There Will Never Be “Enough” Parking
Employees at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have to accumulate 13 years of service time before they get an on-site parking permit. To get a sense of how much employees become invested in this system, check out this YouTube video of one man's elation the day he gets his parking privileges (and notice how towering parking garages dominate the landscape).
October 12, 2016
A “Dutch Junction” With Glow-in-the-Dark Bike Lanes Now Exists — in Texas
It's America's first unsignalized "Dutch Junction" -- a type of intersection with protected space for cycling. It even has solar luminescent bike lanes. And here's the kicker -- it's in the heart of Texas.
October 10, 2016
How Many Americans Are “Captive Drivers”?
The concept of the "captive" transit rider -- the idea that there is a fixed number of people who ride transit because they have no alternatives -- is deeply flawed. Among other problems, it overlooks how low-income people without cars are sensitive to the quality of transit and will choose not to use poor service. And yet discussions of "captive" vs. "choice" transit riders persist.
October 10, 2016
The Highway Era Is Over. When Will Our Institutions Catch Up?
The highway era is over. The construction of the Interstate Highway System is essentially complete.
October 10, 2016
Don’t Believe the Hype About a Boom in Freight Traffic
U.S. DOT estimates that total freight volume in the country will grow 45 percent by 2040. If that sounds like a reasonable guess that will help plan for the future, think again.
October 7, 2016
Why Do We Put the Onus for Traffic Safety on Kids?
It's Walk-to-School Day, a day when children all over the country get to enjoy the simple experience of traveling somewhere using their own power. It makes me happy because I love seeing the pictures of kids walking with their parents. But it's a sad day too, because we shouldn't need a special day to celebrate such a normal, healthy, human activity.
October 6, 2016
Criticism Compels Uber to Pull Ad About Giving Up on the Subway
What do modern ride-hailing services mean for the future of transit?
October 6, 2016
The Feds’ Tentative Steps to Legalize Mixed-Use Housing Don’t Go Far Enough
For a long time, apartment buildings with ground-floor retail were the building blocks of America's cities and towns. Combining housing and commercial uses is also essential for walkability and affordability, enabling people to travel shorter distances for their daily routines and get around without driving. But in most of the country today, it's practically impossible to build or reinvest in this type of housing.
October 5, 2016
The Risks We Take By Not Letting Kids Walk to School
American kids don't walk and bike to school much anymore. Even after some modest progress in recent years, only about 20 percent of 5- to 14-year-olds walked or biked to school in 2012, compared to 48 percent in 1969, according to the National Center for Safe Routes to School.
October 5, 2016
The 4 Biggest Sins Committed By Reporters Covering Pedestrian Deaths
Each year, motorists on American streets kill nearly 5,000 pedestrians. The loss of life is enormous -- equivalent to 12 jumbo jets crashing with no survivors -- but the steady drumbeat of pedestrian fatalities doesn't register as an urgent public safety crisis. Maybe it would seem more urgent if the press covered pedestrian deaths as the preventable outcome of a broken system, instead of a series of random "accidents."
October 4, 2016