Seattle’s Decade-Long Shift Away From Solo Car Commuting
New Census data is out on how Americans commute, and the standout success story is Seattle, where the rate of people who drive alone to work dropped 8.8 percent over the last decade.
September 16, 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 15, 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
After Epic Struggle, the Cincinnati Streetcar Is Finally a Reality
What a long, difficult journey it's been for streetcar advocates in Cincinnati. After battling an extremely hostile state government, the project was nearly killed in the early stages of construction by an adversarial mayor. But a groundswell of grassroots support for the project pushed it over the top.
September 14, 2016
Seattle’s Plan to Woo Neighborhoods Into Adopting Smart Parking Prices
Seattle has a housing affordability problem. One way to address that is to reduce the amount of parking required in new residential buildings, lowering construction costs and increasing the number of apartments that can be built.
September 13, 2016
Wisconsin Pilfers From the Scraps Earmarked For Walking and Biking
About $830 million in federal funds are set aside each year for walking and biking. That's less than 2 percent of total federal transportation spending.
September 12, 2016
No, Uber’s Not Going to Replace Buses, But It Can Complement Them
Not a day goes by without a raft of stories about "new mobility" providers -- ride-hailing companies like Uber or car-share services like Car2Go that have tapped into recent technological advances to provide new ways to get around.
September 9, 2016
Austin Plans a Bus Network Redesign of Its Own
It's hard to overstate the influence of Houston's bus network redesign -- an overhaul of the city's bus routes that aimed to expand access to frequent service. Cities all over the country have taken note and many are reimagining their own bus networks.
September 9, 2016
America Has a Terrible Traffic Safety Record Because We Drive Too Much
Even though the U.S. traffic fatality rate per mile driven has fallen by two-thirds in the last 50 years, America today still has the deadliest road system per capita in the developed world. Much of the improvement from safer driving and better emergency care has been wiped out by increases in total traffic.
September 8, 2016
Rhode Island Gov Tries to Snuff Out Grassroots Push for Highway Removal
A movement has been building in Providence, Rhode Island, to replace the aging 6/10 Connector -- an elevated urban highway -- with an at-grade surface street that prioritizes transit and bicycling. It's a solution that other cities have pursued to brilliant effect (intentionally or otherwise), with highway slabs giving way to walkable places.
September 8, 2016