It’s hard to imagine a better example of backwards-looking ideas than House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica’s proposed transportation reauthorization bill, which he announced yesterday. It will eliminate dedicated federal funding for bicycling and walking. Mica apparently deems spending in these areas to be “not in the federal interest.” Meanwhile Sen. James Inhofe, the lead Republican negotiator on the transportation bill in the Senate, has stated one of his top three priorities is to eliminate “frivolous spending” on bicycle facilities, according to the League of American Bicyclists.

These merciless cuts are not aimed at reducing the deficit, reviving the economy, creating jobs, improving transportation choices or serving the American people.

• Did the lawmakers consider a national study finds that bicycle and pedestrian projects create 46 percent more jobs per dollar invested than road-only projects?
• Did they consider the impact of transportation spending that will keep millions of Americans dependent on their cars for every single trip they make, contributing to obesity rates that have climbed at least 90 percent in 17 states from 1995 to last year?
• Did they consider the medical care costs of obesity totaled more about $147 billion on 2008 dollars?
• Did they consider the real economic benefits millions of individual Americans derive from using bicycles for transportation?

It’s clear they did not.

The recent, and under-reported, symbolic groundbreaking of what will be the Savannah Gardens neighborhood redevelopment of Strathmore Estates, unearthed the city’s game plan to provide geothermal energy to 150 single family homes. According to Martin Fretty, city director of housing, “We’re trying to find ways to put in both Smart Meters and geothermal.” If the city succeeds in this Eastside development, it will be the largest residential use of geothermal in the region.

Read more here.

WTOC revealed what, indeed, was up in subsequent stories and it turns out that gasoline prices are rising. WSAV-TV was on the case, too, with Savannahians Speaking Out on Gas Price Spike.

We appear to entering yet another period in which the news media dusts off one of the most overused cliches in the business: “Pain at the Pump.” Soon people will begin suggesting all sorts of ways to suppress prices, from military campaigns in exotic locales and potentially disastrous schemes for getting at oil that some folks are certain is sloshing around right under our feet. And why not? After all, we recently learned we needn’t worry about climate change.

There are simpler ways to ease worries over gasoline price fluctuations. One is an inexpensive invention that I’ve been using for quite some time.  I’m convinced that it would allow many of my fellow citizens to reduce the amount of gasoline they use. And here’s the kicker: Most of them already own this device. The secret is to use the device in a special way that prevents the need to visit gas stations on a regular basis.

Now, to be clear, it won’t completely shield a person from the effects of rising gas prices, even if they use it exclusively every single day. Fuel prices are reflected in the cost of every good and service we purchase. And, as mentioned above, rising fuel prices can ignite support for some pretty terrible ideas that—if they gain traction—will have negative consequences for everyone. Still, it’s pretty satisfying when you have to struggle to recall the last time you stood at a gas pump and poured money into a hole on the side of your car.

Do you own one of the useful devices I’m describing? Have you discovered how to use it in a way that reduces your gasoline consumption? Are you, like me, smugly disconnected from the daily changes in digits on gas station signs? Should we reveal the secret?

Will the realization that it could come here lead to any action besides the emotionally satisfying, but ultimately useless, railing against BP and the government that has been our only response to the spill? Will the possibility of oil slicks from Miami to Maine cause us to comprehend our role in this cataclysm? Will it help us to finally understand that it’s our unrelenting demand for cheap oil that made deep water drilling a viable business proposition? Will it prompt us to take a hard look at how we have built our communities and the way we choose to travel in our daily lives?

Here’s an excellent list of 10 ways cities and towns can kick the offshore-oil habit. How many of these are we doing locally? Aside from the wonderful expansion of on-street bicycle parking, spearheaded by Sean Brandon of the City of Savannah’s Parking and Mobility Services department, the sad answer is not much. In fact, some of the ideas mentioned in the list, including increased density and reduced automobile parking, are fighting words around here! Having been shown the consequences of our oil dependency via television coverage from the Gulf of Mexico, can we now talk seriously about our problems and begin to make responsible decisions about how to make our communities sustainable and livable? Or will it take oil drifting into Wassaw Sound to get our attention?

The links between historic preservation and sustainability are clear and make dandy bumper sticker slogans. Whether you prefer “Historic Preservation: The Ultimate Recycling” or “The Greenest Building is the One Already Built,” the point is the same. Rehabilitating historic structures harnesses the embodied energy of buildings.

It’s a fact, however, that historic structures are tragically demolished (even here in Savannah) and the salvage and sale of architectural antiques is a profitable business. But what happens when the doomed structure is from the more recent past? What can be done with building parts that are not likely to be displayed in an antique store?

Enter the Emergent Structures Project, which is finding new uses for the 1940s vintage houses of Strathmore Estates.

The goal is to coordinate the salvage, and distribution of as much of the building materials as possible, and to record the numerous innovative re-use projects that transpire over the ensuing year. Site-visits, interviews and photo documentation of individual projects will be conducted to record the process.

A “Building Materials Harvest Day” was held Nov. 7, during which “Pioneer Harvesters” posed with signs that proclaimed their plans for the materials. Along with the “Offgrid Kitchen” idea on the right, harvesters also identified sculptural gardens, drafting tables and picture frames among the projects for which the materials would be used. Items reclaimed were described as “non-structural” and included shelves, cabinets, interior doors and loose lumber. Additional reclamation days are planned during, but have not yet been announced.

