Priced Lanes Can Move Everyone Faster — Even People Who Don’t Pay
Remember the uproar over the HOT lanes on I-405 outside Seattle? Republicans in the state senate fired transportation commissioner Lynn Petersen to register their displeasure with priced roads. The political furor isn't over. Bill Bryant, a GOP candidate for governor, continues to use the HOT lanes as a wedge issue against incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee.
May 20, 2016
Google Patents “Flypaper” to Save Pedestrians By Sticking Them to Car Hoods
The minds at Google have come up with a novel idea to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision with the company's self-driving cars.
May 19, 2016
More Evidence Bike Lanes Can Be More Efficient Than Car Lanes
Contrary to all those cranky newspaper columns about how every last inch of asphalt needs to be allocated to motor vehicles, bike lanes can actually move more people with less street space than general traffic lanes.
May 19, 2016
A Better Way to Track How Well Transit Performs
When you're riding the bus or the train, an unexpected delay is the last thing you need. If transit agencies want to know how well they're doing and how they can improve service, they have to track how reliable their service is for riders.
May 18, 2016
The Crucial Connection Between Street Width and Walkability, in 3 Photos
There's a good deal of empirical evidence that narrower travel lanes are safer for everyone because they slow motorist speeds.
May 17, 2016
Transit and Parking Mandates Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Tuna
Cleveland is finally getting around to establishing guidelines to foster walkable development around rail stops -- which is in very short supply. Some stations are surrounded by little more than vacant industrial space or parking lots. (One of the stops on the underused Waterfront Line, called "Muni Parking," is in the middle of the enormous City Hall parking lot.)
May 16, 2016
It Just Got Easier for Cities to Design Walkable, Bikeable Streets
We probably haven't seen the last of engineers who insist on designing local streets like surface highways. But at least now they can't claim their hands are tied by federal regulations.
May 13, 2016
For the Record, the Feds Don’t Require Streets to Speed Car Traffic
When advocating for a street redesign that will take some space away from cars, it's common to run up against this classic brush-off from your local transportation agency: The federal government won't allow it.
May 13, 2016
Reminder: Just Laying Track Is No Guarantee Riders Will Come
Laying track isn't enough to build a successful transit system -- as some cities are learning the hard way.
May 12, 2016