Stockholm has a reputation of being the best biking city in Sweden, but a new four-lane superhighway for bikes might change that. In Lund, Sweden, a small college town, bicycling is a way of life. “60% of the (Lund) populace bikes or takes public transport to go about their daily tasks, “according to A.K. Streeter. With the availability of public transit and bicycle friendly routes, Lund has made it possible for residents to get around without a car. Being able to accomplish daily tasks without getting in your car seems like a fantasy in California, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The Saltworks Plan will provide a transit-oriented community, which will make it possible to accomplish daily tasks without your car.

Another city in Sweden has put an emphasis on becoming one of the great biking cities in Northern Europe. Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden, has made it possible for people to get around on bikes. This was made possible “mostly by its investment in infrastructure and pure commitment to get people on their bikes.” It proved to be a smart investment since “cycling has increased 30% each year for the last four years, while car trips under five kilometers have dropped.”

Now they have proposed building a new four-lane cycling superhighway to connect Lund and Malmö. The superhighway would run along railroad tracks, cutting the cost of adding right of ways. The superhighway will include bicycle service stations, similar to the bicycle service stations that will be available in the Saltworks Community.

“Building bicycle infrastructure is magnitudes cheaper than building new car roads, and better for our health and our air quality,” said Streeter. The more we promote bicycling and other alternate means of transportation the more we benefit as individuals and a society. Streeter leaves the reader with a question to ponder, “What will the first U.S. cities be to build this type of interurban?” We will have to wait and see. But in the meantime, we hope the bicycle infrastructure planned in the Saltworks Community will spark more transit-oriented developments in the Bay Area.

Follow this link to read more about the superhighway in Sweden. http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/new-cycling-superhighway-not-us.html

Yesterday we announced our intent to turn DMB Associates’ Pacific Division into a new company, DMB Pacific Ventures. DMB Pacific Ventures will be led by Eneas Kane, who served as the President and CEO of DMB Associates. He will now assume the new role as President and CEO of DMB Pacific Ventures. Mark Kehke, who served as the DMB Pacific Division’s Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of COO for the new company. The new DMB Pacific Ventures will be headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

You may be wondering what this means for the Redwood City Saltworks project. We are glad to share that the new company will continue to support and promote the Saltworks project. DMB Pacific Ventures will maintain uninterrupted management of existing projects including, Tejon Mountain Village, Martis Camp, Redwood City Saltworks and Kukui`ula.  Ownership interests in all DMB Pacific projects will remain unchanged.

With DMB Pacific Ventures we have the opportunity to grow and create an ever-more dynamic legacy. As always, we appreciate your continued involvement and support for the Redwood City Saltworks. This is an exciting time for all of us.

The Port of Redwood City is getting ready to undergo a $16 million renovation project. The renovation will expand the Port’s capacity and possibly include a ferry terminal. The port already plays a major role in the Bay Area’s industrial and economic development and this renovation will be greatly beneficial to the region. 

We are especially excited about the possibility of a ferry terminal being part of the renovation project. With more than 40,000 workers commuting into Redwood City every day, having access to a high-speed commuter ferry service in Redwood City would greatly improve the commute. The Saltworks Community will provide the needed transit system connecting the potential ferry terminal to downtown Redwood City and other transit options, including CalTrain. The transportation features in the Saltworks Community will make it easy for visitors to get to downtown and residents to get to the ferry terminal without needing a car!

Follow this link for more information about the renovation project http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Port-of-Redwood-City-Prepares-for-Renovation-136540128.html

According to British psychologist Richard Wiseman’s 2007 survey, 88 percent of New Year’s resolutions end in failure. Not the most encouraging statistic to see at the beginning of the New Year. However, some of the most common New Year’s resolutions could be accomplished by simply living in a smart growth community. 

Smart growth communities, like the Saltworks, put housing and transportation near jobs, retail and schools. The Saltworks Community will offer retail, restaurants, and services within walking distance so residents won’t need to rely on their car to get around.

Get fit is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions according to the Washington Post. The Saltworks Community will provide easy daily alternatives that will help residents stay committed to their resolution.  In addition to bicycle trials and walking paths, Saltworks’ residents will be able to incorporate fitness into their daily routine by walking to the grocery store, school, or the transit stop.

