Will US DOT’s Self-Driving Car Rules Make Streets Safe for Walking and Biking?
This week, U.S. DOT released guidelines for self-driving cars, a significant step as regulators prepare for companies to bring this new technology to market. Autonomous vehicles raise all sorts of questions about urban transportation systems. It's up to advocates to ensure that the technology helps accomplish broader goals like safer streets and more efficient use of urban space, instead of letting private companies dictate the terms.
September 23, 2016
The Threat of Racial Profiling in Traffic Enforcement
Can urban police forces with histories of racial profiling and brutality be entrusted to carry out traffic enforcement as part of Vision Zero initiatives? In a Twitter chat yesterday, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership asked how to ensure that "law enforcement doesn't profile or discriminate" when asked to uphold traffic laws.
September 23, 2016
How Transit Agencies Can Offer Better Paratransit Service for Less
Paratransit service for people with disabilities is a big part of what modern transit agencies do, and it's getting bigger all the time. As the population ages and more people rely on paratransit to get around, agencies need to get smart about how they provide the service -- or else rising costs will eat into their capacity to run buses and trains.
September 22, 2016
What Can a Mileage Tax Tell Us That a Gas Tax Can’t?
Can taxes on driving mileage replace gas taxes as a source of transportation funds? Right now the state of Oregon is testing a mileage tax with an opt-in pilot program called "OreGo." Participants install a device that tracks their driving and pay 1.5 cents per mile, which is assessed from a special account.
September 21, 2016
Paris to Return Its Great Public Squares to the People
If you look at paintings from the pre-automotive era, Paris's monumental public squares were full of people strolling comfortably. But over time, car traffic has consumed most of these squares.
September 20, 2016
Highlights From Park(ing) Day Around the Globe
Today is Park(ing) Day -- a day to demonstrate how scarce street space can do so much more than store parked cars. Around the world, people are setting up camp in parking spots and turning them into public spaces.
September 19, 2016
FHWA’s New Goal: Eliminating Pedestrian and Cyclist Deaths in America
The Federal Highway Administration wants to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities "in the next 20 to 30 years." In a new strategic plan [PDF], the agency calls for reducing serious injuries and deaths 80 percent in the next 15 years, which would be an intermediate goal on the way to zero.
September 16, 2016
Complete Streets Won’t Work Without Complete Bridges
Networks of safe walking and biking infrastructure won't work very well if they're interrupted by bridges that are dangerous or stressful to cross. But when transportation agencies fix up bridges, their instinct is often to do the least for walking and biking that they can get away with.
September 15, 2016
How Unrepresentative Is Your Regional Planning Agency?
Do the people who make transportation funding decisions in your region represent the people who actually live in your region?
September 13, 2016
A New Resource for Tracking Transit Trends in American Cities
How does transit ridership in your city stack up against other cities? A new tool from transit analyst extraordinaire Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic can help you figure it out.
September 12, 2016