2017 will be a big year for transit openings around North America. What will come in the years to follow has a lot to do with the Trump Administration.
"There are major transit infrastructure projects under construction throughout North America thanks to significant interest from local officials and support from national governments."
Thus, Yonah Freemark summarizes the state of transit investment in North America heading into 2017. The only looming threat to the surge of public transit investment: the potential that the incoming Trump Administration will gut expected federal funding for transit projects.
Setting that threat aside, Freemark dug through the Transit Explorer database and summed the total transit infrastructure investment ongoing around the continent:
New rail and bus routes are being built by virtually every large metropolitan area in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Almost 800 route-miles of new transit infrastructure–most of it with dedicated lanes–is now under construction, at a total cost of almost $80 billion, to eventually serve some three million daily riders.
Freemark also notes a few themes with which to analyze the aggregate transit project data, such as the aforementioned questions regarding the future of transportation policy and the country's increasing use of automobiles at the expense of public transit options.
Hat tip to Angie Schmitt for sharing the article at Streetsblog USA.
FULL STORY: Openings and Construction Starts Planned for 2017
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.