Other common New Year’s resolutions such as spending more time with your family and getting organized are easy to accomplish when you have the time. Since the Saltworks Community is located in a jobs-rich area residents will have a shorter commute to work, which will free up some time to accomplish those resolutions. Not to mention this will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions!

It can be a challenge following through with New Year’s resolutions, but living in a community that supports a healthy lifestyle would make it easier.

You can find the Washington Post’s list of most common New Year’s resolutions by clicking here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/new-years-resolutions/2011/12/30/gIQAQfEzQP_gallery.html#photo=15

Silicon Valley has a reputation for leading the world in technology innovations. The City of Mountain View, home of Google’s headquarters and other large technology companies, now has earned a reputation of their own as a leader in smart growth.

Jennifer Gennari, Greenbelt Alliance Communications Director, acknowledged Mountain View for their progressive thinking in a recent Huffington Post entry, “Let California Show the World How.” According to Gennari, climate conversations are moving too slowly and California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols agrees. It is taking too long to for global leaders to reach a “grand bargain,” Nichols said, “progress is going to come from the bottom up, not the top down.”

While in the process of updating their General Plan, the City of Mountain View studied the impact of an “Increased Housing Alternative” as part of the city’s environmental review process. The study, completed by LSA Associates, showed that planning for more homes is the “environmentally superior alternative.” The study showed that more homes would decrease the environmental impacts due to the “reduction of per capita vehicle miles traveled,” according to the Grow Smart Bay Area News. The report also said that, “adding more homes would create real village centers with a mix of homes and shops so that people wouldn’t need to drive as much for daily needs.” The Saltworks Plan will be a mixed-use community providing public transit, housing and retail.

Gennari says, “ there are intangible benefits from driving less—ones that most people desire: more time with family and friends, improved health by walking and biking more, reduced car maintenance costs, less stress from sitting in traffic.” We understand the importance of these intangible benefits and that influenced the way we designed the Saltworks Community.

Mountain View is leading the way for smart growth in California, and we’re sure that Saltworks can not only aid Redwood City’s fight against climate change but can help in reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions as well.

You can read the full Huffington Post entry by following this link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-gennari/let-california-show-the-w_b_1149237.html

You can read more at Grow Smart Bay Area News by following this link http://growsmartbayarea.org/gs_news/2011/12/more-is-less-more-homes-in-mountain-view-lead-to-fewer-environmental-impacts/

A recent article title in the San Jose Mercury News by Justin Gillis caught our attention. Reading the article title, “Emissions Saw Record Jump in 2010” was not an ideal way to start the day. Gillis was reporting from a recently released analysis by the Global Carbon project, which is an international collaboration of scientists, that “emissions rose 5.9 percent in 2010.” This increase in “global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning jumped by the largest amount on record last year.” Gillis continues to report that the United States is “the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, pumping 1.5 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere last year.” Reading this in print is daunting, but there are things we can do to make a positive impact.

The numbers reported in this article are shocking, but it points out the need for smart growth developments like Saltworks. Simply by adding houses to the jobs-rich Peninsula will have enormous impacts on the reduction of greenhouse gases emitted. As it stands today, more than 2 million people commute INTO San Francisco and San Mateo Counties each week. So Saltworks can add to the local housing supply, a supply that has not kept pace with the area’s burgeoning job creation.

In addition, Saltworks will make alternative means of transportation available to the community, reducing the need for cars, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions. The Saltworks Community will provide carless options for the community such as bicycle paths and wide sidewalks, making the community pedestrian and bicycle-friendly. Not to mention Saltworks will provide a dedicated transit system connecting the Saltworks to the potential ferry terminal, large employers and directly into downtown Redwood City.

The United States may be the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, but we have the opportunity to be a leading country in the movement of smart growth developments and renovations. You can read the whole article by clicking here http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_19470116.

A recent op-ed in the New York Times, “The Death of the Fringe Suburb,” by Christopher B. Leinberger, identified a major shift in the demand for housing.  “There has been a profound structural shift – a reversal of what took place in the 1950s, when drivable suburbs boomed and flourished as center cities emptied and withered,” according to Leinberger.  He views this shift as “durable and long lasting because of a major demographic event: the convergence of the two largest generations in American history, the baby boomers and the millennials.”

