Car-crazy Los Angeles is rapidly reinventing itself into a city with a world-class public transportation system. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates the second-largest bus fleet in the United States behind only New York City and the second-busiest light rail system behind only Boston.
While the Westside was getting left behind in the rush to build new rail lines, mass transit is steadily pushing into L.A.'s wealthiest neighborhoods as the dream of riding the rails to the edge of the Pacific Ocean becomes a reality.
Jerusalem's new light rail powers forward along a grass track between Damascus Gate and Jaffa Gate.
August 19-29, 2011 -- Jerusalem was the last city I visited on my summer 2011 journey through Europe and Israel and it is also one of the most environmentally-friendly cities in the world thanks to its mix of ancient and modern infrastructure, traditional religious observations and forward-thinking political and economic leadership.
Before I get to Jerusalem's new light rail line that is providing residents with a clean, green form of transportation, there are a couple of ancient factors that automatically make the city green. The most obvious factor in keeping the air clean is that the Old City was settled during the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, in the 4th millennium BCE (Before the Common Era). The last time I checked, the internal combustion engine had not been invented yet so the Old City was not made for vehicular traffic. That means there is a large section of the city that is car-free and therefore pollution-free. Also, Jerusalem almost completely shuts down from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday for Shabbat. That means thousands of cars and buses are taken off the roads for 24 hours every week, thereby dramatically reducing the city's carbon footprint.
Now with the new light rail line, Jaffa Road is permanently closed off to motor vehicles, reducing pollution along West Jerusalem's main artery from the Old City to Mount Herzl. In fact, there has been a dramatic 80% decrease in air pollution on Jaffa Road since cars and buses were replaced by light rail trams. And in addition to reducing air pollution, light rail reduces noise pollution. In contrast to honking taxis and rumbling buses, light rail is incredibly quiet.
In addition to new green public transportation projects like the light rail line, Jerusalem is also on the forefront of promoting the use of electric vehicles. Electric car operator Better Place is partnering with the city to add a network of electric car charging stations all over the city.
Biking is also big in Jerusalem. There is a group that gives midnight bike tours of the old and new city. And it is easy to rent a bike like I did and get to know the City of Peace on two wheels. I biked during Shabbat when the streets are empty. I started at Davidka Square where my hostel is located, and biked along the light rail tracks up Jaffa Road to Mount Herzl and then down to the Christian village of Ein Karem. While Jerusalem doesn't have a bike sharing system like Tel Aviv yet, the city is on its way to becoming the bicycle capital of Israel.
And of course, as in the rest of Israel, there are rooftop solar water heaters everywhere in Jerusalem. I even saw solar water heater systems on top of the ancient buildings in the Old City, like those pictured to the left in front of a church in the Armenian Quarter. And Jerusalem has many white roofs, also called cool roofs because they reduce heat transference to buildings by reflecting sunlight, thus reducing the need to power air conditioners and saving energy and greenhouse gas emissions.
While Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, it is also taking environmentally friendly actions such as the new light rail line to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy The City of Peace.
Click here for more observations from Jerusalem on Josh's Travel Blog.
Here are more pictures from Jerusalem. Click here to see the full photo set on Flickr.
Here is a musical video montage of Jerusalem's new light rail system.
Here is video of me bicycling across the Chords Bridge and up to Mount Herzl on a Shabbat Saturday when the streets are empty and the light rail line is not in service.
For such a big city, it is surprising that Tel Aviv does not have a subway system. Even Jerusalem just opened a popular light rail tram line. But that will be changing in the years to come as the city builds a light rail system. The 14-mile (22 km) Red Line is under construction and will run from Bat Yam through Jaffa and central Tel Aviv and on to Petach Tikva and the Central Bus Station. The first line is expected to be fully operational by 2017.
But for now eco-conscious Tel Avivians walk, bike and bus around the city. Tel Aviv has hopped on the bike sharing bandwagon with Tel-O-Fun. The bike sharing system launched in May and features 150 stations and 1,500 bikes. The program is still in the pilot phase so it is only available to annual subscribers. The bright green bikes can be seen all over the city and are quickly becoming the preferred mode of transportation for residents. Expect the bike sharing program to really take off once it opens up to short-term visitors from around the world.
Tel Aviv has 43 miles (70 km) of marked bike paths to take advantage of, including bike lanes along Rothschild Boulevard and along the beach promenade stretching from Jaffa north past the Tel Aviv Port.
The Port is where I rented a run-down mountain bike with the screechiest brakes in the Middle East. It was pure pleasure biking along the flat bike lanes with spectacular views of the late afternoon sun shining over the shimmering blue waters of the mighty Mediterranean Sea. I biked north past The Port and Sde Dov Airport to a scenic suburban beach that was less crowded than the packed tourist beaches in central Tel Aviv.
Besides promoting biking, Tel Aviv also encourages recycling with these large containers all over the city. The bins are aesthetically appealing with creative designs on the sides. It makes it easy to do the right thing with that empty Fanta plastic bottle you overpaid for and drank way too fast in the unbearable heat and humidity of a Tel Aviv summer.
Click here to read more observations of Tel Aviv on Josh's Travel Blog.
Here is video of me biking on the beach trail next to Sde Dov Airport north of the Tel Aviv Port.
Here are more photos from Tel Aviv-Yafo. Click here to see the set on Flickr.
