Traffic
Streetsblog Basics
The High Cost of Giving Away More Parking Placards
The decision last week to grant tens of thousands of new parking placards to teachers and other school personnel is classic Bill de Blasio: a freebie that’s not really free.
May 17, 2017
When Will Cuomo Respond to the Distress Signals Coming From NYC’s Transit System?
Congestion is growing and transit ridership is falling in NYC. But at a moment when transit desperately needs smart stewardship, the city's political leaders, especially Governor Andrew Cuomo, are nowhere to be found.
March 10, 2017
It’s Settled: Uber Is Making NYC Gridlock Worse
Uber, Lyft, and other app-based ride services are unequivocally worsening gridlock in the Manhattan core and also slowing down vehicular travel in northern Manhattan and the western parts of Queens and Brooklyn, according to a report released today by transportation analyst Bruce Schaller.
February 27, 2017
A Six-Point Plan to Cut Traffic
If we're going to create a safer transportation system, we're going to have to drive less, and a new study of travel and development patterns in Massachusetts sheds light on what can be done to cut down on traffic. Here are the six factors researchers identified that affect the amount people drive.
February 21, 2017
4 Ways the Mayor Can Reduce Congestion Without Congestion Pricing
Mayor de Blasio's forthcoming congestion plan won't call for traffic pricing, but the mayor has plenty of other options to reduce traffic congestion. Here are four policies that would provide much-needed congestion relief on NYC streets -- it's difficult to imagine any City Hall traffic reduction initiative that doesn't include some of these ideas.
February 15, 2017
Get a Glimpse of Barcelona’s “Superblocks” in Action
Barcelona is making headway on its "superblocks," clusters of nine city blocks where car traffic is restricted and public space is expanded. This BBC video shows how a superblock functions: Most of the street space is reserved for walking and biking, while motor vehicles are limited to narrow, indirect rights-of-way.
February 13, 2017
Toronto’s Simple Measure to Cut Traffic and Improve Transit: Toll Highways
American elected officials are notoriously skittish about turning freeways into toll roads, but in Canada's biggest city the political stars are aligning to put a price on two major highways.
December 9, 2016
America Has a Terrible Traffic Safety Record Because We Drive Too Much
Even though the U.S. traffic fatality rate per mile driven has fallen by two-thirds in the last 50 years, America today still has the deadliest road system per capita in the developed world. Much of the improvement from safer driving and better emergency care has been wiped out by increases in total traffic.
September 8, 2016
Study: High-Traffic Arterial Roads Reduce Quality of Life, Even Blocks Away
Seminal research by Donald Appleyard in the 1970s found the volume of traffic on a street affects quality of life for residents in profound and unexpected ways. For example, the amount of social contact people had with their neighbors was curtailed for those who lived on high traffic streets compared with those living on quieter streets. People even defined their "home area" much more narrowly if they lived on a busy road.
August 17, 2016
Ryan Russo on DOT’s “Mobility Report” and the Need for Better Bus Service
DOT's "New York City Mobility Report" [PDF], released earlier this week, is the agency's first overview of NYC transportation trends in three years. As the number of people and jobs in the city has grown prodigiously in the past five years, DOT reports, the subway system and, increasingly, the bike network have allowed more New Yorkers to get where they need to go. But there are signs of strain -- bus ridership is declining and bus speeds are slowing, and traffic congestion in the Manhattan core is rising.
June 10, 2016