San Diego's downtown trolley service is becoming too popular, causing officials to propose equipment upgrades to handle the rising crowds. But the bigger trolleys will take out some car lanes and affect traffic lights, and many are unhappy about it.
"Every weekday morning, trolleys disgorge 10,500 passengers from packed cars. During peak hours, Trolleys are so full that the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which operates the trains, suspects that some people are opting against public transit because it's too crowded."
"'We've been very successful. Too successful, really,' said Brandon Farley, an MTS planner."
"And it's going to get worse. A recent update of the Downtown Community Plan predicts an 183-percent peak-hour growth in ridership by 2030. To meet the expected demand, the MTS board has decided to add a third car to trains running through Downtown and buy new, bigger models. Known as "low-floor" cars because the passenger compartment is literally closer to the ground, the new cars are 10 feet longer. A train with three of these cars would extend 275 feet, roughly 30 feet longer than a Downtown city block. To squeeze into the proposed station between Sixth and Seventh avenues, the city would have to close a travel lane on each of the avenues, and red lights would occasionally need to be longer to accommodate a crossing train."
"Needless to say, the Downtown powers-that-be are not happy."
FULL STORY: Going underground

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie