Cities and Countries
Streetsblog Basics
This Nearly-Empty Indianapolis Parking Garage Is an Epic Waste of Public Money
Subsidized parking garages frequently turn into money-losing concrete bunkers on land better suited for something more productive than car storage. The Broad Ripple parking garage in Indianapolis, a pet project of former mayor Greg Ballard, is a spectacular example.
May 30, 2017
Miami’s Future Should Be Transit and Walking, But the Mayor’s Focused on Robot Cars
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is in charge of executing an ambitious transit expansion plan -- but lately, in a spectacular example of missing the point, he's been talking up autonomous cars as the ultimate transportation solution.
May 26, 2017
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Just Unveiled Her Blueprint to Fast-Track People-Friendly Streets
Nashville is known as the home of the country music industry -- and a fast-growing region of car-centric sprawl. But local leaders realize they can't accommodate more growth with an outdated, cars-first approach, so Mayor Megan Barry released an action plan yesterday that lays out an ambitious agenda to improve conditions for walking, bicycling, and transit.
May 25, 2017
After Boston’s Mayor Blames Crash Victims, Pop-Up Comics Push for Better Bike Lanes
Boston's latest do-it-yourself bike lane intervention might seem a bit sketchy -- because it uses comics to prod City Hall for needed safety improvements.
May 22, 2017
Don’t Judge Transit By the Gridlock on Nearby Roads
Sound Transit is beginning to build a light rail line between downtown Seattle and its booming eastern suburbs. It's expected to eventually carry 50,000 riders each day. Parts of the route will run on highways, and the expectation is that the rail line will reduce traffic congestion. This is often how transit projects are framed -- as congestion cures -- and that's a problem, says The Urbanist's Doug Trumm.
May 18, 2017
Britain’s Forgotten Protected Bike Lane Network
A U.K. historian is on a quest to find and reclaim hundreds of miles of protected bike lanes built across his country in the early 20th century and then abandoned.
May 17, 2017
It’s No Red Line, But These New Transit Lanes Will Speed Up Trips for Baltimore Bus Riders
Bright red bus lanes are being painted in downtown Baltimore as the city prepares to launch a revamped bus network in just over a month.
May 16, 2017
Toronto Has a Plan to Clear the Way for Streetcars Stuck in Traffic
Toronto's busiest surface transit route could get a big upgrade as part of a year-long pilot project -- if it clears the Toronto City Council this summer.
May 15, 2017
Detroit’s Big Transit Success Story Isn’t Its New Streetcar — It’s the Buses
Today is the grand opening for the QLine, Detroit's 3.3-mile, mixed-traffic streetcar on Woodward Avenue. It's getting tons of local press attention, but TransitCenter reports that the Motor City's true transit renaissance is not due to the streetcar, but the city's successful, under-the-radar turnaround of its bus system.
May 12, 2017
Portland — And Soon, Detroit — Bring Bike-Share to People With Disabilities
Riding a bicycle is too often thought of as an activity that's off-limits for many disabled people. And that has continued to be the case with the bike-share systems getting off the ground in several American cities, which provide standard bicycles meant for the able-bodied. But that's starting to change, thanks to a yearlong effort in Portland that's the first of its kind in the United States.
May 11, 2017
