Transit

Portland officials are developing a plan for a network of "Enhanced Transit Corridors," carving out space in the street for buses so vehicles with 30 passengers aren't stuck in a quagmire of vehicles carrying just one.

In Indianapolis, transit service is scarce and very few people use the existing system. A key reason for these lackluster outcomes is the city's sprawling pattern of development.

Suffice it to say that it’s simply not convenient for most people to use the Indianapolis transit system. Things are looking up, though: Last fall, Indianapolis residents voted massively in favor of a funding package that should significantly improve service in the coming years.

De Blasio dismisses the importance of getting out of his SUV. But if he's getting chauffeured everywhere he goes, there's no way the mayor can viscerally understand what the three-quarters of New Yorkers who don't commute by car experience on a daily basis. If he doesn't regularly experience what it's like to get around without driving, he won't feel on a gut level why improving transit, biking, and walking is so important.

The city seems to have learned from mistakes like its mixed-traffic streetcar and is looking to give future transit lines dedicated rights of way. Still, there are many more decisions ahead that will determine whether the city spends $2.5 billion in new transit revenue well or not.

A sad story has been unfolding over the past few weeks in the Twin Cities, where a transit fare enforcement stop led to a man being deported. The officer who initiated the stop, Andy Lamers, has since been fired, but it was too late for the passenger, Ariel Vences-Lopez, 23.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is in charge of executing an ambitious transit expansion plan -- but lately, in a spectacular example of missing the point, he's been talking up autonomous cars as the ultimate transportation solution.

The Long Island Railroad is building some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the region -- even the world. The hugely expensive East Side Access tunnel and terminal at Grand Central and the construction of a third track for the LIRR Main Line will open up new possibilities for convenient, all-day transit that people can use for all types of trips. But not if Long Island continues to operate its rail and bus networks as a two-tiered transit system.

Nashville is known as the home of the country music industry -- and a fast-growing region of car-centric sprawl. But local leaders realize they can't accommodate more growth with an outdated, cars-first approach, so Mayor Megan Barry released an action plan yesterday that lays out an ambitious agenda to improve conditions for walking, bicycling, and transit.