Streetsblog

For a long time now, New Jersey politicians -- first and foremost Governor Chris Christie -- have been playing a high stakes game of chicken with transportation funds, doing practically anything to avoid raising the gas tax. Only one other state in the nation has a lower fuel tax than New Jersey. Thanks to inflation, drivers pay less and less for the roads, but transit riders are paying as much as they ever have following a fare hike last year.

This chart tells an eye-opening story about access to transit in the United States. Using the new data tool AllTransit, TransitCenter dug into who has access to transit in American cities, making a crucial distinction between residents near any transit whatsoever and residents with access to convenient, frequently running service.

The Seattle region's 62-mile transit expansion plan has some serious flaws. Namely, the city of Seattle, where the ridership needs are greatest, gets short shrift compared to suburban areas.

New Mexico was recently named the deadliest state for walking by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Something's got to change, but what? Well, the Albuquerque Journal ran a front page article blaming the state's terrible safety record mostly on "jaywalking" and "drunk pedestrians."

A new payment option rolled out by Capital Bikeshare in DC last week makes it easier to grab a bike if you just want to make a single trip. The pilot program offers a base fare of $2 to check out a bike, with additional fees after the first 30 minutes. Previously, you would have had to commit to at least an $8 24-hour pass to use the system.

On Thursday, victims of traffic violence, their family members, and other safe streets advocates will gather at City Hall to demand that state lawmakers pass a bill to allow NYC to put speed cameras in every city school zone.

A driver struck and killed a woman last week in St. Paul on what Bill Lindeke at Streets.mn calls a "four-lane death road."

Sometimes the worst transportation plan is having no plan at all, and northeast Ohio could be the poster child for what goes wrong when regions aren't intentional about investments in transportation infrastructure.

There's a rush in cities to apply new transportation technologies like ride-sharing apps and real-time transit data, as exemplified by U.S. DOT's $50 million "Smart City Challenge," which is currently down to seven finalists. Public and private entities in Columbus, for example, recently pledged $90 million to help advance the city's bid to U.S. DOT. But are cities well-equipped to navigate the landscape of tech contractors and make interventions that actually improve people's lives?