Obama’s Last Budget Lays Out a Smart Vision for American Transportation
The White House released its 2017 budget [PDF] this morning, which includes more detail about the exciting but politically doomed transportation proposal President Obama outlined last week. Obama's plan doesn't have a chance in the current Congress, but it shows what national transportation policy centered on reducing greenhouse gas emissions might look like.
February 10, 2016
Comparing What Counts as Acceptable Delay for Pedestrians and Motorists
This video, from the Ontario-based advocacy group Sudbury Moves, puts in perspective how patient we ask people to be at pedestrian crossings.
February 9, 2016
Study: “Shared Space” Slows Drivers While Letting Traffic Move Efficiently
The idea behind "shared space" street design is that less can be more. By ditching signage, traffic lights, and the grade separation between sidewalk and roadbed, the shared space approach calms traffic and heightens communication between drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Instead of following traffic signals on auto-pilot or speeding up to beat the light, motorists have to pay attention to their surroundings.
February 9, 2016
New Evidence That Protected Bike Lanes Get People Cycling More
Cities making the most progress on protected bike lanes are seeing bicycling rates go up. But at the scale of a specific street with a new protected lane, it's hard to know how much of the increase in bike counts is due to cyclists moving over from nearby streets, and how much is due to people biking the route for the first time thanks to safer conditions.
February 8, 2016
Obama’s Politically Impossible Transpo Plan Is Just What America Needs
It may be "seven years too late," as tactical urbanist Mike Lydon put it, but President Obama has released a transportation proposal that calls for big shifts in the country's spending priorities.
February 5, 2016
Fresno State University, Built Around the Car, Sees the Light
Fresno State University was, until very recently, your prototypical car commuting school. The school began as an isolated agricultural institution and is still connected to a large university farm. Its transportation services haven't extended much beyond subsidized parking.
February 4, 2016
Where Does Bernie Sanders Stand on Transportation and Cities?
With Bernie Sanders pulling off a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses, it's time to take a closer look at his transportation policy platform.
February 3, 2016
St. Louis “Beat Congestion” and Now Commute Times Are Longer
St. Louis is every highway planner's dream. Consistently ranked among the least-congested cities in America, the region's car commuters spend a smaller share of their trips to work sitting in traffic than all but two other cities.
February 2, 2016
Transit Investments and the Failure of Randal O’Toole’s Short-Term Thinking
The Los Angeles Times recently ran a big story to the effect that the region's major investments in transit are not paying off, since ridership has recently declined.
February 1, 2016
Study: Upward Mobility Much Higher in Regions With Less Sprawl
Living in a sprawling area, like Atlanta, or a compact one, like Boston, doesn't just affect how you get around. A new study published in the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning suggests it may also have a significant impact on your chances to escape poverty.
January 29, 2016