Cincinnati Preservation Board Says Historic Building Needs More Parking
An office developer wants to rehab a derelict 88,000-square-foot historic building right along Cincinnati's almost-finished streetcar line. This is exactly what should happen, right?
February 16, 2016
Traffic Engineers Still Rely on a Flawed 1970s Study to Reject Crosswalks
When St. Louis decided not to maintain colorful new crosswalks that residents had painted, the city's pedestrian coordinator cited federal guidance. A 2011 FHWA memo warns that colorful designs could "create a false sense of security" for pedestrians and motorists.
February 12, 2016
A Bigger Transit Benefit Is No Match for America’s Parking Tax Perk
Late last year Congress finally moved to boost the maximum commuter tax benefit for transit riders to the same level that car commuters receive. That means transit riders can buy up to $255 in fares each month with pre-tax income, just like drivers can pay for $255 in parking expenses with pre-tax income.
February 12, 2016
Where Are the Best Places for Protected Intersections in Your City?
Protected intersections are the best new thing in American bike infrastructure since, well, protected bike lanes. They greatly reduce the potential for turning conflicts between drivers and cyclists -- left turns on a bike, especially, become easier and less stressful -- and they make pedestrian crossings much safer too.
February 11, 2016
Washington State GOP Claims a Scalp in the Name of Socialized Roads
Republicans in the Washington State Senate are sending a message: Don't mess with our socialized highways. To show they're serious about subsidizing roads, they ended the tenure of Washington DOT chief Lynn Peterson.
February 10, 2016
Obama’s Last Budget Lays Out a Smart Vision for American Transportation
The White House released its 2017 budget [PDF] this morning, which includes more detail about the exciting but politically doomed transportation proposal President Obama outlined last week. Obama's plan doesn't have a chance in the current Congress, but it shows what national transportation policy centered on reducing greenhouse gas emissions might look like.
February 10, 2016
More Driving, More People Dying on America’s Streets
On Friday, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration released new data [PDF] showing that traffic deaths are up. Up quite a bit.
February 9, 2016
More Than 1 in 10 Workers Commute By Bike in Some D.C. Neighborhoods
Imagine 20 percent of commuters getting to work by bike in a major U.S. city. No entire city is close yet (Portland, with the highest rate, is at about 6 percent), but some neighborhoods are getting there.
February 9, 2016
Study: “Shared Space” Slows Drivers While Letting Traffic Move Efficiently
The idea behind "shared space" street design is that less can be more. By ditching signage, traffic lights, and the grade separation between sidewalk and roadbed, the shared space approach calms traffic and heightens communication between drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Instead of following traffic signals on auto-pilot or speeding up to beat the light, motorists have to pay attention to their surroundings.
February 9, 2016
New Evidence That Protected Bike Lanes Get People Cycling More
Cities making the most progress on protected bike lanes are seeing bicycling rates go up. But at the scale of a specific street with a new protected lane, it's hard to know how much of the increase in bike counts is due to cyclists moving over from nearby streets, and how much is due to people biking the route for the first time thanks to safer conditions.
February 8, 2016