Even natural attractions outside of urban areas have parking shortages and congestion problems.
Jamie Hale reports on a pilot project in Oregon that will hopefully to address the congestion and parking shortages on the Columbia Gorge near Multnomah Falls. Driving to Multnomah Falls, writes Hale, "has long been a pain in northwest travelers' necks, who on busy weekends can be found duking it out for a parking spot at the most popular destination in Oregon."
As a solution, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service have launched a new bus service that will connect Portland with the Columbia River Gorge including Multnomah Falls.
"The bus service will be a two-year pilot program, attempting to alleviate some of the congestion at Multnomah Falls which often backs up onto the left lane of Interstate 84," reports Hale. "The parking lot at the falls closed 181 times due to overcrowding over the last 22 months, according to the department. Of those, 129 closures came on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays." The Columbia River Gorge Express, as the shuttle bus is called, began service on Friday, may 27, 2016.
FULL STORY: New bus service links Portland to Multnomah Falls, aimed at reducing congestion
Oregon DOT's Columbia River Gorge Bus Service a Smashing Success
The first season of a two-year pilot project for the Columbia Gorge Express has been a huge hit.
Oregon Youth Activists Protest Highway Expansion
A group of young climate activists are demanding an end to traffic-inducing road expansion projects and a renewed commitment to sustainable, transit-oriented transportation.
Study: Wider Highways Won't Reduce Congestion
Widening highways won't reduce congestion—that's the conclusion of a report paid for by the state agency proposing several highway widening projects in Oregon.
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.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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