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Why Pedestrians Sometimes Do “Stupid” Things
People are often blamed for doing "stupid" things while walking, like "darting out in front of cars." Why would anyone "dart" in front of a moving vehicle? Seems strange. But that's the way it could seem, if you're driving past pedestrian crossings at high speeds.
January 9, 2014
Houston-Dallas High-Speed Rail + Tearing Down I-345 = A Big Win
Big news in Texas this week as word came down that the U.S. Department of Transportation will help fund a feasibility study for a high-speed rail connection between Dallas and Houston.
January 8, 2014
Streetsblog’s Suggested Edits to U.S. DOT’s Seven Priorities for 2014
Just before we went on holiday break, U.S. DOT’s Inspector General’s office released a document [PDF] detailing the department’s top challenges for the year ahead. The document calls them “management challenges” but by and large it’s just a list of seven things the Inspector General thinks DOT needs to do to meet its mission of providing a “safe and well-managed transportation system” to strengthen the U.S. economy and improve “the quality of life for the traveling public.”
January 8, 2014
How Windshield Perspective Shapes the Way We See the World
Via Shane Phillips at Planetizen: A new study published in the Transportation Research Record confirms that windshield perspective is all-too real. Observing the world from behind the wheel, it turns out, has a powerful influence on our judgments about places and even people.
January 7, 2014
Bike Signals Get the Green Light From Engineering Establishment
Think of it as a Christmas gift: On December 24, the gatekeepers who determine which street treatments should become standard tools for American engineers decided to add bike signals to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sometimes called "the bible of traffic engineering."
January 7, 2014
Nissan to Millennials: If You Really Want to Get Around, Don’t Drive
This Nissan ad, in heavy rotation during the NFL playoffs, smacks of 21st century carmaker desperation.
January 6, 2014
Leadership Shakeup at U.S. DOT: What Will It Mean for Transit and Biking?
Two of the Obama administration's top transportation officials are heading elsewhere, creating a leadership shake-up at U.S. DOT.
January 6, 2014
Level the Commuter Playing Field By Reducing the Tax Break for Parking
Happy New Year, transit riders! Congress has a special present: Some of you will be getting a tax increase this year.
January 3, 2014
How to Measure the Economic Effect of Livable Streets
When a street redesign to prioritize walking, biking, or transit is introduced, the headlines are predictable: A handful of business owners scream bloody murder. Anecdotes from grumpy merchants tend to dominate the news coverage, but what's the real economic impact of projects like Select Bus Service, pedestrian plazas, road diets and protected bike lanes? How can it be measured?
December 23, 2013
Engineering Establishment Poised to Endorse Bike Boxes and Bike Signals
Bike boxes and bike traffic signals are becoming increasingly common in American cities. But as of yet, these tools are not fully recognized by one of the country's most important engineering guides.
December 23, 2013