Streetsblog

Gondolas and self-driving taxis are not going to cut it during the L train shutdown. When the line goes out of service for an 18-month repair job, the city will need a system in place to move massive numbers of people. The only way to do it is to set aside street space for faster buses and safer biking and walking.

The evidence is clear: Speed cameras save lives.

It's no secret that major coastal cities are dealing with a housing shortage that's causing runaway rents. What's less well understood, however, is how low-density zoning not only limits the supply of housing but affects the U.S. economy more broadly.

Can urban police forces with histories of racial profiling and brutality be entrusted to carry out traffic enforcement as part of Vision Zero initiatives? In a Twitter chat yesterday, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership asked how to ensure that "law enforcement doesn't profile or discriminate" when asked to uphold traffic laws.

Can taxes on driving mileage replace gas taxes as a source of transportation funds? Right now the state of Oregon is testing a mileage tax with an opt-in pilot program called "OreGo." Participants install a device that tracks their driving and pay 1.5 cents per mile, which is assessed from a special account.

Neighborhoods that are walkable, affordable for lower-income households, and provide access to jobs for people without a car are far too rare.

City Hall has set aside $9 million to improve streets near Mott Avenue in Downtown Far Rockaway. Ideas floated earlier this year include several pedestrian safety and public space enhancements. But word is the project doesn't do much for cycling, despite the need for safer biking conditions on streets like Beach Channel Drive. It's not too late to shape the project: The city and Council Member Donovan Richards are holding a hearing tomorrow to collect ideas from local residents.

The campaign to remove a 1960s-era highway relic in Providence, Rhode Island, known as the 6/10 Connector looked like it could go the distance. Local advocates had built broad support for the idea of replacing the two-mile highway segment with an at-grade boulevard that makes room for transit and bicycling while mending the divide between neighborhoods.

New Census data is out on how Americans commute, and the standout success story is Seattle, where the rate of people who drive alone to work dropped 8.8 percent over the last decade.