The project has been covered by the Savannah Morning News and SCAD’s student news organization and can be followed on the Emergent Structures blog, located here.

A recent story on National Public Radio, Not All Communities Welcome Urban Gardening, covered the controversy caused when a Wisconsin family decided to plant vegetables in the strip of soil between the sidewalk and the street. In the strange dialect spoken by inhabitants of Wisconsin, this piece of real estate is called a parkway. Around these parts, they are called tree lawns and they’ve been in the news recently, too.

Last month the city announced that tree lawn upkeep would become the responsibility of residents. According to this Savannah Morning News story, city crews were pulled off tree lawn detail because of budget cuts. Tree lawns around town are already looking a little shaggy.

It is true that some residents—especially in the National Landmark Historic District—took responsibility for tree lawns long ago with pleasing results. Elsewhere however, residents may be unsure what to do as the grass and weeds, no longer harassed by city mowers and trimmers, grow higher and higher. With tree lawn maintenance now back in the hands of residents, I wondered if a Wisconsin-style parkway poblano pepper patch would get a homeowner in hot water here. I turned to the City of Savannah’s Web site and found this:

Prior to planting, pick up a copy of the Tree Lawn Brochure from Park and Tree. The brochure outlines the necessary steps. Then contact the City’s Landscape Architect to discuss proposed plantings prior to submittal of a sketch plan for review and approval.

That sounded like an awful lot of picking up, contacting, discussing, sketching and submitting just to find out if tomatoes are allowed near sidewalks, so I called Park and Tree and asked
“the vegetable question.” I was promptly transferred to the streets maintenance department, where a helpful and friendly gentleman admitted he’d never been asked that question. I suggested others probably heard the NPR story and might be calling. Rosco Philbrick, street maintenance supervisor, was identified as the guy who’d have the answer. I left a message for him. He called back within five minutes and was just as friendly and helpful as the first guy.

The verdict: Tree lawn vegetable gardens are not allowed. Yet, there is good news. Philbrick was quick to add that planting herbs is OK, provided they are less than 36 inches tall.

So there you have it. Rosemary is an acceptable street-side crop, rutabagas not so much. Of course, you could always decide to go guerrilla on the tree lawn.

“We’ve been working with the city on developing natural walking trails at Bacon Park Forest for years,” said Diane Houston, President of the Savannah Tree Foundation.  “While this day marks the beginning of the trail installation process, it’s also the culmination of a great deal of time spent by our organization and staff from the city’s Leisure Services Bureau to develop the concept and design.  This is a great moment for all of us.”

And volunteers are needed on Saturday, June 6 from 9 a.m. until noon:

Volunteers should wear long sleeves shirts, pants and close?toed shoes with socks, and should bring work gloves, bypass pruners and pruning shears if they have them.  Refreshments, community service hours, tools and T?shirts will be provided.  Onsite parking is available near the intersection of Skidaway Road and Bonna Bella Drive.

More information on the event is available here.

Any other garden tips?

This morning in his City Talk column, Bill Dawers joined others who have found hope in the president-elect’s familiarity with Jane Jacobs’ book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.” Did Mr. Obama highlight the same passage in his copy that I did in mine?

“Erosion of cities by automobiles entails so familiar a series of events that these hardly need describing. The erosion proceeds as a kind of nibbling … Because of vehicular congestion, a street is widened here, another is straightened there, a wide avenue is converted to one-way flow, staggered-signal systems are installed for faster movement, a bridge is double-decked… an expressway is cut through yonder, and finally whole webs of expressways. More and more land goes into parking, to accommodate the ever increasing numbers of vehicles while they are idle…”

I thought of this quote today as I took care of my lunchtime errands on foot. I walked about two and a half miles and was dismayed by the number of times I had to walk around idle cars parked on or blocking sidewalks. And this in one of the most walkable cities in North America.

That, in turn, got me thinking about something that’s been bothering me for days. A recent Savannah Morning News story described Chatham County’s first pedestrian fatality of 2009, which motivated my fellow citizens to add despicable comments. Here’s an example:

“If stupid people would stay out of the road, this wouldn’t happen. Now the driver of that van is going to probably need therapy, go through needless hassles with his insurance company, and have the mark of ‘killing someone with his car’ on him, and he didn’t do anything wrong. All because some guy is too retarded to stay out of the road.”

Admittedly, this fatality happened on an Interstate, albeit one that skirts an urban area. Few of us would choose to walk in this environment. But in some situations (if your car breaks down and your cell phone battery is dead, for example) you may find yourself with no choice. And to be honest, this type of blame the victim mentality is regularly applied to pedestrian deaths no matter the location or circumstance.

I get the message: Stay out of the road, but don’t expect us to stay off the sidewalks. The driver is always right.

Bummed? Yes, I was. But then I read this quote from Bike Portland via the Streetsblog Network and was heartened:

“All traffic fatalities are a symptom of the same disease. It’s equally sad and tragic if a person is killed while walking, biking, or driving. It also appears that the conditions that make it safer for the most vulnerable make it safer for everyone. As roads become safe enough that a child can safety walk or bike to their friend’s house, the roads also become safer for driving to that friend’s house when you have to.”

Will our next president’s transportation projects reward the kind of mindset that finds it appropriate to heap insults and blame on dead pedestrians? Or will he choose a path that protects and benefits those who walk, those who bicycle, those who ride transit and those who drive? A chorus of voices, some of them drawing inspiration from Jacobs, are urging Mr. Obama to do the right thing. I hope he hears them and acts accordingly.