America Already Has a Stratified Transportation System
The emergence of app-based taxis and private city bus services has prompted a lot of handwringing about the emergence of a "two-tiered" or "stratified" transportation system.
December 21, 2015
Savannah Weighs Bike Ban in Beloved City Park
Talk about a reductive view of safety. After a couple of unusual incidents where bicyclists collided with pedestrians in Savannah's 30-acre Forsyth Park, the city is now considering outlawing cycling in the park.
December 18, 2015
D.C. to Pilot Protected Intersections as Part of Vision Zero Effort
Yesterday, Washington DC officials released the city's Vision Zero plan [PDF], which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities within the District by 2024. It came with a good deal of analysis highlighting where the most dangerous places in the city are.
December 17, 2015
Congress Expected to Level Tax Benefit for Transit and Car Commuters
A federal policy that has encouraged Americans to drive to work instead of taking the bus or the train won't tilt the playing field toward car commuters so much.
December 16, 2015
Is the FAST Act Good for Bike Funding?
When Congress passed a long-term transportation bill for the first time in more than a decade earlier this month, People for Bikes called it "a great day for bikes," and Momentum Magazine called it a "win for bikes." But is it?
December 16, 2015
2-Minute Video: Why Parking Minimums Are the Worst
"Minimum parking requirements act like a fertility drug for cars," Donald Shoup wrote in his celebrated investigation of parking economics, The High Cost of Free Parking. The above video, from the city of Ottawa, does a good job explaining exactly why that is and the problems it causes.
December 15, 2015
To Save the Climate, Mayors and Cities Can Lead the Way
On Saturday, the COP21 summit in Paris culminated with a precedent-setting climate change agreement. Nearly 200 nations are on board, but their commitments don't go far enough to head off catastrophic global warming.
December 14, 2015
Federal Report: Bad Street Design a Factor in Rising Ped/Bike Fatalities
A new report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office [PDF] examines why people walking or biking account for a rising share of traffic deaths in the United States. While the conclusions aren't exactly earth-shattering, one culprit the GAO identified is street design practices that seek primarily to move cars.
December 14, 2015
The Problem With Designing Streets for Peak Hour Traffic
When engineers make decisions about streets, they tend to emphasize the "peak hour" -- the morning and evening rush when traffic is at its most intense. For the most part, city streets are still designed to move motor vehicles during this relatively short period of time, to the detriment of people outside of cars -- i.e. the people who live in the neighborhood.
December 11, 2015
Why Changing the Rules of the Road for Cycling Won’t Cause Chaos
Washington, DC, is the latest city to consider changing its traffic laws to require cyclists to yield at stop signs and red lights but not come to a complete stop unless necessary. Similar proposals have recently surfaced in New York and San Francisco.
December 10, 2015