_contract

2012 Hybrid/electric vehicle data

Tesla sedan – examiner.com

Some fascinating and impressive data provided from evsroll.com on hybrid and electric vehicle (HEV) sales in the United States during 2012. Given recent reports of very rapid growth in hybrid and electric vehicle sales by Ford (the Fusion Hybrid and C-Max Hybrid were introduced in the second half of 2012), it will be fascinating to see how these statistics change for 2013. Ford has quickly moved into second place in overall hybrid electric vehicle sales in the United States behind Toyota.

The month-by-month comparison in the second chart is particularly interesting as spring and late fall saw rapid growth in hybrid electric vehicle sales. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales really accelerated as 2012 progressed.

Source: www.evsroll.com/Hybrid_Car_Statistics.html

HEV – hybrid electric vehicle

PHEV- plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

BEV – battery electric vehicle

Source: www.evsroll.com/Hybrid_Car_Statistics.html

Source: www.evsroll.com/Hybrid_Car_Statistics.html

American as baseball, hot dogs, and vodka – Spy towns of the Cold War

en.wikipedia.org

I always find it interesting how certain blog post ideas come to me. This one was totally on a lark. I was watching NCIS Los Angeles Tuesday night and near the end of the episode, Hetty and Callen were in a discussion where she referenced a Soviet-era Cold War city in the Ukraine named VinnytsIa. Near this city, the KGB designed, built, and operated as a typical American suburban town for the sole purpose of training and educating deep cover spies. While this historical factoid was not entirely new to me, it did create the spark of an idea for writing this post – so here we are.

Needless to say, in 2013 it is rather hard to imagine replicating a slice of Americana in the middle of the Soviet Union, but sure enough, it was done. It also begs the question as to whether the United States did the exact same thing here or in one of our allied counties as a way to train spies for their deep cover work behind the Iron Curtain. I have never heard of replicated Soviet-style communities here, but give the politics and fear-factor(s) of the time, it would not surprise me in the least.

After some research using the internet it appears that the amount of verifiable information written on the topic is limited, other than by conspiracy theorists. However, I did find a 1959 Time magazine story about Vinnytsia which confirms the existence of the spy training town located there. I also found 2010 articles from both the New York Post and New York magazine when Anna Chapman (alias Anna Kuschenko) and 10 other Russian spies were caught, that describes one of these towns closely resembling Chevy Chase, Maryland and other American suburbs. Apparently, these towns include everything from a replica McDonald’s or 7-eleven, to American television programs. Here is a weblink to video on YouTube of an old Cold War-era CIA film on the topic.

If anyone has more information on other such artificial communities, in the former Soviet Union, the United States, or elsewhere around the planet, please feel free to pass the information along. As an urban planner, it would be fascinating to learn what communities aside from Chevy Chase, Maryland were used as role models for a typical American town and how many there were/are. It’s an unusual aspect of urban planning history that certainly deserves more documentation and an historical record to be established and preserved.

2013 “Tree City, USA” state rankings

Source: fosston.com

Given that April is both the month of Earth Day (22nd) and Arbor Day (general the last Friday in April or the 26th in 2013), it seemed fitting to conclude the month with a blog post about those states with the most number of communities that have received the honor of being named a “Tree City, USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation. The following chart shows the rankings as of April 2013 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. While the District of Columbia is at an obvious disadvantage in sheer number of communities, it can claim a victory as the only jurisdiction with 100% participation.

RANK	STATE	NUMBER	RANK	STATE	NUMBER
1	Ohio	235	27	Montana	41
2	Wisconsin	189	28	Massachusetts	39
3	Florida	165		South Carolina	39
4	Illinois	154	30	Arkansas	38
5	New Jersey	153		Tennessee	38
6	California	131	32	Mississippi	35
7	Georgia	130	33	South Dakota	34
8	Michigan	120	34	Maryland	33
9	Kansas	106	35	Kentucky	31
	Nebraska	106	36	Arizona	24
11	Pennsylvania	105	37	Oklahoma	23
12	Minnesota	100	38	Maine	18
13	New York	95	39	Connecticut	17
14	Colorado	91	40	West Virginia	16
15	Iowa	88	41	North Dakota	15
16	Washington	82	42	Delaware	13
17	Missouri	79		New Mexico	13
	Utah	79	44	Nevada	11
19	Texas	77		New Hampshire	11
20	North Carolina	72	46	Louisiana	9
21	Alabama	71		Rhode Island	9
22	Idaho	67	48	Alaska	8
23	Indiana	65		Hawaii	8
24	Oregon	57	50	Vermont	7
25	Virginia	55	51	District of Columbia	1
26	Wyoming	45
Source: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/map.cfm – April 2013

I have got to admit that a few of the results surprised me, particularly the low number of participating communities in Vermont – a state that I would have thought would be front and center on such a designation. Kudos to Ohio for leading the nation in this ranking and all those twelve states who can claim 100 or more communities designated as Tree Cities.

