Streetsblog.net
America’s Heartless Transportation System at Work
Fedora Henderson, 31, was struck from behind and killed by a snow plow driver earlier this week in Richmond, Virginia. Henderson was commuting to her job at a Target, and bicycling along wide, dangerous roads was “the only way she could get to work" because she didn't own a car, a co-worker told the local CBS affiliate.
February 19, 2015
Portland Sued Over Faded Crosswalk Where Driver Killed Two People
The family of a young woman who was killed trying to cross a Portland road is suing the city for not properly maintaining the crosswalk where she was struck by a driver.
February 18, 2015
High-Rises Don’t Cause Traffic; Parking Lots Do
Few things evoke carmaggedon hysteria quite like the construction of a tall residential building. As Austin has seen more growth, some have seized on the relatively few high-density housing developments as a source of the region's traffic problem.
February 17, 2015
Are Engineers Allowed to Speak Up for Reforming Their Profession?
In a case that has attracted the attention of the Union of Concerned Scientists, well-known and outspoken civil engineer Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns recently had his professional license challenged by a fellow engineer.
February 13, 2015
How State DOTs Waste Money Bailing Out Local Planning Mistakes
A few weeks ago, we featured a video of Tennessee Department of Transportation chief John Schroer describing the reforms he's applying at his agency. One problem he pinpointed -- and this happens to every state DOT -- is when local governments ask his DOT to spend big sums of money fixing transportation problems that could have been easily avoided in the first place.
February 12, 2015
Upending the Assumption That Transportation Policy Is All About “Mobility”
Charles Marohn at Strong Towns has been giving some thought to what's ailing the Minnesota Department of Transportation. And he traces the agency's biggest problems back to its core assumptions.
February 11, 2015
How Do the “Best Cities for Families” Rankings Get it so Wrong?
City rankings that purport to reveal the best place to raise a family are ubiquitous. Where I live, in northeast Ohio, it's the homogeneous, sprawling suburbs that tend to be very proud of their positions on these lists.
February 10, 2015
U.S. DOT’s 30-Year Forecast for Transportation: Not Bold Enough
Last week, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled "Beyond Traffic," U.S. DOT's 30-year framework for transportation. There's a lot to like inside, says Deron Lovaas at the Natural Resources Defense Council's Switchboard blog. The report does a good job addressing the realities of climate change and discussing how to safeguard our transportation system to the extent possible. It discusses long-term changes in the transportation preferences. And it attempts to measure the success of major Obama-era programs like the 2009 stimulus bill and TIGER.
February 9, 2015
Making the Case for a Transit-First Street By Recording a Bike Ride
Commuting in the Silicon Valley is a nightmare, writes Richard Masoner at Cyclelicious, and that's by design. For the last 50 years, housing and employment growth have occurred in separate areas. And with streets that prioritize car traffic above all, the trip between home and work has gotten progressively more miserable.
February 6, 2015
Scott Walker Wants to Eliminate Complete Streets in Wisconsin
There's nothing conservative about what prospective GOP presidential candidate Scott Walker is proposing for transportation in Wisconsin.
February 5, 2015