Clarence Eckerson Jr.

The entire family of San Francisco city agencies responsible for maintaining its streets made an unconventional decision to close a portion of a street to cars and convert the new space into a simple, yet elegant, public plaza.  The project combines all the important elements of plaza creation that have been successful in New York City and elsewhere: take space from cars, use simple treatments to convert the space into a pedestrian sanctuary, including movable furniture and leftover granite blocks from city salvage yards, and engage commercial interests around the plaza to help maintain and care for the new public realm.

Everyone knows that Phoenix has a huge sprawl problem. But now transit-oriented development is on the upswing in this Sun Belt metropolis. In December, the Phoenix region opened one of the most ambitious transit projects in recent U.S. history: a 20-mile light rail line with 28 stops serving three cities (Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa). Future plans include an extension within three years, with several new corridors being studied. 

It’s hard to believe, but we now have over 200 Streetfilms on the site to choose from! Most of them really high quality productions that are being used around the world to fight for better, more livable streets, and a happier planet. Speaking of happy, be sure to click this sure-to-make-you-smile, 3 minute celebratory promo … Continued

The newest member of the Livable Streets Initiative, Livable Streets Education (LSE), partners with schools, cultural institutions and community-based organizations working for improved urban livability, greener transportation, and safer streets. This spring, LSE is in residency at fifteen schools around New York City, working with students in grades K-8, as well as partnering with community and cultural organizations on special events.

Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar is a 1.3-mile line that opened in December 2007, the first leg in the city's commitment to new transit and light rail. It passed the half million passenger milestone in its first year, surpassing ridership projections.

Carla Saulter is part of a car-free, transit-riding family who pens a very eclectic blog called Bus Chick, Transit Authority, which you can find on the Seattle Post Intelligencer's website.

Moments after he delivered the keynote address to the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Oregon's Rep. Earl Blumenauer, head of the Congressional Bike Caucus, met with us for this exclusive one-on-one chat.