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Deadly Year for European Rail Still Safer Than the American Average
Does the recent train derailment in Spain, which killed 79 people, justify America's onerous approach to regulating rail safety?
August 5, 2013
Why Spend on Highways When Local Streets Are Empty?
That picture above? It's a major local street near downtown Buffalo at rush hour. David Steel at Network blog Buffalo Rising says this situation should be a wake up call to reverse the region's commitment to highways and long-distance travel at the expense of his city:
August 2, 2013
Wisconsin GOP Discovers New Threat: Roundabouts
In Wisconsin, anti-urban politicos are out to kill a streetcar project that Milwaukee has been trying to build for years, while the state DOT plows ahead with cars-only mega-projects over the objections of civil rights advocates. The guiding principle isn't to give local communities a say in transportation policy -- it's to build more highways.
August 1, 2013
Can Free Transit Work in a Real City?
Today on the Streetsblog Network, Jarrett Walker at Human Transit points to the interesting case of Tallinn, Estonia, a city of 426,000 people that seems to be pulling off a feat that defies the conventional wisdom: operating a transit system that people can ride without paying fares.
July 31, 2013
Turning Asphalt Alleys Into “Livable Laneways”
They don't call it the most livable city in the world for nothing. Even the alleyways in Vancouver are community gathering places. That's because about ten years ago, the city of Vancouver launched an initiative aimed at converting garbage strewn alleys into "livable laneways."
July 30, 2013
Stop Rand Paul’s Senseless Attack on Biking and Walking
The Senate is getting ready to produce a 2014 transportation budget, and national advocates like Transportation for America think it's a pretty good package. Naturally, some senators are trying to sabotage it.
July 29, 2013
Senate Transpo Budget Gets Serious About Repairing Rail Bridges
They're waist deep in the transportation appropriations process in Washington right now, and what's on the table is a study in contrasts. The House budget would zero out the popular TIGER program and slash funding for Amtrak, even as it shatters ridership records. President Obama has promised to veto it should it wind up on his desk.
July 26, 2013
A Post-Housing-Bust Prescription for Federal Real Estate Programs
The federal government subsidizes housing and real estate to the tune of about $450 billion a year. Roughly 50 uncoordinated programs influence the housing market, often in unintended and insidious ways.
July 25, 2013
While Officials Ignore Street Safety, “Cone Fairy” Calms Miami Traffic
If only the Florida Department of Transportation was as concerned about traffic safety as one mysterious resident in Miami's Belle Meade neighborhood. A traffic safety vigilante known only as "the cone fairy" has been making nightly visits to a dangerous street in this neighborhood and applying a simple, temporary solution to reckless speeding: orange cones in the center of the street.
July 25, 2013
Study: Living in a City Makes You Safer
Everyone knows that big American cities are risky, dangerous places -- right? Not so fast. A new study published in the Journal of Injury Prevention [PDF] says the conventional wisdom on the safety of cities is backwards.
July 24, 2013