Transportation

Utility Meter

How Much Should Electric Vehicles Be Charged in Lieu of Gas Tax?

Currently, electric vehicles pay a $17.50 annual registration fee in Illinois. A bill to double the 19 cents per gallon gas tax, unchanged in almost 30 years, would also increase the EV fee over 57-fold to $1,000.

May 28, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

The Boring Company

Elon Musk and BART Go Toe to Toe (on Twitter)

Transit agencies and advocates are developing a genre of criticism that could be described as calling Elon Musk on his BS. Musk still has plenty of support on social media.

May 28, 2019 - SFGate

Volkswagen

Report: Many States Spent Volkswagen Settlement Money on More Diesel Vehicles

When Volkswagen funded a $3 billion environmental mitigation trust as the result of a settlement in the cheating scandal three years ago, states could have used that money to fund things like electric buses.

May 28, 2019 - Energy News Network

Los Angeles

What Do Cities With Fewer Cars Have in Common?

A new analysis looks at how income and population density are related to car ownership and some ways that the design of cities can help lessen car dependence.

May 28, 2019 - Slate

Cattle Drive

Stampede of New Residents Challenges Fort Worth

An interview with Fort Worth Planning and Development Director Randle Harwood on the planning practices and ideas driving the future of one of the nation's fastest growing cities.

May 27, 2019 - Josh Stephens

Red Light

Mulling the Idea of Ending Right Turns on Red Lights

San Francisco might follow the lead on New York City when it comes to right turns on red lights.

May 27, 2019 - San Francisco Examiner

Turnstiles

New Mobile Platform Will Offer Transit Discounts for Students, Shoppers and More

There's synergy between mobility-as-a-service and mobile ticketing. We're only beginning to see the potential benefits of platform integration in these two tech spaces.

May 26, 2019 - moovel

Blocking the Bike Lane

Volunteers Count Almost 700 Vehicles Blocking D.C. Bike Lanes in One Day

Forget bike counts. The new thing in bike advocacy is cars-blocking-the-bike-lane counts.

May 26, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Vermin Graffiti

Looking for Gentrification? Follow the Rat Complaints

A surprising number of puns get squeezed into an article rat complaints as a better harbinger of gentrification than...rats.

May 26, 2019 - The Concourse

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Revealed: Plans for Makeover of the World's Busiest Bus Terminal

The Port Authority Bus Terminal, described as the busiest bus terminal in the world, is due for a makeover, due to its "ragged" appearance and importance to the economy of the New York and New Jersey.

May 24, 2019 - Politico

Garcetti Expo Line

From April to May in L.A.: From a Green New Deal to Transit Service Cuts

Can Los Angeles convince drivers to cut the number of automobile trips in half while also transit frequency on several light rail lines?

May 24, 2019 - Curbed Los Angeles

Los Angeles Metro Bus

Transit Needs Improvements Sooner Rather Than Later

The Los Angeles transit system is losing riders, but L.A. Metro has been slow to implement changes that could keep people using it.

May 24, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Chicago Informal Economy

State Supreme Court Upholds Food Truck Regulations in Chicago

A question of whose business is suppressing whose in the city of Chicago was decided by the State Supreme Court.

May 24, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

Mission Street Bus Lane San Francisco

Investing in a more Sustainable Infrastructure

Congress needs to do more than fund the status quo in its next infrastructure bill, whenever that long-promised bill becomes a reality.

May 23, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

Electric Car

Peer-to-Peer Carsharing Companies Facing Challenges

Rental car companies and cities say companies like Turo and Getaround are not following the regulatory rules that should apply to them.

May 23, 2019 - CityLab

Colorado Department of Transportation

Shifting Priorities to Solve a Transportation Infrastructure Deficit

The Colorado Department of Transportation is announcing a public listening tour to prepare for a new ten-year strategic plan, called "Your Transportation Plan." Public transit and a new regional approach are already talking points.

May 23, 2019 - The Denver Post

20's Plenty

Infographic: Where Vision Zero Is Making a Difference

Streetsblog has created a graph to track the progress of Vision Zero cities in reducing traffic fatalities.

May 23, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

Autonomous Vehicles

U.S. Postal Service Now Testing Self-Driving Trucks to Deliver the Mail

The U.S. Postal Service is looking for ways to cut costs while also covering for a shortage of drivers. You can probably guess where this is headed.

May 23, 2019 - NBC News

Pop Up Protected Bike Lanes

NACTO Guide Aids Bike Safety in the Intersection

Despite massive progress in building out new protected bike lanes, many communities are still coming up short with safety improvements at intersections, the location of most vehicle-bike conflicts.

May 22, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

Geno's Steaks

Streets in Dense Urban Areas Safer Than Suburban 'Stroads,' Study Finds

A new study considers urban form, roadway characteristics, traffic collisions, and fatalities in the Philadelphia region, to show that the densest parts of regions are the safest places to drive and walk.

May 22, 2019 - PlanPhilly

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.