Fewer seats and more room for standing commuters are among the updates to the rail cars coming to BART.
After getting the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission, ten new rail cars are ready to be integrated into BART service in the Bay Area. "The new cars have three doors on each side for quicker passenger loading and unloading, modern signage and automated announcements," Michael Cabanatuan writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. The seats also feature new coverings.
"BART’s original timeline called for the first of hundreds of new cars to go into service in 2016, but delays caused by electrical problems pushed the start date into November 2017," Cabanatuan reports. There are over 600 cars in the BART system, and current plans call for that number to go up to 775 cars by 2020.
FULL STORY: New BART rail cars could start service in time for Friday’s evening commute
San Francisco’s BART Awarded $545 Loan for Upgraded Rail Cars
The agency plans to modernize its fleet with more efficient rail cars equipped with new safety features.
BART approves 2027 budget with no cuts, banking on November ballot measure for new funding
The Bay Area transit agency hopes to move forward without service cuts or fare increases.
California Revives $750M Loan to Save Bay Area Transit
The state approved a $750 million loan as a stopgap measure to fund regional transit agencies until a 2026 ballot measure that could bring more permanent funding.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association