How would you react if you heard these announcements on the platform? Photo by Susan Sermoneta.

The City Room blog from The New York Times has a hilarious post on fantasy subway announcements, read by Bernie Wagenblast, the original transportation communicator whose voice you’ve probably heard on NYC Transit, NJ Transit and Virginia Department of Transportation. City Room invited their readers to suggest announcements they would like to hear to help beat the deadening monotony of subway commuting. There were nearly 200 responses and the blog posted the top 11, recorded by Wagenblast himself. We transcribed a few of the sound bites that had us giggling. Read the original story on the City Room.

A Bit Shy:

Attention, passengers! I can’t help but notice that there are two beguiling people on this train, who I think would make quite an attractive couple, but both seem to be a bit shy. Won’t someone introduce them?

Wake Up:

Wake up, everybody! It’s time for volleyball.

Cheap headphones:

Ladies and gentlemen, cheap headphones are no excuse for inflicting your bad musical taste on fellow passengers.

It Is Not Recommended:

As reason may suggest, it is not recommended to enter an empty subway car during rush hour.

Watch the gap:

Watch the gap, and by the way, you look marvelous, simply marvelous.

Traveling Wizard:

Mr. Potter, your train awaits you at Platform 9 and ¾.

Wouldn’t it be really funny to hear these while waiting for the train? Do you have any suggestions for fantasy subway announcements? Share with us in the comments below.

"Home," the tale of how a family's life changes with the reconstruction of the abandoned highway near their house, is just one of the many city- and transport-related screenings at the Environmental Film Festival, which starts Tuesday. Photo by Jérôme Prébois.

A town’s green renewal after being decimated by a tornado. The community impact of a major shopping mall. A ghost town’s transformation into an eco-village. If you’d like to learn more about any of these topics, along with a host of other environmental themes, you’ll want to check out D.C.’s annual Environmental Film Festival, starting tomorrow. Now in its 18th year, the festival allows Washingtonians to experience documentaries, fictional stories and discussions with filmmakers that celebrate the wonder of the natural world and illuminate the growing challenges to life on earth. This year’s event will be the biggest yet, with 155 films. The focus of the 2010 festival is the vital connection between food and the environment, but other issues range from green business practices to renewable energy to mountaintop removal mining. Most of the screenings are free, and shows are held in various venues around town. Take a look at the full schedule for more information.

To help you sort through the offerings, here are our picks – the films most directly related to cities, urban planning, and transportation. Check ‘em out, and let us know what you think. Share your opinions and suggestions with other movie-goers by submitting comments on this post.

Greensburg (3/16/10, 7:00 pm, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, free): Follows the sustainable rebirth of Greensburg, Kansas after it was devastated by a tornado in 2007.

Un Petit Coin de Paradis (3/17/10, 6:30 pm, Embassy of Switzerland, free): Three generations attempt to transform a Swiss ghost town into an exemplary eco-village.

Moving Midway (3/18/10, 6:30 pm, National Building Museum, tickets $12 for museum non-members): Filmmaker Godfrey Cheshire returns to Midway Plantation, his ancestral home in North Carolina, only to find that his cousin is planning to relocate the buildings to escape suburban sprawl. Through the telling of this family controversy, the film looks back at the history of plantations.

Cooked (3/21/10, 3:00 pm, Carnegie Institute for Science, free): A work in progress, this film tells the story of the 739 Chicago citizens who died in the 1995 heat wave and examines the politics of poverty and crisis in American cities.

Home (3/21/10, 4:30 pm, National Gallery of Art, free): The tale of a boisterous middle-class family enjoying a peaceful existence in a simple house that lies on a lush, grassy field next to an abandoned highway – until construction on the desolate highway suddenly begins, changing the rhythm of their lives.

Traffic (3/21/10, 7:30 pm, AFI Silver Theatre, tickets $10 for general admission): French director Jacques Tati takes a farcical look at modern life coming to a screeching halt when the main character tricks out his car with all the latest gadgets – with calamitous results.

