Philly Gets a Boost From U.S. DOT to Mend Neighborhoods Split By a Highway
Earlier this year Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said he wants to help repair the damage done to cities by highways. And this week U.S. DOT took some steps to make that haappen, announcing the winners of its "Every Place Counts Design Challenge."
June 28, 2016
How to Counter the Victim-Blaming Impulse After a Traffic Crash
When a driver strikes someone walking or biking, the tendency to blame the victim runs deep. Ask Raquel Nelson, who lost her young son to a hit-and-run driver, then got convicted for vehicular homicide, even though she was just trying to walk across the street with her children from a bus stop to her home. Or witness the reaction to the death of Amanda Phillips, who was struck by a truck driver while biking in Boston last week.
June 27, 2016
DC Insurers Try Scare Tactics to Avoid Paying Victims of Reckless Driving
If a driver strikes you while you're walking or biking in D.C., there's a good chance you won't be allowed to sue for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering under the law.
June 27, 2016
6 Principles to Make Self-Driving Cars Work for Cities, Not Against Them
Self-driving cars are coming, and maybe sooner than we think. But the question of how they will shape cities is still wide open. Could they lead to less traffic and parking as people stop owning cars and start sharing them? More sprawl as car travel becomes less of a hassle? More freedom to walk and bike on city streets, or less?
June 24, 2016
What If “Commuter Rail” Was for Everyone, Not Just 9-to-5 Commuters?
Rhode Island has been investing in commuter rail -- long distance service connecting Providence to Boston and towns in between. But lackluster ridership at a new park-and-ride rail station at the end of the line (by a Walmart!) is sapping support for much more useful investments, reports Sandy Johnston at Itinerant Urbanist.
June 24, 2016
How Leadership in 1972 Saved Boston From Highways and Shaped Today’s City
There aren't too many places in the United States like Boston -- truly walkable cities with good transit. And it didn't happen by accident.
June 23, 2016
Send Us Your Nominations for the Sorriest Bus Stop in America
Streetsblog's "Sorriest Bus Stop in America" contest is back by popular demand.
June 22, 2016
Columbus Wins $50 Million “Smart City” Grant. What Put It Over the Top?
U.S. DOT announced the winner of its $50 million "Smart City" grant yesterday, and Columbus, Ohio, bested finalists San Francisco, Portland, Austin, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Denver for the prize. Many other cities had applied for this federal funding to demonstrate how new technologies can improve urban streets and transportation.
June 22, 2016
Massive Highway Expansion Threatens to Destroy Tampa Neighborhoods
Most people still think of Tampa as a sprawling, car-centric town, but that is starting to change. In 2014, Smart Growth America [PDF] found that Tampa is shifting toward a more walkable development pattern. The city is starting to build out a bicycle network, and its Riverwalk project is bringing people out to stroll downtown.
June 21, 2016
New Transit Line Can Stitch St. Louis Together. But Can It Beat Parochialism?
It's been 20 years now since planners in the St. Louis region first envisioned a north-south route for the Metrolink rail system. The region's rail system is currently oriented in an east-west pattern.
June 21, 2016