How Montgomery County’s Bus Rapid Transit Can Alleviate Suburban Poverty
Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside DC, is getting ready to do something that could set a precedent for American suburbs -- build a bus rapid transit network. The 82-mile system should offer a huge boost in job access, especially for people without cars.
October 6, 2016
Today’s Headlines
U.S. DOT Sets Goal of Zero Traffic Deaths in 30 Years (AP) Nationwide Traffic Deaths Up 10 Percent in the First Half of 2016 (NYT) Richmond Will Overhaul Bus Routes to Emphasize Frequency Rather Than Coverage (Times Dispatch) Seattle Metro Exploring Program to Let People Rent Parking Spaces Out to Park-and-Riders (NextCity) Train in New Jersey … Continued
October 6, 2016
Why Do We Put the Onus for Traffic Safety on Kids?
It's Walk-to-School Day, a day when children all over the country get to enjoy the simple experience of traveling somewhere using their own power. It makes me happy because I love seeing the pictures of kids walking with their parents. But it's a sad day too, because we shouldn't need a special day to celebrate such a normal, healthy, human activity.
October 5, 2016
Atlanta BeltLine Visionary Speaks Out on His Very Public Resignation
Not many planners get an opportunity to influence their city in the way Atlanta's Ryan Gravel has.
October 5, 2016
Criticism Compels Uber to Pull Ad About Giving Up on the Subway
What do modern ride-hailing services mean for the future of transit?
October 5, 2016
Today’s Headlines
Ed Glaeser on Why So Much Infrastructure Spending Is Wasted (Vox) Adie Tomer: It Will Take More Than Light Rail to Fix U.S. Transit (NextCity) Anthony Foxx Says He Expects Automakers to Voluntarily Comply with New Safety Guidelines (Reuters) Planners Will Try to Fix a Sprawling Section of Suburban Maryland (NYT) Mexico Bets on Gondolas (Japan Times) … Continued
October 5, 2016
The Feds’ Tentative Steps to Legalize Mixed-Use Housing Don’t Go Far Enough
For a long time, apartment buildings with ground-floor retail were the building blocks of America's cities and towns. Combining housing and commercial uses is also essential for walkability and affordability, enabling people to travel shorter distances for their daily routines and get around without driving. But in most of the country today, it's practically impossible to build or reinvest in this type of housing.
October 4, 2016
The Risks We Take By Not Letting Kids Walk to School
American kids don't walk and bike to school much anymore. Even after some modest progress in recent years, only about 20 percent of 5- to 14-year-olds walked or biked to school in 2012, compared to 48 percent in 1969, according to the National Center for Safe Routes to School.
October 4, 2016
The 4 Biggest Sins Committed By Reporters Covering Pedestrian Deaths
Each year, motorists on American streets kill nearly 5,000 pedestrians. The loss of life is enormous -- equivalent to 12 jumbo jets crashing with no survivors -- but the steady drumbeat of pedestrian fatalities doesn't register as an urgent public safety crisis. Maybe it would seem more urgent if the press covered pedestrian deaths as the preventable outcome of a broken system, instead of a series of random "accidents."
October 3, 2016
When Commuter Rail Has the Potential to Be Something More
American commuter rail lines tend not to draw many riders. That's what happens when service is limited and the line is set up to shuttle suburban park-and-ride commuters to an urban center in the morning and back home in the evening.
October 3, 2016