Traffic

Vancouver Car Free Robson

How Did Vancouver Decrease its Traffic While Growing its Population?

With its elegant skyline, walkable streets and stunning parks, Vancouver exemplifies great city-making. Add to the list of achievements the city's ability to reduce traffic by 20 to 30 percent since 2006 while growing its population by 4.5 percent.

August 6, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Westside Fights Smart Growth: Can Any Development Navigate L.A.'s Traffic Nightmare?

On the Westside of L.A., where rush hour traffic slows to a crawl on the best days, a proposed transit-oriented development called the 'quintessential example' of smart growth by the Mayor's staff faces opposition to its size and attraction to autos.

June 11, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

"Bike Breaks" Leverage Dynamic Resources for Synergistic Efficiency Improvements (they really do!)

Using bicycle racks as partitions in lieu of fences, called "bike breaks", in heavily trafficked areas accomplishes two goals at once and fends off the design wonks.

May 23, 2013 - Ian Sacs

D.C. Mustn't Look Far to Find Lessons for Reducing the Nation's Worst Congestion

Washington D.C. holds the dubious distinction as the nation's most congested city. As D.C. seeks ways to reduce its traffic, Arlington County, in suburban Virginia, has made great strides in convincing commuters to ditch their cars.

March 27, 2013 - Transportation Nation

Better Traffic Flow Is a Two-Way Street

Cities such as Dallas, Denver, Sacramento and Tampa are reversing course on their one-way streets for a number of reasons; but improving traffic flow likely isn't one of them. Eric Jaffe looks at a recent study that upends conventional wisdom.

February 3, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

A Simple Solution to Kabul's Massive Traffic Problem

The proposal is simple. Instead of investing billions of dollars more on elaborate infrastructure or trust a corrupted police force, the concept is to nudge this complex system at two targeted points in the city, argues Mitchell Sutika Sipus.

January 2, 2013 - Humanitarian Space

Can Narrow Lanes Improve Traffic Congestion?

Comparing wide versus narrow lanes, Kenneth A. Small and Chen Feng Ng examine the relatively unexplored design of building more compact roads to alleviate traffic congestion.

December 26, 2012 - Access

Why Public Spaces Are Crucial for 'the Future of the Human Race'

Jay Walljasper chronicles the decline of lively public spaces in the era of "rampant traffic, proliferating privatization, heightened security...and the internet," and human kind's existential need for protecting and expanding the public realm.

September 12, 2012 - On The Commons

NYC's Taxis Offer Rare Insights into City Driving Patterns

With New York's fleet of more than 13,000 taxi cabs transmitting Global Positioning System (GPS) data, the city's Department of Transportation has been able to develop a highly detailed picture of traffic patterns in the Big Apple.

August 20, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Chinese Cities are Huge, But What's it Like to Live There?

We get it, China's cities are big and getting bigger. But what's it like to live there? Isaac Stone Fish takes a closer look at the quality of life in Chinese cities, and finds them almost uniformly monolithic and unlivable.

August 15, 2012 - Foreign Policy

Where are the Worst Friday Commutes?

Your boss might be interested in this article, which makes the case for working extra long on Fridays to avoid what, in nearly three-quarters of metros across America, is the worst time of the week to drive. Mike Maciag looks at the worst offenders.

August 3, 2012 - Governing

Can't All Modes Just Get Along?

In the face of New York City's increasing assault on automobiles, Justin Davidson stands up for the pleasures and utility of driving as a key ingredient in the city's multimodal mix of mobility.

June 1, 2012 - New York Magazine

Egypt's Social Media Takes On New Foe: Cairo's Traffic

After aiding in the dissolution of Egypt's authoritarian regime, social media is being enlisted to tackle a more formidable obstacle: easing its capital city's traffic, reports Noel King.

May 22, 2012 - Good

Parking Minimums Beleaguer a Car-Choked Brazil

Stephen Smith takes a look at land use regulations in Brazil, where developers are still required to make room for cars that its growing cities can't support.

April 26, 2012 - International Business Times

Train Times to Accompany Motorists Stuck in Traffic

To encourage train ridership, Caltrans and Metrolink have teamed up to display train times on electronic signs along two oft-congested Southern California freeways.

December 24, 2011 - The Orange County Register

What Would Happen If All Public Transportation Stopped?

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) released its 2011 Urban Mobility Report, which shows how many additional hours in traffic each commuter would be subject to if public transportation were discontinued.

October 7, 2011 - Urbanophile

Smaller Can Be Better When it Comes to Traffic Solutions

With the worst traffic in the country (see previous story), Washington has big problems. But Stewart Schwartz suggests that big problems don't necessarily call for big solutions.

September 27, 2011 - Greater Greater Washington

The 2nd Worst Traffic Congestion in the U.S.

That would be Chicago, falling from the number one spot but holding strong at #2, according to the latest figures from the Texas Transportation Institute. Washington, D.C. gains the crown.

September 27, 2011 - The Chicago Tribune

Jan Gehl on Safety

Want to prevent crime and keep people safe in traffic? Jan Gehl says the solution is to mix up pedestrians, bikes and cars into "shared spaces."

June 15, 2011 - Streetsblog

Explaining Induced Traffic

Eric Jaffe at The Infrastructurist explains the non-intuitive reason why often removing freeways means less traffic.

June 7, 2011 - The Infrastructurist

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