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How Much Bang Are Cities Getting From Federal BRT Bucks?
How substantial are the benefits delivered by federal investment in bus rapid transit projects, and how can the feds help local governments build better bus improvements? A new report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office [PDF] looks at the results of BRT projects that have been completed in 20 cities since 2005, when SAFETEA-LU expanded federal funding eligibility for such projects. The GAO found that almost all of the projects have proven successful as cost-effective upgrades to increase ridership, but it also identified a few ways that federal policy provides incentives for local governments to avoid building bus projects that meet the standards for high-quality BRT.
July 31, 2012
Study: Access to Light Rail Can Reduce Obesity Risk — If You Use It
Living near transit can help you stay trim and healthy. That's the result of a study published last year in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. This study is a little old -- it was published in August 2011 -- but we just came across it in the Reconnecting America resource center and the results are too interesting not to share.
July 26, 2012
How Does Your State Stack Up on Prioritizing Transit and Street Safety?
How's your state doing on bike and pedestrian investment? Transit? Bridge repair?
July 17, 2012
Brookings: Inadequate Transit and Sprawl Cut Off Workers From Jobs
If there’s a problem connecting workers with workplaces, it stands to reason that there’s a problem connecting workplaces with workers. A new report from the Brookings Institution has teased out the subtleties of this side of the transit/jobs equation.
July 11, 2012
Under the Economic Microscope, Highway Expansion Loses Appeal
Despite the common refrains about transportation spending creating jobs, most states don't actually give serious thought to the economic impact of transportation projects. More often than not, they're content to sink money into freeways despite a wealth of research that shows that transit, bikeways, and sidewalks deliver a much bigger economic bang for the taxpayer's buck.
June 12, 2012
One More Time: Here Are 4.6 Billion Reasons to Support Bike Infrastructure
Cyclists may only account for 1 percent of all trips taken in the U.S., but that's still good enough to save the American people a total of $4.6 billion per year, according to research recently released by the League of American Bicyclists, the Sierra Club, and the National Council of La Raza. The announcement coincided with National Bike to Work Day, observed last Friday as part of Bike Month.
May 23, 2012
Study Predicts “Resilient Walkable” Places Will Lead the Housing Recovery
This morning, a Minnesota Public Radio host asked me if the exurbs, whose growth rate flattened when the recession hit, are going to come back. Lots of people from far-distant suburbs like Blaine and Farmington called in, saying they like the way of life out there – they like having acres of trees buffering them from their nearest neighbor -- and people won’t want to stop living in communities like that.
May 18, 2012
Arizona DOT Study: Compact, Mixed-Use Development Leads to Less Traffic
Does walkable development really lead to worse traffic congestion? Opponents of urbanism often say so, citing impending traffic disaster to rally people against, say, a new mixed-use project proposed in their backyards. But new research provides some excellent evidence to counter those claims.
May 18, 2012
FHWA: Small Investments in Bike/Ped Infrastructure Can Pay Off in a Big Way
If you ever doubted whether a small investment in biking and walking could have a large impact, here is your proof.
May 1, 2012
Study: Low-Income Neighborhoods Much More Likely to Have Dangerous Roads
Who suffers most from bad road design? Not surprisingly, the answer is poor people, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
April 25, 2012