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Melting-Pot Suburbs And Skeletons For Speeding

Some stories about housing and transport

Melting-Pot Suburbs

When some of us think of the suburbs we think of “white flight” and lack of racial diversity. But no longer. The Brooking Institution, via the Census Bureau, finds growing evidence of “melting-pot suburbs."

"Minorities represent 35 percent of suburban residents, similar to their share of overall U.S. population,” they say. The suburbs of Houston and San Francisco, among other metro areas, have become majority-minority.

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The report tells us that San Diego suburbs are still majority white, but just barely. Non-Hispanic whites make up 51 percent of the population in the San Diego ‘burbs.

Racial Minorities Building Roads

Speaking of race, the U.S. appellate court will hear a challenge of a CALTRANS rule that more than 6 percent of federal funds they control for construction and engineering projects be reserved for women and racial-minority owned businesses.

The plan has gotten approval from a district court judge, but the Associated General Contractors of America has appealed, arguing it’s unconstitutional.

Dude, That’s Grim!

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Drivers in New York are seeing death as a warning not to speed. An electronic sign will flash the image of a skeleton to motorists exceeding 30 mph in zones where that’s the speed limit.

You won’t find them all over town. They’ve been put up in two city neighborhoods where between 66 and 96 percent of motorists speed.

Mercedes With High MPG Coming To America

If you have ever thought of buying an E-class Mercedes sedan you should wait a year or so. Mercedes is planning to sell in the U.S., by the end of 2012, a diesel/hybrid E300 that gets an average of 45 miles per gallon. So you can get a fancy Merc that gets as many miles per gallon as a Prius? That’s what they’re saying.

When it comes to sporty cars, buy a Mini and not a Corvette if you want to save the earth. Edmunds Auto Observer tested sports cars and found the Mini Cooper had the best gas mileage. The Chevy Corvette ZR1 had the worst.

Bikers, We Want Your Business

SDbikeunion.org tells us a number of San Diego establishments are trying to lure cyclists by offering them a good deal on food and other stuff. Café Calabria in North Park offers a 5 percent discount to customers who arrive on a bike.

The health establishment EuroPilates, also in North Park (do I see a trend here?), is offering a 10 percent discount to people who bike there. I’m not why you need to do more exercise if you’ve ready had a bike ride. But to each their own.