stimulus money for austin

There have been a number of posts on the blog talking about the stimulus package that is making its way around the Capitol. Emily has a great post on the breakdown of what's in the stimulus package relating to energy. I mean, $900 B is a lot of money, it's good to know what's in it, right? I've been wondering what the stimulus package has in store for Austin though.

Almost by chance, I came across this post from a blog here in Austin, Downtown Austin. Of interest is money to expand the commuter rail line in Austin. It's good to see Austin taking steps to implement better public transportation to reduce fuel consumption, traffic delays and emissions. The neat thing is you can go on to the site and vote for different stimulus items you like. The full website lists the other stimulus items requested for Austin.

What do you think of some of these requests? Is there anything you think Austin could benefit from?

New transportation technology improves safety, efficiency

Bombardier has recently announced the development of a catenary-free light rail/tram system that is safer than traditional systems, and has also been found to be up to 30% more energy efficient in testing. While there as yet appear to be no details on when the system will be commercially available of what the cost of the system will be, it does raise an interesting question. As the U.S. looks for solutions to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency, will products such as the Primove be able to gain a significant market in U.S. cities? It seems that between the likely future increase of oil prices, desire to reduce traffic congestion, a need for more efficient solutions, and the ever-present concern for safety, that this could be an ideal time for this type of product to make a positive impact in our automobile-loving country.