Streetsblog.net
Georgia Poised to Snub Transit in Huge Road Funding Increase
In the competition to be the worst state for transit, Georgia is one of the clear standouts. The state contributes nothing -- yep, zilch! -- to Atlanta's transit system, even as the region grapples with an increasingly crippling traffic and car dependence problem.
January 20, 2015
Seattle Car-Share Is Growing, But Is It Cutting Traffic?
After launching a pilot program three years ago enabling the company car2go to use on-street parking spots for its car-share fleet, Seattle is pursuing an expansion that would allow new companies to enter the market and dramatically increase the availability of point-to-point car-share vehicles.
January 16, 2015
What People Think of a Citywide 25 MPH Speed Limit in Decatur
Last year, New York City enacted a citywide 25 mph speed limit, a central plank in Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero street safety platform. Are other American cities going to follow suit?
January 15, 2015
Jane Jacobs’ 1958 Warning About the Loss of Street Life Still Resonates
The mistakes of the urban renewal era are supposed to be behind us. Super-blocks, blank walls, and the publicly subsidized demolition of varied buildings to make way for monolithic districts are relics of a bygone era. Right?
January 14, 2015
In Search of Places With “Good Bones”
What do people mean when they say a city has "good bones"? Well, if the streets are laid out in a walkable grid pattern, that can be the "skeleton" for a healthy urban environment.
January 13, 2015
High-Ranking Episcopal Bishop Finally Charged for Killing Baltimore Cyclist
The killing of Baltimore cyclist Thomas Palermo by a high-ranking official in the Episcopal Church two days after Christmas has caught the attention of the national media, raising questions about justice, fairness, and accountability.
January 12, 2015
More Transit Service Is Great, But It’s Not Enough on Its Own
A new report commissioned by Ohio DOT recommends that the state should double its funding for transit. At Notes from the Underground, Jason Segedy welcomes this development, but he also notes that in many places, simply expanding transit funding won't be enough, on its own, to make transit appealing. Places like Ohio need to complement additional transit spending with a new approach to development and planning, he writes:
January 9, 2015
How Chris Christie Throws Reporters Off the Scent of His Worst Transit Sins
New Jersey governor and Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie is back in the news for a decision that says a lot about his legacy as a governor.
January 8, 2015
Designing Roads for Higher “Level of Service” Isn’t About Safety
Traffic engineers have an maddening tendency to hold out "Level of Service" -- a measure of motorist delay -- like a trump card. We need to widen this road, they'll say, because otherwise drivers will angrily stew in traffic, and then there might be "accidents," or some other dire consequence.
January 7, 2015
Oklahoma City Weighs 3-Foot Passing Rule — For Cyclists, Not Drivers
Lots of places have three-foot passing laws requiring motorists to give cyclists a safe buffer while overtaking them. Now one Oklahoma City legislator, Eighth Ward City Council Member Pat Ryan, has come up with a new, passive-aggressive spin on the passing law.
January 6, 2015