Government / Politics
Texas Voters Will Again Be Asked to Divert Funds for Transportation
Refusing to raise the 20-cent gas tax, creative Texas legislators have devised another scheme to divert existing revenue streams to roads. Last year it was a portion of the Rainy Day Fund. This year, from general sales and motor vehicle sales taxes.
Marohn Debates O'Toole
Charles Marohn, known as a reformed traffic engineer that launched Strong Towns, recently debated Randall O'Toole, known as the anti-planner. Recommended for understanding the conflicts that arise on the right side of the political spectrum.
City Report: Mission Moratorium Backfires on its Goals
A new report from the San Francisco Office of Economic Analysis shows that Prop. 1, an 18-month moratorium on the development of market-rate housing in the Mission to appear on November's ballot, would not meet the housing goals it seeks to attain.
Alabama Bill Would Hike Gas and Diesel Taxes by a Nickel, and Then Some
A bill to increase both gas and diesel taxes by five cents in Alabama has passed its first committee on a voice vote and goes to the full House of Representatives on Thursday. The bill indexes both taxes using only two-cent increments.
How Social Impact Bonds Close the Funding Gap
The number of social impact bond programs in the United States has expanded quickly, to eight, with examples found in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Utah, and, now, California.
White House Smart Cities Initiative Uses Connected Vehicle Technology
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx unveiled a $42 million transportation program in Manhattan that is part of President Obama's new $160 million Smart Cities Initiative. Funds will go to NYC, Tampa, and Wyoming to reduce congestion and crashes.
What's the Rush on the Highway Bill Reauthorization?
Surprise! A three-month transportation funding bill turns out to have funds for nine months! While unanticipated funds certainly sound like good news, it also takes immediate pressure off the House to working on a six-year reauthorization bill.
Walkability: It's About Experience
The Surgeon General's call to action, Step It Up, asks us all to get moving. And that to do that, to clear the hurdles to walkable, bikeable, rollable places. We knew that sitting is the new smoking, and now we have the full admonition to go with it.
San Francisco Housing Advocates: 'Sue the Suburbs'
Renters' advocates in San Francisco are building a political and fundraising base to legally challenge suburbs that aren't pulling their weight in constructing the housing to meet the demands of population growth.
Another Key Climate Bill Lost in California
On the heels of losing an oil reduction mandate due to lobbying by Big Oil, another key climate bill failed to pass—setting greenhouse gas reduction targets beyond 2020. An oil pipeline safety bill resulting from Santa Barbara spill passed.
Carbon-Saving Urban Development Makes Economic Sense
A new report stresses the importance of international cooperation on low-carbon development.
Los Angeles' Mobility Plan 2035 Slapped with Lawsuit
The group, Fix The City, sued the city on September 9 on its visionary plan that emphasizes transit, biking, and walking, claiming the traffic lane reductions will create more air pollution, imperil public safety, and add to traffic congestion.
California Transportation Funding Bill Stalls in Final Week
Gov. Jerry Brown's intervention to soffen Sen. Jim Beall's transportation funding bill by halving both the gas and diesel tax hikes did not assuage Republican critics of the bill, so Brown is extending the special legislative session past Friday.
California Won't Require 50 Percent Reduction In Oil Consumption After All
An ambitious energy-climate bill strongly backed by Gov. Jerry Brown was stripped of one of its three goals—to reduce oil consumption in half by 2030. The other two goals, increasing the renewable portfolio and increasing energy efficiency, remain.
Tech Shuttle Pilot Might Stick Around San Francisco
They're hated by many, blamed for the city's gentrification, but are an integral part of regional transportation, enabling tech employees to work on the Peninsula and South Bay while living in the city. A city-approved pilot may become permanent.
National Attention for the Bold Plan to Reshape Transportation in the City of Angels
Mobility Plan 2035, a visionary plan to get Angelenos out of their cars, attracted the attention of The New York Times. The plan calls for using road diets and transit-only lanes to replace auto trips with bike and bus trips, but many are skeptical.
Structural Deficiencies on 600 Missouri Bridges Reach 'Critical Condition'
Missouri's inability to pass transportation funding legislation or ballot measures has come home to roost in the growing number of bridges classified in "critical condition"—just one or two steps from being closed, according to MoDOT.
Illinois DOT Head: System Is Stuck in the Past
Strong words from the head of the Illinois Department of Transportation, who says the state is planning for "yesterday's transportation system." Are we witnessing a sea change in leadership of transportation at the state level?
Compromise Transportation Funding Plan Floated by California Gov. Jerry Brown
With five days left in the legislative season, Gov. Jerry Brown halved the fuels tax increases proposed in the Democratic bill as a sweetener to tax-averse Republicans, though they haven't show any willingness to date to compromise.
Surgeon General Warning to Local Governments: Stop Being So Auto-Centric!
No, those will not be the precise words of the forthcoming "Call to Action" by Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, but he will call on cities to "design and build roads and public places to make walking easier, safer, and more pleasant."
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
