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The Critical Difference Between 30 MPH and 20 MPH
It might seem like a small thing: reducing motor vehicle speeds 10 miles per hour. But that 10 mph can make an enormous difference for the safety of a street and how comfortable people feel walking or biking there.
April 7, 2015
Biking Skyrockets Where San Diego Added Buffered Bike Lanes
Build bike infrastructure and they will ride. It's true just about everywhere, including San Diego.
April 3, 2015
Albuquerque Bike Advocates’ April Fools Prank Could Turn Prophetic
Every April Fools Day, we'll see several dream scenarios announced on different sites in the Streetsblog Network -- you can call them pranks, but they're also exercises in imagining a better future. This one from Albuquerque yesterday really hit its mark.
April 2, 2015
The Case for Letting States, Not Cities, Shape Development Near Transit
A bill circulating in the Connecticut legislature -- HB 6851 -- would give state officials greater control over development near transit stations.
March 31, 2015
Comparing 20 Years of Housing Growth in American Cities
Here's an interesting way to visualize how different regions are growing (or not). Using a tool developed by the University of Virginia Demographics Research Group, Michael Andersen at Bike Portland shares these charts showing where housing growth has happened relative to city centers. The dark brown lines show the number of occupied housing units at one-mile intervals from the urban core in 2012, and the orange lines show the distribution in 1990. The gap between the lines tells you where housing growth has happened, and there is huge variation between regions.
March 27, 2015
Car Storage for a Few Trumps Safe Streets for All in San Diego
A major street safety campaign in San Diego is running up against the fierce territorial instinct that only on-street car parking can instill.
March 26, 2015
When “Congestion Reduction” Policy Actually Doubles Down on Congestion
The powers that be in Northern Virginia are getting ready to divvy up $350 million between a list of transportation projects. But in this growing, congested region, highway projects always have an edge over transit in these types of budgeting sessions, thanks to some old-fashioned policies that come from the state DOT.
March 25, 2015
How Wisconsin DOT Distorts the Numbers to Sell Highway Projects
The Interstate 94 expansion in Wisconsin is a textbook example of how state DOTs manufacture the case for billion-dollar highway projects.
March 24, 2015
To Speed Service, Seattle Looks to Separate Streetcars From Auto Traffic
As streetcars make a comeback in cities across America, they are under scrutiny from transit advocates who complain about service quality.
March 23, 2015
Texas DOT Raring to Build Money-Losing Toll Lanes
States seem to love expanding highways by adding tolled lanes, even when the money doesn't add up. The 495 Express Lanes in DC's Virginia suburbs lost $51 million last year, forcing investors to restructure $430 million in debt. Similarly, Maryland taxpayers are likely to be on the hook for the state's new I-95 lanes, which are generating barely $5 million a year after costing $275 million. Toll lanes in Atlanta and Houston are also not hitting their financial targets.
March 19, 2015