Cities and Countries
Streetsblog Basics
Is Portland Losing Its Resolve Against Highway Expansions?
In the 1970s, some American cities revolted against highway expansion and kept the worst excesses of the interstate construction spree in check. Those cities tend to be the most walkable and transit-oriented places in the nation today. But in Portland that legacy is in jeopardy.
April 5, 2017
Atlanta’s I-85 Collapse — Another “Carmaggedon” That Wasn’t
When a heavily-traveled section of Atlanta's I-85 collapsed in a fire last week, the traffic predictions were dire. But the highway disruption appears to be another case of "carmaggedon" that never materialized.
April 4, 2017
Seattle Campaign to #GivePedsTheGreen Would Do Away With “Beg Buttons”
A petition in Seattle is calling on the city to do away with "beg buttons" and automatically give pedestrians a walk signal at every traffic light in its "urban villages" -- areas that are walkable and transit-oriented.
March 24, 2017
Portland Advocates Won’t Settle for Business-as-Usual Highway Spending
Advocates in Portland are challenging the region's business-as-usual approach to transportation planning. They're sick of roads getting most of the funding pie, while transit, biking, and walking get crumbs.
March 23, 2017
Soon DC Employers May Pay People to Not Drive to Work
With a "parking cash out" policy, employers who provide employees with parking benefits also give the equivalent value in cash to workers who don't car commute. Now a version of that idea has been introduced in the DC Council by members Charles Allen, Mary Cheh, and Brianne Nadeau.
March 21, 2017
Reimagining Miami’s Waterfront Speedway as a Street for People
Miami's Biscayne Boulevard is eight roaring lanes of traffic cutting off downtown from the waterfront. But maybe not for long. In what could be a transformative project, the city is looking to convert this surface speedway into a walkable boulevard.
March 14, 2017
Atlanta’s Streetcar Investment Is Not Paying Off
Unable to assemble new funding from the state to significantly improve the rapid transit system, the city of Atlanta chose to focus on a cheaper-to-implement streetcar line. But more than two years after launch, ridership on the streetcar is falling far short of expectations.
March 9, 2017
Street by Street, DC Builds Out a Center-City Protected Bikeway Network
Bike advocates from all over the country are in Washington right now for the League of American Bicyclists' annual Bike Summit. Among other things, it's a chance for out-of-towners like Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland to appreciate the city's progress on bike infrastructure. There are now nearly 16 miles of protected bike lanes in Washington, DC.
March 8, 2017
Riders First: How Buses Are Moving San Francisco Forward
The unsung hero of San Francisco is the humble city bus, which moves more than 400,000 people through the city every day. This didn’t happen by accident -- the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) have taken a systematic, rider-centric approach to improving bus service across the city.
March 7, 2017
Truck Crash on Freeway Paralyzes Traffic. Seattle Times: Ditch the Bike Lanes!
Last month, a truck crashed on a major Seattle freeway, paralyzing traffic for miles. The whole episode demonstrated the fragility of the freeway system, and the need for more resilient transportation networks. But the Seattle Times had a hotter hot take. The real culprit, according to the paper's editorial board? Bike lanes.
March 7, 2017
