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Streetsblog LA
How Grid Systems Promote Urbanism and Winding Streets Undermine It
What's the difference between a sleepy, sprawling place and a vibrant, compact one? According to a fascinating theory from Patrick Kennedy at Network blog Walkable Dallas Fort Worth, the primary factor is the street pattern.
August 24, 2012
Portland’s Parking-Free Apartment Boom
Portland is undergoing a bit of a building boom. According to local planners, about 40 apartment projects have come online in the last year and a half. Here's the best part: More than half of those apartment projects have no parking -- for cars anyway.
August 22, 2012
As State DOTs Receive Surprise $, Risk and Opportunity for Safe Streets
Heads up, advocates. Last week the White House released more than $470 million in unspent transportation earmarks, turning it over to state DOTs to use at their discretion. Now states have to decide by October 1 what projects will receive funding, according to a press release from the White House.
August 20, 2012
Walking Rates in America Improve, Still Pitiful
There's a new report out from the Centers for Disease Control that finds nearly 40 percent of American adults had not walked for a ten-minute period in the previous seven days. Yikes.
August 17, 2012
Syncing Traffic Lights No Sure-Fire Way to Reduce Emissions
From a motorist's perspective, few things are more frustrating than sitting at a red light when the lights ahead are all green. That would help explain the popularity of traffic signal synchronization, neatly timing lights so that someone traveling the speed limit can expect to wait only every several cycles.
August 15, 2012
WaPo Blames “Distracted Walking” for Unexplained Rise in Deaths
Pedestrian deaths are up. That's the news from a recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Almost 4,300 pedestrians were killed in 2010 -- the most recent year for which data is available. That represents a four percent increase -- the first in five years.
August 14, 2012
On Transport, Romney-Ryan Ticket Presents Extreme Contrast to Obama
What would a Mitt Romney presidency look like for transportation?
August 13, 2012
Study: Taxpayer-Backed NBA Arenas Don’t Help Local Economies
Over the last few decades, sports franchise owners have been hugely successful in convincing governments to give them money in the form of taxpayer-funded stadiums and arenas. A favored approach is to threaten to pull up stakes and move a team, and its attendant economic benefits, to another city.
August 10, 2012
Greeks Turn to Bikes During Economic Downturn
Today on the Network, Reno Rambler links to a Reuters story, via the Huffington Post, on how economic upheaval in Greece has led to a dramatic shift in how many get around. Thousands of Greeks are turning to bikes to help weather the crisis, and while unemployment is at 20 percent, the bike business is booming:
August 9, 2012