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Transpo Agencies Are Terrible at Predicting Traffic Levels
Americans' travel behavior is changing dramatically. It seems like not a week passes without a new report about the decline in driving. But are state and local transportation agencies -- which are responsible for much of the nation's highway and transportation planning -- keeping up with the facts on the ground? A review of the evidence by the State Smart Transportation Initiative finds the answer is a definitive "No."
December 18, 2013
Budget Deal Is Good News for Transit
The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on that rarest of Capitol Hill treasures -- a bipartisan budget deal. If both houses approve the deal, negotiated by Democratic Senator Patty Murray and Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, it will be the first time since 2010 that Congress has passed a budget.
December 13, 2013
Talking Headways Podcast: Get Off My Lawn
Jeff Wood and I talk about the news of the week that most tickled us or burned us -- the BBC's exposé of anti-social urban design features intended to repel people, San Francisco's social tensions over the Google bus, and the decision by Cincinnati's new mayor and City Council to "pause" construction of the streetcar.
December 12, 2013
Texas Teen Sentenced to Probation for Killing Four While Driving Drunk
Ethan Couch, a 16-year-old who killed four people and injured nine others in a drunk driving crash last June, won't serve any jail time, after a decision handed down by a Texas judge yesterday. In a case that is stirring national outrage, State District Judge Jean Boyd sentenced Couch to 10 years probation.
December 12, 2013
It’s Time for the AP to Nix the Term “Accident” to Describe Car Collisions
Earlier this year, the NYPD adopted a policy to stop using the term "accident" to describe traffic collisions. The San Francisco police department made similar changes a few months later. The problem with the term "accident," of course, is that it implies no one was at fault -- that traffic injuries and deaths are just random, unpreventable occurrences. It's part of a cultural permissiveness toward dangerous driving, which in turn contributes to the loss of life.
December 11, 2013
Feds to Cincinnati: Resume Streetcar or Forfeit $40 Million
Hows does a politician justify spurning millions in federal grants out of supposed concern for the city's budget?
December 11, 2013
Real Estate Trend: Parking-Free Apartment Buildings
A wave of new residential construction projects in places like Seattle, Boston, and Miami are showing that, yes, modern American cities can build housing without any car parking on site.
December 10, 2013
Enrique Peñalosa: Democracy Is Bus-Only Lanes and Protected Bikeways
I lived in Bogotá, Colombia, for about half of 2002. While I was there, a political party headquarters near my house was car-bombed, guerrillas attacked the presidential inauguration, and thousands of people were killed in routine violence. It was a stressful place to live.
December 9, 2013
Talking Headways Podcast, Episode 4: Car Brain
In this week's podcast, Jeff and I discuss the impressive turnout -- and possible pitfalls -- of London's "die-in" demonstration for bike safety. We try to contain our envy (but not our amazement) at Paul Salopek's seven-year walk tracing the path of Homo sapiens from the Rift Valley to Tierra del Fuego. And we discuss why even passionate transit advocates know what it means to be embarrassed about taking the bus.
December 6, 2013
Study: All Across America, Car Commuting Is Dropping
U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group are on a mission to explore the downward trend in driving. In a series of reports, they point to evidence that it isn’t just a temporary blip, but a long-term shift in how Americans get around. Today, the two organizations released a new report, “Transportation in Transition: A Look at Changing Travel Patterns in America’s Biggest Cities,” which shows that these changes are happening in regions all over the country.
December 4, 2013