Transportation

Dallas Transit

Dallas Streetcar Launches New Expansion

The expanded Dallas Streetcar began service the Bishop Arts District this week, an expansion of three-quarters-of-a-mile beyond the original route.

August 30, 2016 - KERA News

Audubon Park, New Orleans

Green Spaces Are Making a Comeback in New Orleans

Some good news from a state that has seen far too much bad news this year: local officials report that the trees of New Orleans are making a surprisingly strong comeback after devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

August 30, 2016 - The New Orleans Advocate

D.C. Metro

D.C. Metro to Test Free WiFi at Six Subway Stations

The beleaguered D.C.-area transit agency finally had something to talk about besides repair schedules, delays, and debt.

August 30, 2016 - Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Toronto Subway

Toronto Commuters Like Their Open Gangway Subway Trains

The New York Times transit reporter, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, reports from Toronto to see what riders think about their 'open gangway' subway cars. By 2020, New York will receive 750 of these cars that have no doors separating the cars.

August 30, 2016 - The New York Times

Self-Driving Car

The Big Challenge for Driverless Cars: Convincing People to Give Up Control

The latest episode of TransitTrends, a serial YouTube show by moovel, examines the question of whether or not we're ready for autonomous vehicles.

August 29, 2016 - moovel

Dallas, Knox Street

Dallas Mixes Residential Development With a Road Diet, Gets Controversy

The Dallas City Council approved a road diet for Knox Street in Dallas, where 1,000 residential units are under construction on an already thriving commercial corridor.

August 29, 2016 - Dallas News

Taxi

Taxi Drivers, Your Job Has an Expiration Date

Autonomous vehicles are already in production and big city taxi drivers could be out of a job in 10 years, including those for Uber and Lyft.

August 29, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Traffic Deaths Take a Big Jump in 2016

A 9 percent increase in fatalities on the nation's highways compared to the same period in 2015 does not appear to be a result of increased driving, which jumped 3.3 percent during that period, but rather an increase in the rate of fatal crashes.

August 29, 2016 - National Safety Council

Amtrak Receives $2.45 Billion Federally Secured Loan for New Acela Trains

Amtrak will replace, rather than overhaul, aging Acela trains with new, 186-mph trains from French manufacturer, Alstom, though they won't exceed 160 mph. The agreement was announced Friday by VP Joe Biden at Biden Station, Wilmington, Del.

August 28, 2016 - The New York Times

Nighttime Traffic

Peak Car Revisited

U.S. vehicle travel increased 3.2% (8.6 billion vehicle miles) in total and 2.0% per capita between Junes 2015 and 2016. That is a new peak in total VMT, but a 2.75% reduction in per capita VMT. Will these growth rates continue into the future?

August 27, 2016 - Peak Car Revisited

Ride Hailing to Replace Former Bus Route

A small public transit company serving the East Bay will be the first in California to conduct a pilot project to use transportation network companies and taxis to service low density areas of Dublin in Alameda County.

August 27, 2016 - KQED News

Sacramento

Sacramento Rising: Mayor-Elect Darrell Steinberg's Vision for Sustainable Communities

Mayor-Elect Steinberg enters City Hall as a leader with a unique opportunity to enact sustainable infill policies he championed in the California Legislature.

August 26, 2016 - The Planning Report

Boston

Boston Sets a Citywide Default Speed Limit of 25 MPH

Finally by the state of Massachusetts to set its own speed limits, Boston moved quickly to reduce to reduce its default speed limit to 25 mph.

August 26, 2016 - Boston.com

Trenton

The Heritage Trail, a 60-Mile Dream, Becoming a Reality on the Delaware River

The Heritage Trail would loop around either side of the Delaware River, from Trenton, New Jersey, down to Philadelphia and back, exploring historic sites and a variety of neighborhoods and parks all along the way.

August 25, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

PATH Train

On Isolated Transit Systems

In cities like New York where multiple transit operators serve the same travelers, nothing compels those operators to work together. This isolation can result in embarrassing inefficiencies.

August 25, 2016 - the transport politic

Echo Park

Los Angeles' Neighborhood Integrity Initiative Presents Demands to City Leaders

Last week, leaders of the initiative to curb development in L.A. surprisingly presented Mayor Eric Garcetti with an ultimatum: Agree to their list of demands by August 24, or they will take the issue to the March 2017 ballot.

August 24, 2016 - The Planning Report

Boyle Heights

East Los Angeles Community Groups Prove that Community Planning Matters

The landscape of community development in Los Angeles today differs vastly from even a few years ago. Two groups in East L.A. are developing solutions to accelerating gentrification and displacement and a compounding affordable housing crisis.

August 24, 2016 - The Planning Report

Mercedes Benz Suburbs

Americans Continue to Drive More, Reports Federal Highway Administration

New driving totals are out for June and and the first six months of 2016, and the news is not good for those who want to see a reduction in what is now the greatest source of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

August 24, 2016 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Bay Bridge Toll Traffic

Bad Roads and Bridges Costing California Motorists as Much as $2,800 Annually

The transportation research group, TRIP, tallied costs from additional crashes, higher operating costs, and congestion that result from insufficient investment in California's roads and bridges. A new effort was launched to increase state funding.

August 24, 2016 - tripnet.org

Dallas Streetcar

Dallas Planning Light Rail (Which Could Become a Subway) and a Streetcar

Downtown Dallas could have an embarrassment of riches on its hands, if it figures out how to make plans for a Downtown streetcar coordinate well with a new Downtown light rail route.

August 24, 2016 - The Dallas Morning News

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.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.