Transit
LA: An "Ideal Transit City"?
Matthew Yglesias reports on how Los Angeles is embracing its natural advantages to become an "ideal transit city," matching its transit investments with improvements to the built environment.
For Reducing Traffic, Americans Favor Transit Over Roads
Finally, something Red and Blue America can agree on! A new poll published this week by the NRDC shows support for local investment in transit to reduce traffic crosses the country's wide political and geographic divides.
Transit Wins at Job Creation Game
Blogging on HuffPo, Greg LeRoy, director of Good Jobs First, makes the case that transit, transit oriented development and smart growth are key factors in job growth.
There’s a Lot Riding on U.S. DOT’s Definition of 'Congestion'
As the new federal transportation bill, known as MAP-21, moves to the implementation stage, major finding decisions will ride on the nuances by which the U.S. DOT defines and measures "congestion," "roadway performance," and "cost effectiveness".
A Tale of Three Lobbies
In the early 1990s, transportation politics at both the state and federal levels was often fairly simple: an all-powerful Road Gang (made up of real estate developers and road contractors) typically got whatever it wanted, rolling over a much weaker pro-transit coalition of environmentalists and urban politicians.
Solving the "Bus Bunching" Problem
Everyone has seen the phenomenon of "bus bunching" - no matter what the schedule, buses end up clustered together in packs, resulting in some full buses and some empty ones and a long wait for some. Two professors say they have a solution.
Transit Apps For People With Disabilities
Google Transit has changed the way people plan their public transportation trips. Now there's an app, OnTheBus, for people with visual, hearing, physical and cognitive impairments. Zak Stone describes the tool.
Designing Transit Networks That People Will Actually Use
Eric Jaffe examines the unusual success of transit in Broward County, Florida, proving that a little route planning goes a long way.
How to Resuscitate a Foundering Transit System
Stephen Lee Davis investigates a campaign by Baton Rouge community groups to revive its bus service as it teetered on the brink of collapse.
Transit and seniors
I occasionally have speculated that our aging society would lead to increased transit ridership, as seniors lost the ability to drive. But I recently discovered that seniors are actually less likely to use public transit than the general public. One study by the American Public Transit Association showed that 6.7% of transit riders are over 65 (as opposed to 12.4% of all Americans).(1) The oldest Americans are even more underrepresented on America's buses and trains: only 1.5% of transit riders are over 80, about half their share of the population (2). The only other age group that is underrepresented on public transit is Americans under 18.
Finding Joy Outside Our Cars
Sarah Goodyear explores the need to market non-automotive transportation on its emotional appeal, rather than reason, as argued by Darrin Nordahl in his new e-book, Making Transit Fun!
Congestion Pricing: The Key to Better Transit?
Noah Kazis describes the explosive success of transit systems in London, Stockholm, and Singapore, and suggests that charging motorists for road use is the secret ingredient that keeps ridership high and public support strong.
America's Top Ten Transit Meccas
Real estate's favorite tool for gauging neighborhood walkability now has a companion for transit, Kaid Benfield reports.
Winning an Uphill Battle for Transit
Marie Cusick reports on a community driven effort to bring bus service to a challenged neighborhood in Albany, New York.
Is Generation Y Weaning Off the Automobile?
Angie Schmitt discusses new research from U.S. PIRG indicating youngsters are relying on their cars less than the generation before them, motivated by more than just thinning pocketbooks.
Can Bay Area Transit Be Saved?
With rapidly increasing gaps between costs and funding, the transit systems serving the San Francisco bay area are on an unsustainable path. Egon Terplan offers six solutions to ensure they serve bay area residents long into the future.
Untangling Our Emotions From Transit Planning
Eric Jaffe interviews Jarrett Walker, the author of a new, nonpartisan treatise on thinking rationally about transit.
Lost in Transportation
The inconsistent signage, representing 26 different public transportation systems in the Bay Area, leaves many riders feeling lost. Julie Caine describes the confusion and improvements underway.
As New York Plants One Million Trees, Benefits—and Some Burdens—Grow
The city’s MillionTrees program fights asthma and global warming. But tightening maintenance budgets, increasingly severe weather and decades-old planting decisions complicate trees’ contribution.
Pagination
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
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.