Today’s Headlines
Donald Trump Will Be the Next President (NYT); Meanwhile… Indianapolis Approves Major Bus Service Expansion (Indy Star) Raleigh Votes for Transit, Commuter Rail Expansion (WRAL) Seattle’s $54 Billion Light Rail Package Appears Headed for Passage (Seattle Times) Los Angeles’ $100 Billion Transit Measure Ahead in Returns (L.A. Times) Detroit Regional Transit Expansion Measure Too Close to Call (Detroit … Continued
November 9, 2016
Transit Vote 2016: What’s at Stake on Local Ballots and How to Track Results
With federal transportation policy stuck in DC gridlock, more cities and regions are taking it upon themselves to shape the future of their transit systems. Today there are 78 local ballot measures that will affect funding for transportation in some way, with $200 billion in transit investment at stake, according to the Center for Transportation Excellence.
November 8, 2016
Transit Opponents Fight Ballot Measures With the Language of Tech Futurism
Today's a huge day for transit on local ballots.
November 8, 2016
Awful Pedestrian Shaming Campaign Gets the Smackdown It Deserves
This PSA from Montgomery County, Maryland, has got to be one of the all-time worst examples of pedestrian shaming. The young girl with tire treads across her face, it's implied, was struck and killed by a driver because she was "wearing black."
November 7, 2016
Milwaukee Is Claiming Its Excess Street Space for Bicycling
Milwaukee has shrunk since the 1960s, when its population was about 19 percent bigger than today, leaving the city with a lot of excess road capacity. As a result, Milwaukee is a city where it's relatively easy to replace general traffic lanes with bike lanes. Other cities in the Rust Belt -- and anywhere suffering from population loss -- could be doing the same.
November 7, 2016
What the Heck Is Wrong With Boston’s MBTA?
Last week, the engine on one of Boston's Orange Line trains overheated and ignited some trash, filling traincars with smoke. Passengers broke windows to escape. Three people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
November 4, 2016
How the Accommodations We Make for Cars Impose Huge Costs on Cities
Wide highways, big parking lots, dangerous intersections designed for speed -- there are a lot of downsides to all this car-centric infrastructure, including the way it saps the fiscal health of cities.
November 4, 2016
How Can Cities Make the Most of an Infrastructure Spending Spree?
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have indicated that they intend to spend big on "infrastructure" if elected president. Whether this ends up making cities stronger or just fueling more wasteful sprawl, however, is an open question.
November 3, 2016
Today’s Headlines
Brookings Releases Solid Set of Infrastructure Policy Recommendations Smart Growth America Outlines Policy Priorities for the Next Administration Strong Towns Has Been Discussing What Federal Infrastructure Strategy Should Look Like Rails-to-Trails Releases Active Transportation Recommendations for the Next President It’s Time to Think About Retrofitting Parking Garages for Housing (Wired) Canada Launching Its Own Infrastructure … Continued
November 3, 2016
Will Seattle Blow Its Chance to Reclaim Its Waterfront?
It's bad enough that Washington DOT is building a huge underground highway by the Seattle waterfront at enormous expense and financial risk. Now the city is poised to ruin the one benefit of the highway tunnel -- better pedestrian connections to the waterfront.
November 2, 2016