Boomers are approaching retirement and looking to downsize, while millennials are looking for new homes of their own. According to a recent National Association of Realtors survey, “boomers want to live in a walkable urban downtown, a suburban town center or a small town.” The millennials “favor urban downtowns and suburban town centers – for lifestyle reasons and the convenience of not having their own cars.” These two generations are often studied for their differences, but now they both want similar housing options. The Saltworks Community will meet both of the generations’ housing demands by supporting a carless lifestyle for the millennials and providing a walkable community for the boomers.

“There is great pent-up demand for walkable, centrally located neighborhoods in cities,” Leinberger said. It is time to “build what the market wants: mixed-income, walkable cities and suburbs that will support the knowledge economy, promote sustainability and create jobs.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

You can read this op-ed from the New York Times by following this link

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/opinion/the-death-of-the-fringe-suburb.html

Redwood City is ready for the holidays! The celebrations started this past weekend with a firework show and a day filled with seasonal events at the Hometown Holidays Festival. Redwood City is bustling with holiday excitement and there are some great events coming up. Here is a list of just a few:

Ice Skate in Courthouse Square: This year there is an outdoor ice skating rink located in Courthouse Square. The skating rink will stay open until January 16, so you will have plenty of time during the holidays to try it out. The rink is open daily in the afternoon and evenings. Check out www.redwoodcity.org/calendar/ for more information.

Donate to Redwood City Families: The Redwood City Police Officers and Firefighters Association’s Toy and Book Drive has begun. You can bring toys and book donations to any Redwood City Fire Station or drop toys off at designated locations. We are collecting donations in the Pacific Shores Café December 6, 7 and 8. Hope to see you there! Check out wwww.RWCToyDrive.com  for more information.

Volunteer Your Wrapping Skills: The Redwood City Police Officers and Firefighters Association’s Toy and Book Drive Wrapping Party is on December 12. The event will start at 5 p.m. at the Red Morton Community Center. The toys and books will be delivered to Redwood City families starting December 14. Check out wwww.RWCToyDrive.com  for more information.

Donate to Avoid Late Fees: Redwood City Libraries are accepting food donations to pay off library fines in their second annual “Food-For Fines” program. You can drop off your donations in designated bins at any Redwood City library. The donated food will be given to the Second Harvest Food Bank for distribution.

Visit the Library: You can stop by the Downtown Library on December 14 at 6:30 p.m. to watch Gabriel’s Trumpet Trio Holiday Concert and check out the Friends of the Library Holiday Sale. Santa will also be stopping by the library to help sell books.

Follow us on Twitter to find out more about upcoming holiday events in Redwood City. http://twitter.com/RCSaltworks

Here at DMB Associates, one of our favorite holiday traditions is helping collect toys for the Redwood City Police and Fire Associations’ Toy Drive. In the past, our company has donated toys and incorporated the toy drive at our holiday party. But this year we had the idea to ask our corporate neighbors at the Pacific Shores complex to help.

Our team will go around and hand out flyers to all the offices in the Pacific Shores complex. On designated days, we will set up the toy barrels in the Pacific Shores Café during lunch and collect toys and monetary contributions. We will also collect toy donations in our office during regular office hours. We hope that this year we will be able to collect more toys than ever before!

Our company has already started collecting toys internally and it is beginning to look like Santa’s Workshop. If you work at Pacific Shores and want to know how you can help please email Jeri at JeriJRD@DMBINC.com.

You can find more information about the toy drive and drop off locations by visiting RWCToyDrive.com. You can also watch a video about the program by clicking here.

Summer may be over but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop in Redwood City. On December 3, 2011 the Downtown Business Group in Redwood City is hosting the annual Hometown Holidays Festival. The event is free and is a great way to get the whole family into the holiday spirit!

There will be a parade, professional ice sculptures, an ice skating rink, and fireworks. Kids can take free photos with Santa and play in real SNOW! There will also be animal rides, gift booths, live music, and a tree lighting ceremony.

We are always excited about local events in downtown Redwood City and we can’t wait for the Hometown Holiday Festival. The DMB team is helping out and volunteering at this event so we hope to see you there.

Follow this link to find out more about the Hometown Holidays Festival http://www.hometownholidays.org/Hometown_Holidays_in_Redwood_City/Home.html