A Necessary Ruin: The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome (3/22/10, 6:30 pm, National Building Museum, tickets $12 for museum non-members): The Union Tank Car Dome, located north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the largest clear-span structure in the world when it was built in 1958. The film tells the story of the dome’s construction, decline and demolition.

Art without Walls: The Making of the Olympic Sculpture Park (3/25/10, 5:30 pm, Dumbarton Oaks, free): This film documents the creation of Seattle’s new Olympic Sculpture Park, which transformed a polluted fuel storage site in the heart of the city into a public green space that combines contemporary art with natural beauty.

Megamall (3/25/10, 6:30 pm, National Building Museum, tickets $12 for museum non-members): Twelve years in the making, “Megamall” documents the origins of the massive Palisades Center Mall and its impact on the suburban community of West Nyack, New York.

Auto*Mat (3/25/10, 7:00 pm, Embassy of the Czech Republic, free): Through a unique combination of animation, music and home video segments, “Auto*Mat” protests against the tyranny of the car and automobile traffic.

“E2 Transport”: Food Miles (3/25/10, 7:00 pm, Maret School, free): In the 21st century global food economy, most foods travel an average of 1,500 miles from farm to plate. This film introduces a broad range of ideas to lessen the environmental impact of the international food market and address the crisis of fossil fuel dependence.

Division Street (3/26/10, 6:00 pm, National Academy of Sciences, free): While chronicling a quest to visit the most remote place from any road in the lower 48 states, the film examines green highway technology and wildlife corridors and calls for innovation to shape the growing green transportation movement.

Last Call for Planet Earth (3/27/10, 6:00 pm, National Academy of Sciences, free): Twelve leading architects from around the world share their visions on architecture that respects nature.

Though it’s not directly related to cities or transport, we’d like to make a special note of Climate Refugees (3/24/10, 6:00 pm, World Resources Institute, free), as it was produced by the World Resources Institute, the affiliate organization of EMBARQ, which produces this blog. The film looks at the emerging phenomenon of climate refugees, people displaced by climatically induced environmental disasters. Mass global migration and border conflicts are now resulting from climate change-related occurrences, but victims cannot get asylum.

This upcoming Sunday, February 21, for the first time ever, Mumbai is holding a Car Free Day, similar to Ciclovia in Bogotá and Summer Streets in New York City. The all-day event is organized by the Khar-Bandra-Santacruz (KBS) Foundation, a community-based non-governmental organization that promotes cycling and walking as a way to improve the environment and quality of life for local residents. Seema Tiwari, advisor to the KBS Foundation and a former staff member of the Centre for Sustainable Transport in India (part of the EMBARQ Network, which produces this blog), shares her insights about why Car Free Day matters for her city and what it means for the global sustainable transport community.

TheCityFix: How did this idea come about?

Seema Tiwari: While I was working for EMBARQ to establish the India office, I lived in Bandra. Over the weekends, in my own time, I started talking to the local community. Khar-Bandra-Santa Cruz (KBS) Foundation loved the idea and decided to implement the Mumbai Car Free Day.

As some background info: KBS Foundation was involved in taking the lead on extending the Carter Road Promenade, which is a best practice for public space utilization in Mumbai’s western suburbs. The road is widely being used by the local community for fitness and recreational purposes. KBS Foundation’s mission is to motivate people to take up cycling as a mode of transportation, sport, recreation and environment protection. In the past, it has organized a film screening on cycle-friendly cities at the Carter Road open-air amphitheatre, which attracted 100 cyclists and more than 200 viewers.

TCF: Who started Car Free Day?

ST: KBS Foundation took up the idea as a public awareness campaign under their much larger project, the Khar-Bandra Bicycle Project, which plans to implement 15 kilometers of dedicated cycle lanes in the neighborhood. As an immediate outcome of Car Free Day, the Foundation will be installing six bicycle stands with local politicians’ support.

This would not have been possible without the support of  Phirojsha Godrej Foundation, Cloud 9, PCRA, EMBARQ, Wescon Group of Companies, Maharashtra Marine Board, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Awaaz Foundation, Radio City 91.1 FM,  Fountainhead Promotions & Events and www.wherecity.com.

TCF: What is the mission of Car Free Day?

