TRANSIT Tuesdays: Seattle, Detroit Move Transit Plans Forward

Something called the "East Link" is getting attention, as Sound Transit considers using eminent domain in Seattle suburb Bellevue to plan a new light-rail line.

In other news:

*And, transit projects such as light-rail, in Maryland, would benefit from a proposed 15% increase in the state's gas tax.

*Detroit is considering a network of high-speed bus lanes to set the stage for more regional transit (in the birthplace of the automobile.)

*New Jersey Transit is partnering with Google to accept payment via the Google Wallet application, which is available on some cell phones, including Sprint's Nexus 4G-enabled phone.

WHEELS Wednesday: Copenhagen, L.A. Add Bike Options

Get ready: you can soon take your bike on more buses in....Copenhagen, Denmark. A Danish transit agency is expanding that option. In the U.S., a number of agencies allow this, including L.A.'s MTA buses. In Los Angeles, bike lanes are being studied for York Blvd., a major artery in northeast L.A., connecting the Eagle Rock and Garvanza/Highland Park neighborhoods. L.A. is also asking for federal bucks to extend the L.A. River Bike Path.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, officials are asking folks to get out of their cars, while the mammoth Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed to allow for construction work; bicycles are an option, they say.

MULTI-MODAL Mondays: Baltimore, Boston, and L.A. Projects Get Fast-Tracked

Ultra-cool Streetsblog details federal fast-track status for new transit projects, including: some funds for a connection between LAX and the Crenshaw transit line, in L.A., bicycle and pedestrian lanes along the Whittier Bridge in Boston, and a new east-west light-rail line in Baltimore (a.k.a. the "red line"). The new status expedites the federal approval process to potentially provide federal monies for the projects.

WHEELS Wednesday: Everything's Up to Date in...Indianapolis

In the American Midwest, the Indianapolis Bike Hub YMCA, a.k.a 'The Indy Bike Hub' is now open for business--part of a multi-million dollar renovation of historic City Market in the Hoosier State's capital. The combination of YMCA and bicycle transit center--with showers and lockers--is supposed to spur bicycle commuting in the small, flat, but transit-poor and sprawling, Indiana city.

MULTI-MODAL Mondays: Illinois, Norfolk Hubs Rising; Portland Planning Tool Unveiled

American metropolitan area as different as those of Virginia's Hampton Roads/Norfolk area and Bloomington-Normal, home of Illinois State University, are constructing multi-modal transit centers--in the case of Norfolk, that includes the first downtown rail station built in the last half-century. It will serve a recently-opened light-rail light that now connects Norfolk to Virginia Beach, as well as Amtrak.

This month, Portland, Oregon's transit agency unveils its online multi-modal trip-planner, which it claims is the first open-source planner around--perfect for anyone to add information and travel advice to, presumably.

FLEET-FOOT Fridays: New Subway Lines See Light at Tunnel's End

New lines and more walkable areas are the theme of new mass transit lines going up around the world. Boston's transit agency is building the Assembly Square station on the Orange Line, serving a blighted part of East Somerville (which would have been less-blighted if small, but vocal opposition hadn't driven a proposed IKEA away and out to the car-dependent suburbs).

New York is continuing to build a subway under Manhattan's Second Avenue, but train trips are five years away.

In Toronto, new stations are being built on the Toronto-York Spadina line, extending the line from Downsview to Vaughn Corporate Park. Still no direct service to Toronto's International Airport--not a real priority unless you're worried about the carbon footprint of the airport and its impact on global-warming.

Oh, and if you happen to be heading to Xi'an, China, perhaps to see the Terracotta Warriors, the city just opened its first subway line.

WHEELS Wednesday: Online Cyclist Resources....

Great resources for bicyclists--commuter, leisure, anything--online: BikeRadar is a great resource for all things cycling, as is Cycling News. Meanwhile, Road Cycling is more race and leisure oriented. Road Bike Review offers more product-oriented information.

MULTI-MODAL Mondays: Bicycle Commuting Round-Up

Top bike commuting town? The home of Oregon State University, in the Willamette Valley town of Corvallis. Not even Eugene, with its legendary environmental activism could top Corvallis in a recent poll. Meanwhile, bicycle commuting increased 22 percent in Seattle, while doing little in Portland, Ore. to change car-dependency.