Architect Arrol Gellner says that traffic engineers use traffic lights far too often when a simple stop sign works better and is much less expensive.
Gellner says that 2-way or 4-way stop signs are "...cheaper, by several magnitudes, than installing a traffic signal, which nowadays costs from $80,000 to $100,000 or more depending on bells and whistles such as crosswalk signals and the like. Add to this the perpetual expense of maintenance and the cost of electricity to power signals 24 hours a day, and you're talking about a serious drain on taxpayer dollars."
Read the full story: Urban planning’s black eye
On the Benefits of Traffic Signal Removal
Certain intersections stand to gain from losing their traffic lights. According to this study, cities can save money and improve safety by uninstalling signals in low-traffic zones.
Crunching the Safety Data Reveals the Need to Improve Traffic Lights
After completing an eight-year study of traffic collisions, the Seattle Department of Transportation realized that one way to immediately improve traffic safety would be to improve signalization an key intersections.
Slot-Based Design Could Eliminate Traffic Lights
An MIT study determined that traffic lights, and their inefficiencies, could be eliminated if all vehicles were equipped to regulate their speed and "batch" together as they approach intersections.
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.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
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.
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