ST: There are six overarching goals:

• Develop cleaner, greener and beautiful surroundings for a better quality of life by going eco-friendly.
• Promote active transportation by creating a pro-walking and -cycling culture based on zero-pollution mobility.
• Create a need for promenades, walkways and dedicated cycle lanes by active citizenship and community mobilization.
• Improve quality of public spaces by assisting the government in developing dedicated cycling infrastructure like dedicated cycle lanes, cycle parks and cycle parking facilities in three phases.
• Educate the community in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and make Khar, Bandra, and Santacruz carbon-neutral.
• Protect and conserve the mangroves and the environment in the neighborhood.

TCF: How does this Sunday’s event compare to other car-free initiatives in cities around the world?

ST: For Mumbai Car Free Day, we carefully reviewed Bogota and New York City’s car-free days — these two were our inspiration. The key difference is these that those events are led and funded by the government, whereas in Mumbai, it’s led by an NGO who fundraised with the private sector.
In India, the challenge is to get the government to reach an understanding that urban projects are just not “technical” but “socio-technical” in nature. It is important for them to make budgets for public awareness campaigns, like Car Free Day, through which we hope to bring behavioral change in people to appreciate and use the city’s facilities, rather then rebel against the government’s sustainable transport projects.

TCF: Explain how this is innovative for Mumbai, in particular, and India, in general?

ST: The events planned for the day are very local, just not country- and city-specific, but neighborhood-by-neighborhood. Local gyms, clubs, Bollywood singers, restaurants, and artists are all participating. Local politicans, including Mrs. Priya Dutt, a member of Parliament, and Baba Siddique, a member of the Legislative Assembly, along with some Bandra-based celebraties, are all cycling with the community.

In addition, Car Free Day is integrated with other events, such as the Mumbai Cyclothon, where 4000 cyclists will pass through our Car Free Day venue on Carter Road. And about 10 cyclists from the Bangalore Cycling Club will bike 1,000 kilometers from Bangalore to Mumbai, to help promote the festivities. (Follow the ride on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blrcyclingclub.)

We’re also pleased to share that the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and Awaaz Foundation are doing air and noise pollution studies before and after the event on Sunday. The test on February 17 will establish normal levels of air and noise pollution, while the test on February 21 will provide comparative data on a day without cars. We anticipate a significant reduction in both on the latter date and the result promises to be very interesting.

Other Car Free Day events will include morning ragas, Tibetan yoga, BMX stunts, gully cricket, pranic healing classes, dance exercises by Leena Mogre, skating, healthy eating classes, Odissi dancing, karaoke, kite flying, art camp and ghazals by Ghulam Hashir. The evening schedule will be highlighted by a pop music performance by Shaan.

TCF: That sounds fun! How has the response been so far?

ST: Very positive. KBS members have held community meetings with residents along Carter Road, to gain their support and cooperation. Local police and other municipal agencies have also offered support. There’s been a ton of press and blog coverage, too.

TCF: What are plans for the future?

ST: There will be an evaluation of the event to note down successes, failures and recommendations. This pilot project will be compiled into a report and submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development and the Maharashtra government. MOUD’s national urban transport policy clearly states the importance of such events for public awareness. Plus, under the funds provided by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), there is a budget for capacity-building and public awareness campaigns, but it has not been mobilized so far. We would love for the Maharashtra Government to host future car-free days in cooperation with KBS all across Mumbai, as has already been done in Bogota and New York City.

ADDITIONAL READING:

• Individuals Can Make a Difference: A View from India (Streetsblog)
• Pedal2Mumbai – a 4 day 1010kms cycle ride by Bangalore Cycling Club in support of Mumbai car free day (Google Groups)
• B’lore cyclists peddle to city for a ‘car-free day’ (Times of India)
• Decongest roads, pedal your way around (Deccan Herald)
• Fuelling the passion for cycling in Mumbai (Bangalore Mirror)
• It’s car-free time at Mumbai’s Carter Road this Sunday (DNA India)
• Car-free Sunday for Carter Road (Mumbai Mirror)

About the KBS Foundation:

The KBS Foundation is a non-profit, non-political and non-sectarian, social and charitable organization, having concerned citizens of Khar, Bandra and Santacruz as permanent members, who have come together to undertake projects across various localities of Khar, Bandra and Santacruz to fulfill a common and passionate objective of cleaner, greener and beautiful surroundings for a better quality of life.

