Texas A&M Transportation Institute
TxDOT Moving Forward With Plan to Widen I-35 in Austin
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wants to spend $4.6 billion to expand Interstate 35 in Austin despite alternative plans proposed by local groups.
Smart Congestion Costing: A Critical Evaluation of the 'Urban Mobility Report'
The new "Urban Mobility Report" provides widely-cited congestion cost estimates. However, its analysis is neither comprehensive nor objective. Anybody using these estimates should understand its omissions and biases.
AAA Study: Auto Ownership More Cost-Effective Than Ride-Hailing
Even after factoring in insurance, parking, depreciation, fuel, repair, maintenance and licensing, urban dwellers would pay half the costs to travel, on average, nearly 11,000 miles annually in their own new car rather than relying on ride-hailing.
Two Studies Show How Light Rail Benefits Houston
Finally, the city seems to be reaping benefits from a major investment in public transportation.
Faulty Assumptions in the TTI Urban Mobility Report
The annual Urban Mobility Report (UMR), published by Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), should come with a warning label.
Demographic Changes Spell Trouble Ahead for Auto Industry
It's not only young adults who are delaying in getting drivers licenses, but a drop in licenses among all age groups according to a new analysis of license data from 1983-2014 by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Toll-Paying Motorists Crowding-Out Carpoolers in Seattle Area Express Toll Lanes
The new I-405 Express Toll Lanes between Bellevue and Lynnwood might be undercharging solo commuters at $10. Carpoolers, who drive for free, are increasingly hard to spot in the lanes, according to anecdotal reports.
First There Were Electric Vehicles—Will Electric Roads Be Next?
Two Texas universities received a federal grant to embed sensors in road asphalt to create renewable electricity from the wind created by passing vehicles to power roadside lights and traffic signals.
Same Source Data, 'Contradictory Conclusions' on Congestion
A curious discrepancy between two major congestion reports using the same data: There is a profound and unexplained discrepancy between the travel trends in the latest Urban Mobility Scorecard report and the data provided by Inrix.
If Congestion Is Getting Worse, Why Are We Spending Less Time Traveling?
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute released its eighth report on peak motorization in the U.S., an evaluation of time spent traveling for a broad category of purposes, not just work. From 2004 to 2014, total time decreased.
Rural Texans Air Objections to High Speed Rail
Parts of rural Texas sound a bit like the outspoken high speed rail opponents in California's Central Valley in their reaction to the Texas Central Railway's bullet train which maintains strong support at the terminal cities of Houston and Dallas.
Underfunded, Deadly Road Infrastructure in Texas
Bloomberg News investigates a rash of road deaths in the Midland-Odessa region, attributing the fatalities to underfunded road infrastructure, increased population, and truck traffic. A November ballot measure may provide some relief.
Congestion Costing Point-Counter-Point
Conventional transportation planning tends to exaggerate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits, and undervalues other transportation solutions such as improving alternative modes, pricing reforms and smart growth policies.
Critiquing the "Urban Mobility Report"
The "Urban Mobility Report" produces widely-cited congestion cost estimates. It is biased in various ways that exaggerate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits. Few users of these cost estimates seem aware of these problems.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
