When we consider sustainable transportation, we generally think of bicycling, alternative fuels and practices like carpooling and ride sharing. However, transportation doesn’t just involve our vehicles – it includes infrastructure like highways and roads.

Recently, the transportation infrastructure industry is incorporating sustainable practices when designing roads.

Some look to the success of LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s rating system, to shape their program, while others see the process as more of a partnership between public and private groups, one which brings stakeholders and experts together to decide the best plan of action. …read more of Green Road Design here

The environmental movement may espouse a car-free lifestyle, but even with fewer cars on the road we still need those interstates and crescents to move our bikes and our daily bread. As I mentioned in my earlier posts on this topic, greening your ride goes beyond the vehicle – it includes looking at how highways and byways affect our environment and making them more sustainable.

It’s a huge issue, not only because the size of these projects means the potential for environmental damage is great, but also because there are so many interests involved. From private sector industries to public agencies and government departments (at the state, federal and municipal level), these stakeholders are slowly merging knowledge and resources in the name of sustainability.

However, because the construction industry and environmental representatives have been adversaries in the past, there are naturally some roadblocks along the way. …read more of Building Green Roads here

While asphalt and fencing may not be the feel-good green building materials like bamboo and sod, when it comes to making our highways more sustainable we have to look a little deeper.

Deep as in below ground level, to understand the way the watershed is affected by the construction of major roads. Or deep like the woods, and the flora and fauna whose habitats are threatened by change.

These are just two examples of how careful planning can reduce the damage — or even improve the state of affairs — associated with transportation infrastructure. …read more of Greening Our Roads here

While hybrid cars and alternative fuels are certainly a positive step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, studies have that this is a small move – somewhere in the ballpark of 4%  in terms of what we need to do to curb climate change.

On the other hand, urban planners and big thinkers who make their living by looking at the big picture suggest that the answer to curbing emissions from automobiles lies in developing a new, very different way of viewing cars altogether.

Their visions range from the accepted practice of carpooling and car sharing to the futuristic concept of connecting a city with an electrical grid system, so that car users can simply park it, plug it, and walk away. …read more of Ride Sharing here