State DOTs to Feds: We Don’t Want to Reveal Our Impact on Climate Change
Every year state DOTs receive tens of billions of dollars in transportation funds from the federal government. By and large, they can do whatever they want with the money, which in most states means wasting enormous sums on pork-laden highway projects. Now that U.S. DOT might impose some measure of accountability on how states use these funds, of course the states are fighting to keep their spending habits as opaque as possible.
August 18, 2016
Wisconsin’s Anti-Urban Policies Fed Milwaukee’s Notorious Racial Segregation
After Milwaukee police shot and killed 23-year-old Sylville Smith, setting off a violent confrontation between protesters and police in the predominantly black neighborhood of Sherman Park last weekend, news outlets looked at how the region's history of discrimination set the stage for an uprising.
August 18, 2016
Study: High-Traffic Arterial Roads Reduce Quality of Life, Even Blocks Away
Seminal research by Donald Appleyard in the 1970s found the volume of traffic on a street affects quality of life for residents in profound and unexpected ways. For example, the amount of social contact people had with their neighbors was curtailed for those who lived on high traffic streets compared with those living on quieter streets. People even defined their "home area" much more narrowly if they lived on a busy road.
August 17, 2016
A Year After Houston’s Bus Network Redesign, Ridership Is Up
After years of declining bus ridership, last August Houston METRO overhauled service patterns around the city, updating the bus network for the first time since the 1970s. Practically overnight, Houston's network changed from a hub-and-spoke model to a more grid-like system designed to expand access to frequent service to more of the city. Night and weekend service dramatically increased as well. The country has been watching to see the results.
August 17, 2016
How Seattle Residents Won a Fix for the City’s Most Dangerous Street
Sometimes calling your city council person or circulating a petition isn't enough. Here's an inspiring story about Seattle residents who got creative to highlight their fight for a safer street. Phyllis Porter and Gordon Padelford at Seattle Bike Blog explain Seattle's Rainier Avenue was badly in need of intervention:
August 16, 2016
“Pocket” Bike Lanes: A Small Step to Make Intersections Work Better?
A bike lane that appears at an intersection to help guide bicyclists out of the way of turning drivers -- in Washington, D.C., they call this a "pocket lane." David Cranor writes at Greater Greater Washington that the District is looking to add them along streets that don't otherwise have bike lanes, targeting intersections where they might help avoid conflicts. He says:
August 15, 2016
Study: Even Drivers Prefer Protected Bike Lanes
When it comes to allocating street space, it is often taken for granted that anything that benefits people on bikes harms people who drive. Such assumptions are contradicted by data showing that cycling infrastructure makes streets safer for all users, and don't mesh with a new study on motorist preferences.
August 12, 2016
If People Can’t Afford to Live Near Work, They Probably Won’t Bike Commute
How out of control are Bay Area housing prices? It costs so much to live in Palo Alto that Kate Vershov Downing -- a lawyer who served on the Planning and Transportation Commission -- announced this week that she and her husband -- a software developer -- are moving to Santa Cruz. She resigned her seat on the commission.
August 11, 2016
If You Want to Fix Sorry Bus Stops, Don’t Forget to Tell the DOT
Streetsblog just wrapped up our 2016 Sorriest Bus Stop in America competition, with a waiting area on a state highway in Silver Spring, Maryland, beating out 15 other terrible bus stops for the crown of shame. For our voters, asking people to cross a six-lane divided road with no signal was unforgivable.
August 10, 2016
That Time a Louisville Paper Fantasized About Bombing Its Own Downtown
When urban renewal took a wrecking ball to American cities in the middle of the last century, some places looked like a war zone.
August 9, 2016