The places in-between

Source: voices.washingtonpost.com

As the world continues to become more urbanized, the places in-between these pulsating urban areas are often overlooked as just blips along the expressway or dots 30,000 feet below us. While some of these places are hanging on with some sense of vigor, others are wasting away into dust. Far too often, most of us only see these places on a cursory level, never really understanding their history, culture, sense of community, or place in society. We dismiss them as the boondocks, the boonies, podunk, hicktown, nowheresville, and many other disparaging terms. Sadly, before long, many smaller places in between may no longer be economically sustainable and will rendered to the dustbin of history. Considering how many of us actually have roots in such communities, that would be the equivalent of allowing very own our ancestry to disappear.

Personally, I have ancestors from in-between places called Mount. Joy, Palestine, New Hebron, Fortville, Dansville, and Bancroft. None of these towns are household names, but that does not make them any less important – it just means they exist underneath the radar, going about their business without making a fuss or commotion. Of these, Mount Joy is certainly the healthiest as a suburb of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Fortville is a growing suburb of Indianapolis. The other communities…who knows their long-term outlook? None of them appears to have benefitted from geographic good fortune. I am certain many of you reading this post have relatives or ancestors who live in the places in-between, whether you are from India, Canada, the United States, Australia, England, Russia, Brazil, or anywhere else on this planet.

In some instances, the places in-between consist of entire regions. Regions which were once vibrant, now lack the panache of a digital society or are no longer in vogue and have fallen out of favor. In the United States, portions of Appalachia, the Rust Belt, and the Great Plains are nearly treated like pariah. Certain regions of the many other nations face the same disdain from the modern populace.  While regions certainly will not disappear from the map, they suffer a death all the same – not physically, but of the spirit and the vitality once known.

I am not advocating for the wholesale redistribution of the population back to its rural roots. That would be an unwise move on a number of levels. But, I am saying we need to be conscious of the fact that the entire legacy of multiple generations is fading away right in front of our eyes. Once it is gone, it will be gone forever. Perhaps, just perhaps, we should be a little less condescending towards those small places in between the bright lights of the big city. Perhaps, we should strive to build and/or enhance the oral and written history of these places before they are swept away by time. And perhaps, we should occasionally take the road less traveled now and then to patronize the places in-between versus the chain store schlock routinely found along expressways and in the big city. Our individual actions could spell the difference between a community’s ultimate survival or its demise. And we all know, that’s already an obituary that is too often being written.

A well-worn transcontinental route

Source: fmlight.com

While reading the fabulous book entitled Mavericks of the Sky, I was intrigued by how the route chosen for the first transcontinental airmail trip was nearly identical to an overland route so often tread by foot, hoof, wagon wheel, rail, electronically, and tire between New York City and San Francisco.  The fact that New York City, Cleveland, Chicago, Omaha, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and San Francisco are situated in close latitude proximity to one another helped secure this route as the first across North America for many forms of transportation. The discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento didn’t hurt any either during the 1840s and 1850s.

Below are a series of maps of the California and Mormon Trails, the Pony Express Trail, the transcontinental telegraph and railroad lines, Lincoln Highway, and Interstate 80.  Each of these transcontinental passages follow a virtually identical course, as did nation’s first transcontinental airmail route, which is also depicted.

California Trail (1841)

Source: legendsofamerica.com

Mormon Trail (1846)

Source: legendsofamerica.com

Pony Express Trail (1860)

Source: ponyexpressnevada.com

 Transcontinental Telegraph Line (1861)

Source: telegraph-history.org/transcontinental-telegraph

Transcontinental Railroad – Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads (1869)

Source: tcrr.com

Lincoln Highway (1913)

Source: lincolnhighwaynews.wordpress.com

First Transcontinental Telephone Line (1914)

No map was found, but it connected New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. The photo is from Wendover, Utah.

