Streetsblog.net
What If “Commuter Rail” Was for Everyone, Not Just 9-to-5 Commuters?
Rhode Island has been investing in commuter rail -- long distance service connecting Providence to Boston and towns in between. But lackluster ridership at a new park-and-ride rail station at the end of the line (by a Walmart!) is sapping support for much more useful investments, reports Sandy Johnston at Itinerant Urbanist.
June 24, 2016
How Leadership in 1972 Saved Boston From Highways and Shaped Today’s City
There aren't too many places in the United States like Boston -- truly walkable cities with good transit. And it didn't happen by accident.
June 23, 2016
Columbus Wins $50 Million “Smart City” Grant. What Put It Over the Top?
U.S. DOT announced the winner of its $50 million "Smart City" grant yesterday, and Columbus, Ohio, bested finalists San Francisco, Portland, Austin, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Denver for the prize. Many other cities had applied for this federal funding to demonstrate how new technologies can improve urban streets and transportation.
June 22, 2016
New Transit Line Can Stitch St. Louis Together. But Can It Beat Parochialism?
It's been 20 years now since planners in the St. Louis region first envisioned a north-south route for the Metrolink rail system. The region's rail system is currently oriented in an east-west pattern.
June 21, 2016
Beyond Fitness: The Social Benefits of Open Streets Events
It's a beautiful thing to witness just how much neighborhood streets can change when you remove car traffic. As open streets events, modeled after Bogotá's Ciclovia, have spread across the U.S. in the past several years, they've brought not just opportunities for physical activity, but a joyful new way to use streets as public spaces.
June 20, 2016
What Gun Violence and Traffic Violence Have in Common
The horrific mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando has prompted some soul-searching about America's ability to take significant steps to curb gun violence. Congress did nothing to control guns after dozens of young kids were massacred at Sandy Hook. Will the loss of 49 innocent lives finally lead officials to take action?
June 17, 2016
A Bike Bell That Maps Where Cyclists Feel Unsafe and Pings the Mayor
London cyclists who encounter stressful, dangerous conditions can crowdsource a map of weaknesses in the city's bike network by simply tapping button on their handlebars. Brandon G. Donnelly at Architect This City has more:
June 16, 2016
Philly Advocates Rally to Demand 30 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes
Philly residents can't wait any longer for safe bikeways. Yesterday, at a rally in the central city, dozens of people gathered to demand 30 miles of protected bike lanes, and soon.
June 15, 2016
Goodbye to the Era of Big Infrastructure?
Despite the occasional feature story about America's "infrastructure crisis" and the campaign platforms for increased investment, the "era of big infrastructure is over," argues University of Minnesota engineering professor David Levinson at the Transportist.
June 14, 2016
New Jersey May Finally Do the Responsible Thing and Raise the Gas Tax
For a long time now, New Jersey politicians -- first and foremost Governor Chris Christie -- have been playing a high stakes game of chicken with transportation funds, doing practically anything to avoid raising the gas tax. Only one other state in the nation has a lower fuel tax than New Jersey. Thanks to inflation, drivers pay less and less for the roads, but transit riders are paying as much as they ever have following a fare hike last year.
June 13, 2016