Angie Schmitt

If nothing else, the current round of federal transportation legislating should end the myth that highways are a uniquely self-sufficient form of infrastructure paid for by "user fees," a.k.a. gas taxes and tolls.

Transportation planners in Austin are in the beginning stages of a pattern just about every community in the U.S. is familiar with.

Last week, the Austin City Council voted to allow "granny flats" -- small accessory dwellings -- in some areas zoned for single-family housing, and to reduce parking requirements along transit corridors. These types of reforms make housing more affordable and make neighborhoods more walkable and transit-friendly.

What if, instead of basing policy around the presumption that people will drive more every year, transportation agencies started making decisions to reduce the volume of driving? And what if they succeed?

As the House and the Senate get to work on hashing out a multi-year transportation bill in conference committee, Congress is also putting together its annual spending package for transportation. The annual bill decides the fate of several discretionary programs, and earlier this year it looked like US DOT's TIGER grants, which tend to fund multi-modal projects at the regional or local level, might not survive.

How often do state DOTs lie with numbers to justify building highways?

Transitions where streets suddenly change are a tricky part of bike lane design. Here's how street designers in Pittsburgh handled the transition where a two-way bike lane ends at a T-intersection -- with a "merge lane" for cyclists turning right across motor vehicle traffic.

A new study from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy attempts to measure the potential of bikes and e-bikes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

So far this year, nine people have been killed while walking in Columbus, Ohio. Predictably, pedestrians have been caught up in the police response, as the cops increased enforcement of jaywalking. It got even worse with comments from Sergeant Brooke Wilson made to the local NPR station.

Earlier this fall, the Federal Highway Administration proposed a major policy change: Instead of requiring roads that receive federal funding to be designed like highways, the agency would change its standards to allow greater flexibility. The implications for urban streets were huge -- with less red tape, cities would have a much easier time implementing safer designs for walking and biking. Now FHWA is accepting public comment on this proposal, and you can help ensure that it's enacted.