Special Reports
Streetsblog Basics
FRA Chief: America Is Driving Less and Congress Needs to Catch Up
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Federal Railroad Administration chief Joe Szabo said that people are driving less and using transit more -- and that those changes are permanent. "America’s travel habits are undergoing rapid change," he said. It's a fact, he said ("not opinion -- statistically proven"), calling on Congress to show that it understands these changes by moving in a new direction.
June 4, 2012
Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Support Local Control of Bike-Ped Funds
A coalition of 70 organizations, including the US Conference of Mayors, American Heart Association, and the National PTA, have signed on to a letter from AmericaBikes urging Congress to preserve the Cardin-Cochran amendment -- a provision in the Senate transportation bill that allows local agencies to directly access funds street safety projects. The letter is addressed to the 33 House members and 14 Senators on the transportation bill conference committee. Neither co-sponsor of the original amendment is on the committee.
May 31, 2012
More Trains, But No Free MetroCards or RPP in Barclays Center Plan
The MTA will be adding extra transit service on Barclays Center game nights. But past promises of free or discounted MetroCards for arena-goers did not materialize in the transportation demand management plan revealed yesterday by developer Forest City Ratner, which local advocates are calling "too little, too late."
May 23, 2012
Bad News: Forest City Breaks Bike Parking Vow; Good News: Less Car Parking
When Brooklyn's Barclays Center opens with a Jay-Z concert this September, it will be one of the most transit-accessible arenas in the United States. But as Streetsblog has noted before, the transportation planning for the stadium is excessively car-oriented. Developer Forest City Ratner had been planning to build an 1,100-space surface parking lot, marring the pedestrian environment and inducing more driving to the stadium. As opening day nears, there's good news and bad when it comes to parking.
May 4, 2012
Why Gridlock Sam’s Traffic Plan Could Go the Distance
Saturday will mark two months of non-stop acclaim for Gridlock Sam’s traffic-pricing plan. The accolades kicked off on March 5 with a gushing op-ed, "Meet Sam Schwartz," by New York Times emeritus editor Bill Keller, and they haven’t let up. The Wall Street Journal, Transportation Nation, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show, Channel 13, and Crain’s New York (a profile plus an editorial) have extolled Sam’s plan to overhaul New York’s tolling network and generate $15 billion over the next decade to improve roads, bridges, subways and buses across the city. By now, any New Yorker who professes ignorance of the plan has either been hiding under the proverbial rock or is flummoxed by its political implications.
May 3, 2012
On Congestion Pricing, Cuomo Plays the Pundit, Not the Governor
Andrew Cuomo knows he's the governor of New York, right?
April 25, 2012
Visionary Transportation Bureaucrats, Part 5: Shailen Bhatt and Kirk Steudle
This is the fifth and final installment of Streetsblog’s series profiling 11 officials who are bringing American cities and towns into the 21st century when it comes to transportation and planning policy. Here are the nine public servants whose work we've highlighted so far.
April 20, 2012
Visionary Transpo Bureaucrats, Part 4: Jay Primus and Rina Cutler
This is the fourth part in Streetsblog’s series profiling 11 officials who are bringing American cities and towns into the 21st century when it comes to transportation and planning policy. Read the earlier profiles in part one, part two, and part three.
April 19, 2012
Visionary Transpo Bureaucrats, Part 3: Joe Calabrese and Ryan Gravel
This is the third part in Streetsblog’s series profiling 11 officials who are bringing American cities and towns into the 21st century when it comes to transportation and planning policy. Read the earlier profiles in part one and part two.
April 18, 2012
11 Transportation Officials Who Are Changing the Game
America's streets are changing for the better. The signs are everywhere: Whether it's bike sharing in Chattanooga, complete streets in New Orleans or bus rapid transit in Cleveland -- cities across the country are trying new things and making impressive progress in the pursuit of safer streets and sustainable transportation.
April 16, 2012