Streetsblog.net

Building the Purple Line, a major expansion of the DC-region Metro system in Maryland, seems like a no brainer. The project is almost fully funded, with federal, local, and private commitments covering most of the expense. It promises to spur development that will provide major economic benefits as well. Business groups in that populous and growing part of Maryland have been pushing hard for its continuation. But recently-elected Governor Larry Hogan has hinted that he may kill the $2.4 billion project since early in his campaign.

Here's a great example of how excess street space can be repurposed to beautify a neighborhood, improve safety, and bring people together. Branden Klayko at Broken Sidewalk shares this story out of Louisville, where a public utility helped a neighborhood fix a problematic intersection by building a rain garden:

Full docks are one of the big problems that bike-share users run into. Showing up at your destination and finding yourself without a place to return your bike adds time and erodes convenience and reliability.

This image of downtown Memphis caught the eye of Charles Marohn at Strong Towns. A parking wasteland topped by a tangle of highway spaghetti, it was taken, perfectly enough, from the Bass Pro Shop that now occupies the top of the Memphis Pyramid.

There's really no argument: GOP presidential hopeful Scott Walker has been an absolute disaster for transportation progress in Wisconsin. As governor, he's slashed funding for transit, isolating urban workers in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, he's increased funding for all sorts of wasteful highway projects, like the billion-dollar widening of I-94 in Milwaukee, pilfering funds for local roads in the process.

March 30 marked the launch of CTfastrak, the 10-mile busway running between Hartford and New Britain that has all the ingredients of real bus rapid transit: exclusive lanes, off-board fare collection, level boarding, and multiple routes using the BRT infrastructure.

Free-range parenting is having a moment in the national media, after neighbors in Silver Spring, Maryland, called the police to report that two children of the Meitiv family were frequently seen -- gasp! -- walking home from the park. Whether children need to be supervised all the time or should have the freedom to navigate their community is a surprisingly polarizing topic.

Since his election in November, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has been threatening to kill two major transit projects that are nearly ready to begin construction. Both the Purple Line and the Red Line are among the most significant transit expansions in the country right now.

Like many American cities, Providence has a downtown parking crater problem. About 70 acres of prime land in the central business district is occupied by surface parking.