Skip to Content
Streetsblog California home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Translating Road Engineer-Speak Into Honest English

5:13 PM PDT on May 20, 2015

Scott White at Velo Paso in the great state of Texas has been developing these "snarky pseudo infographics" based on some of his observations of the traffic engineering world. He's been Tweeting them under the hashtag #TransPedia, a satirical take on the language of road widening and car-centric street design.

Image by Andy Boenau. Words by Scott White.
Graphic: Scott White/Andy Boenau

The images, White says, were inspired by some of his experiences at public meetings in El Paso and in part by graphics produced by Andy Boenau, who also makes the Urbanism Speakeasy podcast. "It kind of turns out, these faux definitions are just a little too true," White said.

Here are some samples of what he and others have come up with.

CFVT50mVEAA9aML
Graphic: Scott White/Kostelec Plans
CFP0syhWAAEpPjf
Graphic by Andy Boenau
CFEbOSAWoAA44hE
Graphic by Andy Boenau
unnamed-3

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog California

Transit Month Event: Disability Access is for Everyone

BART was the first accessible transit system in the country. Advocates want Bay Area transit agencies to do better at keeping buses and trains accessible for all

September 28, 2023

Report: America’s Historic Bike Boom is Flatlining

"This growth won't continue forever without being facilitated by more infrastructure investment, [and particularly] safety infrastructure."

September 28, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines

There's new transit funding available, CA needs to access it; Bus shelters are not some optional perk; Biking is up nationwide; More

September 28, 2023

Eyes on the Station: Metro Fortified Turnstiles at MacArthur Park Station

Metro fortified turnstile entrances at MacArthur Park in order to curb fare-evading riders; sometimes this has adverse impacts on fare-paying riders

September 27, 2023
See all posts