Free Republic

The cleanest city in the entire world will take root next month in Abu Dhabi, a place best known for its oil. -snip- In February, Masdar (which means "the source" in Arabic) will break ground on the six-square-kilometer city that its backers say will be the first zero-pollution, zero-waste city. The city will be capable of housing 47,500 people, who are scheduled to start moving there in 2009. Construction is expected to take 10 years. -snip- No cars will be allowed in the city. People will get around through an electric light-rail system that will be linked to the center...

WASHINGTON - After clocks are turned back this weekend, pedestrians walking during the evening rush hour are nearly three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars than before the time change, two U.S. scientists calculate. Ending daylight saving time translates into about 37 more U.S. pedestrian deaths around 6 p.m. in November compared to October, the researchers report. Their study of risk to pedestrians is preliminary but confirms previous findings of higher deaths after clocks are set back in fall. It's not the darkness itself, but the adjustment to earlier night time that's the killer, said professors...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A federal judge says forcing non-drivers in Michigan to submit to preliminary breath tests without a search warrant is unconsitutional. U.S. District Judge David Lawson issued an injunction Wednesday blocking enforcement of a state law that penalizes pedestrians under 21 who refuse such a test. The American Civil Liberties Union says Michigan is the only state in the country that requires pedestrians to submit to a breath test without a warrant. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of four college students who had to blow into portable breath testers. Defendants in the case include the Michigan...

Two pedestrians were injured when they were struck by a teenage driver who had dropped her cell phone, St. Cloud police said. Police said the 17-year-old girl was searching for the phone when her car drifted out of the driving lane and struck two women Thursday evening. One of the pedestrians suffered a broken leg. The other had a bruised shoulder. Both were taken to St. Cloud Hospital. The driver was cited for inattentive driving and released to her parents.

WASHINGTON - Four communities will soon share $100 million in federal funds to develop bicycle and pedestrian trails aimed at enticing commuters to give up their cars to get to work, thanks to lawmakers involved in the final negotiations on the recently passed highway bill. The four pilot projects at $25 million each were the brainchild of Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, an avid cyclist and, more importantly, the senior Democrat on the House Transportation Committee. "A lot of trails have been built for recreational purposes," said Keith Laughlin, president of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, an advocacy for turning abandoned railroad...

LONDON -- Subway stations closed, traffic backed up and offices were emptied Thursday after a new assault on London's transit system. Even with little bloodshed or damage, fear spread. Panicked and screaming commuters fled the affected subway stations, some running out of their shoes. One Londoner said everyone he knew was buying bicycles. "I won't be taking the Tube or bus to work tomorrow," said Dean Duffy, a 28-year-old bricklayer, who heard a bang as he left the Oval Station in south London. Near the Warren Street station, witness Ivan McCracken told Sky News that people began coming into his...

Since moving to Miami from California 18 months ago, Arnold Dejesus has narrowly escaped getting run over twice while crossing the street. Once, the 36-year-old salesman was so angry he kicked the offending car. Dejesus says Florida's roads are extremely dangerous for pedestrians, and according to a private study released Thursday, he is right. The study by the Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Policy Project says Florida's roads are the nation's most dangerous for people walking along them. Tampa ranked first among the state's metropolitan areas with 3.69 pedestrian deaths annually per 100,000 people. Orlando was next with 3.15, and Miami-Fort...

SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES For decades, automakers have been making vehicles safer for their occupants, largely because of the need to meet federal regulations. The result is that people riding in vehicles are protected by several tons of metal, restrained by seat belts and cushioned by air bags in a crash. Pedestrians, on the other hand, have no such protections. But some automakers are increasingly working to make their vehicles more pedestrian-friendly should they have an unfortunate encounter. Although pedestrian deaths don't reach the level of almost 43,000 highway fatalities annually, last year 4,808 pedestrians were killed and 71,000...

Inside the system Xmas slay that the rich go for THE BIG Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) favoured by the rich are twice as likely to kill pedestrians as a normal car in an accident. The finding comes in the latest edition of the authoritative journal Accident Analysis and Prevention it is based on systematic research in the US headed by engineer Clay Gabler. SUVs have become a fashion fad among the rich for their "country estate" connotations. Many have a kind of "bull bar" grill on the front which serves no other purpose than to make it more likely someone...

In a local story with national implications, Brian Gonzales of Fort Collins will be charged with the death of one person and the injuring of three others in what I strongly suspect is an issue of pedestrians exercising their rights to walk out into a crosswalk in front of oncoming traffic. As reported in the Boulder Daily Camera.... The driver, Brian D. Gonzales of Fort Collins, was issued a summons Tuesday for careless driving resulting in death and three counts of careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury — all class 1 misdemeanor traffic offenses. I say "strongly suspect" because...