Around the United States, new bike lanes and trails are connecting communities via two (or three) wheels.
In an article for the Associated Press, Jeff McMurray describes how new federal grants could help bike advocates and transportation departments around the country build more protected biking and walking infrastructure and connect existing trails.
Although the 2021 infrastructure law allocated as much as $1 billion to these efforts, Congress has so far allocated just under $45 million. However, advocates are cheered by the commitment to biking and walking that has been absent in prior administrations.
The funding is particularly aimed at closing gaps in existing systems, such as the Great American Rail-Trail, a series of trails across 12 states that amounts to 3,700 miles of bike trails, but has significant gaps between segments.
Read the full story: Pedal coast-to-coast without using a road? New program helps connect trails across the US
Washington State Plans Ambitious ‘Cycle Highway’ Network
The state is directing funding to close gaps in its existing bike network and make long-distance trips more accessible.
Advocates Champion the Great Western Trail
A Chicago walking and biking trail along a former railroad right-of-way has been a labor of love for local residents.
Revealed: A Plan to Build a Continuous Bike Trail Across the United States
Motorists have been able to drive across the country for more than a century. People on bikes will get their day soon, too.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority