The first / only "profitable" transportation system? London bike share.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/oct/13/london-bike-hire-profit

This does not account for the cost of the roads, the main reason why car transport systems are so unprofitable -- but interesting nonetheless.

Presumably the cost of roads would be far lower if they were only needed for bicycles (there are actually examples of this in other countries, where bicycle and pedestrians receive narrow paved roadways, while motor vehicles are forced to drive on dirt pathways).

Anniversary of Decision to Move Yale University from Old Saybrook to New Haven, not Hartford

This may be the worst mistake Hartford ever made. Today is apparently the 294th anniversary of the decision of the trustees of Yale University (the then Collegiate School), by a vote of 5-2 on 17 October 1716, to relocate to New Haven, rather than Hartford, from Old Saybrook.

According to Mike Morand of Yale: "The decision was influenced by fact, according to Williston Walker, that Old Saybrook offered 1200 pounds sterling; Hartford offered "claims and protestations"; while New Haven offered 2000 pounds sterling + land. Seems the flow of cash is reversed these days. 2000 pounds in 1716 equals somewhere between 300,000 & 3 million pounds today (a few million dollars) -- New Haven got a very good deal, since the University generates $30 million+ per annum just directly for the City budget these days, in addition to many hundreds of millions in value of jobs, visitors, spending...a wise move all around by all concerned."

New Haven also is home to 1,750 daily bicycle commuters, according to the 2009 Census' American Community Survey -- about 1/3rd of the total number of bicycle commuters in the entire state of Connecticut.

Removing traffic lights led to more considerate, safer road users

Interesting article, and video related to the Monderman theory of city planning. The experiment in the UK resulted in higher traffic safety, both in terms of real crashes as well as the perception of roads being safe to cross:

http://bikeportland.org/2010/10/14/would-we-be-more-considerate-road-users-without-traffic-lights-41126