Don't let the snow get you down! Do something about it! TheCityFix Managing Editor, Erica Schlaikjer, created "Snow Helper" Watch Areas on SeeClickFix, to help figure out where to clear our streets.

Here at TheCityFix DC, we’ve been intrigued and motivated into action by all the recent reports about uncleared sidewalks, poorly plowed streets and other “snowmergencies” in the city.

That’s why we’re creating special “Snow Helper” Watch Areas on SeeClickFix, the powerful online mapping tool that lets you report transportation and urban planning issues directly to city officials. Want to keep tabs on all the snow-related problems in your ‘hood? “Follow” one of the Watch Areas below. Or, you can create your own. Go to “Washington” on SeeClickFix. Select a neighborhood in the right-hand sidebar. Click on “Who’s Watching.” Then click on “Create a Watch Area.” Kindly label it “[Your Neighborhood] Snow Helpers,” so we can all belong to the same community of helpful blizzard-bashing, snowmageddon-slashing citizens. Make sure it includes these keywords: icey icy “ice” “snow” -graffiti -pothole shovel plow. Don’t forget, you can earn your Civic Points, too, when you log in with your Facebook profile.

Here are the Watch Areas I created already:

Adams Morgan Snow Helpers

Bloomingdale Snow Helpers

Capitol Hill Snow Helpers

College Park Snow Helpers

Columbia Heights Snow Helpers

Dupont Circle Snow Helpers

Eckington Snow Helpers

Foggy Bottom Snow Helpers

Logan Circle Snow Helpers

Mount Pleasant Snow Helpers

Mount Vernon Square Snow Helpers

Petworth Snow Helpers

Hmm...something's not right with this picture. Shouldn't this street be plowed? At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown wants you to report this and other issues to SeeClickFix. See our report here: http://seeclickfix.com/issues/17378

We are very excited to announce that At-Large D.C. Councilmember Kwame Brown (connect with him on TheCityFix Social!) is encouraging local residents to report transportation-related issues caused  by the record-breaking snow storms this week. Need your street to be plowed? Is your bus stop obstructed by snow? Has your cycling lane turned into an illegal parking spot? Report these and other issues on SeeClickFix, a powerful online mapping tool that allows you to report issues in your neighborhood and automatically notify local officials and advocates who have the power to fix the problem! Councilmember Brown himself has been trying to help our city dig its way out of this blizzard by plowing constituent driveways and roadways for the last three major snowstorms. Watch these videos to prove it.

We’ve already embedded a SeeClickFix map of D.C. on our blog, so you can start clicking and fixing right away. There’s also a cool widget embedded at the bottom of this post, if you don’t feel like leaving this page. How do you report an issue? Simple. Click on the link at the top of the map that says “report an issue” and follow the step-by-step instructions.

If you’re on-the-go and not near a computer, you can also access SeeClickFix by using a mobile app on your smartphone (available via Blackberry, iPhone and Android.) See our review of other transport-related mobile apps here, if you’re interested.

We’ll be following your issues, too, and blogging about them right here.

Here are a few of the top issues that TheCityFix DC bloggers have been writing about over the past couple of months:

Snowstorm Erases Pedestrian Connections in D.C. – Again
Washington, D.C. does a pretty good job of plowing major roads after snowstorms. However, sidewalks and crosswalks are a different story.

TheCityFix Report on SeeClickFix Results in Improved Safety for Pedestrians at Critical Intersection
It all started four months ago, when TheCityFix blogger David Daddio reported an issue on SeeClickFix about a dangerous intersection at U Street and Florida Ave., east of 18th Street NW. Over just several days, the report got responses from concerned citizens, and finally, the Office of Councilmember Jim Graham.

Use SeeClickFix to Send Your K Street Comments
Following up on my earlier post about the K Street Transitway, you can also express your support for the K Street Transitway using SeeClickFix.