Irvin Dawid discovered Planetizen when a classmate in an urban planning lab at San Jose State University shared it with him in 2003. When he left San Jose State that year, he took with him an interest in Planetizen, if not the master's degree in urban & regional planning.
As a long-time environmental activist, he formed the Sustainable Land Use committee for his local Sierra Club chapter and served six years on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Advisory Council from 2002-2008. He maintains his interest in air quality by representing Sierra Club California on the Clean Air Dialogue, a working group of the Calif. Environmental Dialog representing business, regulatory and public health/environmental interests.
Major interests include transportation funding, e.g., gas taxes, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, road tolls and energy subsidies that lead to unlevel playing fields for more sustainable choices.
He hails from Queens (Bayside) and Long Island (Great Neck); received an AAS in Fisheries & Wildlife Technology from SUNY Cobleskill and a B.S. from what is now Excelsior College.
After residing for three years on California’s North Coast, he’s lived on the San Francisco Peninsula since 1983, including 24 years in Palo Alto. Home is now near downtown Burlingame, a short bike-ride to the Caltrain station.
He’s been car-free since driving his 1972 Dodge Tradesman maxi-van, his means to exit Long Island in 1979, to the junkyard in 1988.
Major forms of transportation: A 1991 'citybike' and monthly Caltrain pass, zone 2-2. "It's no LIRR, but it may be the most bike friendly train in America."
Irvin can be reached at [email protected]
Orange County Opts for Free Lanes over HOT Lanes
Orange County, birthplace of the nation's first high occupancy toll (HOT) lane, may never see another. Not only did they reject a plan to add one (or two) toll lanes, to the 405 Freeway, legislation to ban them altogether may be introduced.
PBS Explores Charging-by-the-Mile
The auto fleet is becoming greener - not just with hybrids and electric vehicles, but all new vehicles are required to be more fuel efficient. While that is good for the environment, declining gas tax revenues threaten the nation's infrastructure.
AAA Wants to Boost Your Gas Taxes?
Yes - the nonprofit organization representing 53 million motorists in the U.S. and Canada sees value in raising the gas tax to improve the nation's roads, bridges and transit systems. UPS, a major road user, agrees. But there are many detractors.
Large Companies Moving Back to Cities
The movement stems from demographic changes in the work force. For companies seeking younger hires, they need to go to where they prefer to live. Suburban campuses may be replaced by urban headquarters or the addition of satellite offices in cities.
New Hampshire to Reconsider Increasing its Gas Tax in January
New Hampshire will consider a Republican bill in 2014 to tie the gas tax to inflation, increasing it by about 4 cents next year should it pass. The Senate killed a House bill in May to increase the gas tax by 12 cents over 3 years.