Traffic
Streetsblog Basics
Swapping Horses for Taxis Would Saddle CBD With Even More Gridlock
That didn’t last long. Last Thursday, less than 24 hours after a mayoral spokesman floated the idea of letting owners of the city’s 68 horse carriage medallions swap them for taxi medallions, Mayor de Blasio reportedly laughed off the notion.
April 28, 2014
The Fuzzy Math in the Road Lobby’s Memo to Congress
Don’t know what to make of the news that U.S. driving rates have dropped for the ninth year in a row? Looking for guidance about whether your state or city should be wantonly expanding roads or investing in transit, biking, and walking? The road lobby thinks you should turn to them for independent, unbiased analysis of these trends. Never fear, the road lobby says: Americans are driving more than ever. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. More lanes for everybody!
March 25, 2014
Let’s Do the Time Warp Again: U.S. DOT Fails to Get Travel Forecasting Right
The U.S. Department of Transportation seems to be stuck in a bizarre time warp. For nine years in a row Americans have decreased their average driving miles. Yet U.S. DOT’s most recent biennial report to Congress on the state of the nation’s transportation system, released last Friday, forecasts that total vehicle miles will increase between 1.36 percent to 1.85 percent each year through 2030.
March 3, 2014
As Driving Continues to Stagnate, Some States Finally Start to Adjust
Another year, another decline in per capita driving. For the ninth year in a row, the cumulative distance Americans drive is down, adjusting for population, according to new data from the Federal Highway Administration. Total driving by all Americans has fallen about 2 percent since 2007 -- or 7 percent per capita -- and is lower than it was in 2005.
February 25, 2014
2013: Another Year of Falling Per-Capita Driving in U.S.
Cross-posted from the Frontier Group, where the author is a senior policy analyst.
February 24, 2014
Meet the New Yorkers Building the Biggest, Brightest Bike Counter Yet
Digital-display bicycle counters, sprouting up first in European cycling capitals like Copenhagen and spreading in recent years to Portland and San Francisco, give a real-time tally of how many cyclists use busy bike routes each day. This year, New York is set to get its own. The Big Apple's version will -- like most things in the big city -- be bigger and brighter than what those other cities have. It'll also have a community-based twist.
February 14, 2014
Transpo Agencies Are Terrible at Predicting Traffic Levels
Americans' travel behavior is changing dramatically. It seems like not a week passes without a new report about the decline in driving. But are state and local transportation agencies -- which are responsible for much of the nation's highway and transportation planning -- keeping up with the facts on the ground? A review of the evidence by the State Smart Transportation Initiative finds the answer is a definitive "No."
December 17, 2013
Study: All Across America, Car Commuting Is Dropping
U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group are on a mission to explore the downward trend in driving. In a series of reports, they point to evidence that it isn’t just a temporary blip, but a long-term shift in how Americans get around. Today, the two organizations released a new report, “Transportation in Transition: A Look at Changing Travel Patterns in America’s Biggest Cities,” which shows that these changes are happening in regions all over the country.
December 4, 2013
Georgia Removes Tolls, Invites 11,000 More Drivers to Clog GA 400 Each Day
Why raise desperately needed transportation funds for a broke region when you could let people drive for free? In Georgia, the state has made up its mind: The DOT will pay $4.5 million to tear down tolls on GA 400 -- and forfeit the $21 million a year the tolls brought in.
October 29, 2013
Heart Disease, Traffic Jams and ADHD Share One Simple Solution: Drive Less
This is an excerpt from "Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save the Economy," by Elly Blue (Microcosm Publishing, December 1, 2013, bikenomics.com). See our interview with Elly from spring 2013.
October 18, 2013