Public Transit

Empty Muni underground train platform

Activists Mourn Potential Death of Bay Area Transit With Mock Funeral

In an action meant to draw attention to the financial crisis facing California’s public transit agencies, activists held a mock funeral for BART and Muni, citing the cause of death as ‘neglect.’

June 5, 2023 - SFGate

Blue Connect 1 bus at nighttime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee’s First BRT Line Celebrates Grand Opening

The nine-mile route covers the city’s busiest east-west corridor and will offer free rides through the summer.

June 5, 2023 - Urban Milwaukee

Minnesota state capitol building with red flowers on green front lawn

Minnesota Budget Includes Significant Transit Investments

After a contentious debate, the state legislature passed a budget that changes how transportation projects are funded and supports increased transit service in the state.

June 2, 2023 - Governing

Antioch, California

Op-Ed: To Survive, Bay Area Transit Needs Integration

Advocates for ‘seamless’ transit are calling on California state leaders to tie a consolidation study to a one-time injection of funding into the Bay Area’s transit systems.

June 1, 2023 - Streetsblog San Francisco

Sound Transit train

Sound Transit Reveals Early 2024 Service Plans

Seattle’s transit agency is looking to maximize its limited resources as it continues to grapple with staffing shortages and supply chain issues across the region.

May 31, 2023 - The Urbanist

Chicago Bikeshare

Micromobility Plus Transit Equals Jobs

Linking micromobility options to public transit can improve job acessibility, new research finds.

May 31, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

Traffic on the 405 interstate freeway through the Sepulveda Pass at Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles, California

Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.

The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.

May 30, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

Bellevue, Washington skyline against mountains

Bellevue Issues Curb Management Plan

The plan reorients the city’s priorities from vehicle throughput and parking to transit, bike infrastructure, and other public amenities.

May 29, 2023 - The Urbanist

View down Pennsylvania Avenue with U.S. capitol in background and bike lane in middle of street

Opinion: Downtown D.C. Recovery Requires More Inclusive Planning

To meet its climate goals and revitalize its downtown core, the District must expand its transit and urban amenities to meet the needs of a wider variety of people.

May 26, 2023 - Greater Greater Washington

View from under track of Seattle monorail passing under Frank Gehry-designed Museum of Pop Culture with Space Needle in background

‘The Power of the Kraken:’ Seattle Monorail Ridership Spikes for Hockey Games

Seattle’s new professional hockey team is drawing legions of enthusiastic fans. Around a quarter of them are taking public transit, such as the city’s often-maligned monorail, to games.

May 25, 2023 - The Seattle Times

Blurred red San Francisco streetcar speeding past tall downtown buildings

Editorial: Newsom Should Fund Ailing Transit Systems

With many of California’s low-income workers dependent on public transit to get to work and run daily errands, the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board calls on the state’s governor to support faltering transit systems.

May 23, 2023 - San Francisco Chronicle

rendering of red light rail tran at crowded station platform

Texas Attorney General Calls Project Connect Funding Scheme Illegal

The massive transit project’s unique funding scheme could run afoul of state law.

May 23, 2023 - Austin American-Statesman

Taylor Swift performs during the RED tour, 2013 wearing red and black ringmaster costume

Public Transit Gets the Swiftie Bump

Taylor Swift fans are flocking to public transit to attend her concerts, breaking ridership records in cities around the country. Will they keep using transit after the show?

May 21, 2023 - Governing

New York MTA subway station

Off-Peak is the New On-Peak

Public transit systems in major U.S. cities are starting to focus on non-rush hour travelers as pre-pandemic commuting patterns shift and transportation needs change.

May 19, 2023 - Curbed

Rendering of white Honolulu light railtrain speeding past landscape

Honolulu Light Rail to Open in June

The city’s first light rail line will finally begin service after more than a half century of planning.

May 18, 2023 - Hawaii Public Radio

A person’s thumb hovers over the Twitter app on a smart phone.

Is Twitter Still an Effective Planning Tool?

Twitter has been a daily dose of drama and upheaval ever since Elon Musk offered to pay over $40 billion to buy the social media platform. Media outlets and public transit agencies had been abandoning the social media platform—should planners?

May 18, 2023 - James Brasuell

Freeway toll booth with "Stop" and "Pay Toll" signs

Houston Tollway Could Get Transit Options

Officials will assess multiple options for increasing capacity on a key route between downtown Houston and southwestern communities.

May 17, 2023 - Houston Chronicle

Bay Area Rapid Transit

California Could Cut Transit Spending Even as Systems Struggle

Governor Newsom’s proposed budget would cut over $2 billion from transit infrastructure funds.

May 16, 2023 - Bloomberg CityLab

Blue and yellow light rail train at station in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Assessing Transit Spending in Minnesota’s Proposed Transportation Bills

Two bills that will decide the fate of transportation funding in Minnesota contain historic investments in transit service and safety.

May 15, 2023 - Minnesota Public Radio

Passengers lined up to board city bus in Washington, D.C. to Dulles Airport

Complicating the Free Transit Vs. Service Debate

Pitting Washington, D.C.’s K Street Transitway against free transit oversimplifies a more complex issue.

May 15, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

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.

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New York City School Construction Authority

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Village of Glen Ellyn

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