Transportation

Electric Cars

Oregon Supreme Court Rejects Challenge by AAA to Stop Electric Vehicle Rebates

A controversial new sales tax on motor vehicles in a state with no sales taxes survived a court challenge. As a result, Oregon consumers will have another reason to consider purchasing or leasing an electric vehicle: receiving up to a $5,000 rebate.

August 9, 2018 - Utility Dive

Text and Drive

Parents Setting Poor Example for Teen Drivers

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and while parents often instruct teens not to text and drive, they admit to texting and driving at about the same rates as teenage drivers.

August 9, 2018 - Chicago Tribune

E-Scooters

Looking for Scooter Shame, a Local Paper Found Scooter Support

The Willamette Week put out a call for tips about electric scooter users acting badly. They got an earful of the unexpected.

August 9, 2018 - Willamette Week

Refueling

What Comes Next if California Repeals Its Gas Tax Increase?

Repeal proponents have already planned a sequel for Proposition 6, regardless of whether the measure passes, resulting in the loss of over $5 billion annually from new transportation user fees, including a 12-cents per gallon gas tax increase.

August 8, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

Tilikum Crossing

Final Public Comment for Portland Area's $42 Billion Regional Transportation Plan

Oregon Metro's Regional Transportation Plan sets policy and project goals through 2040.

August 8, 2018 - Bike Portland

Salesforce Transit Center

San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center Opens This Weekend

The $2.16 billion Transbay Transit Center opens to the public on August 11, with bus service launching on August 12.

August 8, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

CicLAvia Crowd

Why Are Mayors Fighting Trump's Fuel Economy Rollback?

State attorneys general and green groups are gearing up to fight the emissions rule rollback. Mayors would have a greater climate impact by helping their constituents drive less, argues Alissa Walker.

August 7, 2018 - Curbed

Ford GoBike

The Ford GoBike Resistance

Politicians and residents are uniting to delay Ford GoBike's expansion around San Francisco.

August 7, 2018 - San Francisco Examiner

New York Subway

Subway Ridership Drops Again in New York

A system in disrepair is losing riders when it could use the fare box revenue the most.

August 7, 2018 - The New York Times

Hailing a cab

Uber Drivers and Taxi Drivers Agree: Cap the Number of Ride-Hailing Vehicles in New York

Uber (and Lyft, of course) drivers and taxi drivers hope a cap on the number of ride-hailing vehicles would improve wages and reduce congestion.

August 7, 2018 - The New York Times

Antioch, California

Antioch, California BART Extension So Popular There's No Place to Park

The new Antioch station is seeing ridership well over predictions, and some think there would be even more riders if there were more parking.

August 6, 2018 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Skyline

NYC Planning Director Marissa Lago Touts Regional Planning

Marisa Lago pens in an opinion piece supporting a regional approach to planning, timed for the release of a new "Geography of Jobs" report.

August 6, 2018 - Medium

Atlanta

Gwinnett County to Vote on Joining MARTA

Transit activists celebrated the good news that residents will finally be given the opportunity to join the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority but bemoaned that they would have to wait till March 2020 to vote on the one percent sales tax.

August 5, 2018 - WSB-TV - Atlanta

Empty Parking Garage

What Happens If Parking Structures Become Obsolete?

An architect makes the case for future-proofing new parking garages so they can easily shift to other uses in a future with fewer cars.

August 5, 2018 - Fast Company

Trump Administration Proposes to Freeze Fuel Economy Standards at 2020 Level

On Thursday, the U.S. DOT and U.S. EPA announced one of the Trump administration's most consequential rollbacks of environmental and efficiency regulations that will have a detrimental effect on climate change, air pollution, and oil consumption.

August 5, 2018 - The Washington Post

Marquam Bridge

Washington's Progressive Governor Becomes Protectionist When it Comes to Portland Tolling

Do residents in Vancouver, Washington need protection from congestion pricing applied to all lanes on two Portland interstates? Gov. Jay Inslee seems to think so, adding that the value pricing pilot project is "going nowhere."

August 4, 2018 - The Columbian

Electric Bus

Diesel Bus Manufacturer Tries to Stop Miami's Purchase of Electric Buses

Lobbyists from a diesel bus manufacturer, New Flyer, reached out to Miami's mayor after the company lost a bid for new buses in the city to electric bus company Proterra.

August 4, 2018 - The Miami Herald

Metro Transit Minneapolis

Twin Cities Bus Driver Shortage Cuts 67 Bus Trips a Day

Forty bus routes are losing trips because the Twin Cities have been unable to recruit and retain sufficient drivers to run the system.

August 3, 2018 - Minnesota Public Radio News

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Canada: Transit Model

By increasing the amount of service and updating its scheduling and routes, the city of Kingston was able to induce demand for buses.

August 3, 2018 - TVO

Gas Works Park

Seattle Plans to Connect Bike Network by 2020

Downtown Seattle has many disconnected bike lanes, so to make sure there are more safe routes for bikers, the city council passed a resolution that sets out a timeline to connect them.

August 3, 2018 - Curbed Seattle

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.

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.