Completion of telephone line in 1914 – Source: corp.att.com/history/nethistory/transcontinental

First Transcontinental Airmail Route – United States Post Office (1920)

Source: en.wikipedia.org

Source: mavericksofthesky.com/the-air-mail-planes/

Interstate Highway 80 (started in 1952)

Source: i80highway.com

An interesting footnote to this list is the nation’s first transcontinental stagecoach service did not follow this same well-worn route. Instead, as the map depicts below, the first transcontinental stagecoach line took a much longer and circuitous southerly route from St. Louis to San Francisco by way of cities like Fort Smith, El Paso, Tucson, Yuma, and Los Angeles.

Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Line (1858)

Source: aboutusps.gov

 

A bicyclist’s dream come true – a trailside brewpub

One very cool logo – Source: yelp.com

This past Saturday, Alison and I made a trip to the northern burbs of Grand Rapids to wander the quaint shops of Rockford, Michigan and try out the Rockford Brewing Company. Given its location aside the White Pine State Trail and ample bicycle parking, the brewpub is a bicyclist’s dream come true – a frothy watering hole along a well-maintained multi-purpose trail. Who could ask for more? Some spring weather would be helpful.

Themed on the verdant fly-fishing found along the rollicking Rogue River, the Rockford Brewing Company is perfectly situated for cyclists, walkers, joggers, shopper, and fly-fishers taking advantage of the Rockford area’s amazing and scenic topography – definitely one of Michigan’s hidden gems. The first floor view of the trail and the second floor view of the nearby Rogue River are hard to top, especially when the river was running well-above its normal level with an intensity not often seen in these parts.

The brewpub also offers a regular cavalcade of free live musical performances every Thursday and acoustic jam sessions on Sundays. Given the line-up listed on their website, Rockford will be blessed with an excellent array of performers.

I enjoyed my malty pint of O’Brien’s Red Ale. The Cuban sandwich was tasty, albeit lacking a certain panache’ one finds with many brewpub offerings. All in all, Rockford Brewing Company is a nice addition (2011) to the Greater Grand Rapids brewing scene and its location and music offerings are hard to beat. My only suggestion would be for them to spice up their existing dining options a bit.

Airmail dAIRdevils – one ‘first-class’ read

Source: amazon.com

Most of us have become accustomed to the benefits of overnight air delivery of mail, packages, and freight in the past three or four decades. The onset of corporate giants like Fedex and UPS have made these services largely routine. However, when I was a kid, it was still a special treat to receive a letter with an air mail stamp affixed to it. Furthermore, it was only 95 years ago when the United States Post Office first initiated its groundbreaking service of providing air mail delivery between Washington and New York City. This momentous event took place on May 15, 1918 – a mere 15 years after the Wright Brothers inaugural flight at Kitty Hawk. The book, Mavericks of the Sky, by Barry Rosenberg and Catharine Macaulay details this amazing story in superb and “first-class” fashion.

Source: mavericksofthesky.com/the-air-mail-pilots/

Mavericks of the Sky is one of those books that is soooo enjoyable that you hate to put down and wish you never had to finish reading it. From takeoff right through the entire flight until landing, the book grabs your attention and never, ever let’s go. In many parts it is a white-knuckle trip as you are worried about what may happen to these aviation heroes and heroine when you turn to the next page. Each and every one of them are remarkable pioneers and brave daredevils who deserve lasting kudos for their tremendous efforts. Sadly, a number of them made the ultimate sacrifice in their efforts by paying with their lives. It’s no wonder the group was also known as “The Suicide Club.”

Source: mavericksofthesky.com/mavericks-of-the-sky-as-a-feature-film/

What intrigued me most about this book is that it documents in very rich and well-crafted detail a part of aviation history that I (and probably many others) had never heard of or read before. That, in itself, lends a rare aura of exclusivity to Mavericks of the Sky that makes it even a more special read  – almost like discovering a completely new thread of human history.

My congratulations to the authors on their excellent work. Personally, I feel this book should have won many awards for great historical writing, as it introduces us to those brave flyers and visionaries who challenged treacherous and hazardous conditions, both on the ground and in the air, to inaugurate an entirely new form of mail service.  Hats off especially to the “dAIRdevils” who risked life and limb on a daily basis as Mavericks of the Sky.