Transportation

Virginia

Quality Bus Rapid Transit Drives Systemwide Ridership Improvements in Richmond, VA

Richmond, Virginia has achieved a big ridership bump, without a big investment.

January 11, 2019 - Streetsblog

Maryland Transit Administration

Cost Overruns and Delays Causing Drama on Maryland's Purple Line

Project documents acquired by The Washington Post reveal numerous unresolved problems with construction on the Purple Line.

January 11, 2019 - The Washington Post

Boston Bus

Boston Dedicated Bus Lanes Facing Funding Questions

The bus lanes have improved travel times, but who should cover the costs isn't entirely clear.

January 11, 2019 - The Boston Globe

Robot car

Watch a Self-Driving Car Take Out an Autonomous Robot

Is this the future we've been waiting for?

January 11, 2019 - Daily Mail

Pedestrians

No Safe Options Mean Pedestrians Engage in Risky Behavior

Pedestrians are often blamed first for accidents, but they have few choices when the infrastructure is lacking, a new study shows.

January 10, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

Photo of Calgary skyline from Edworthy Park

First Bus Rapid Transit Line Opens in Calgary

The MAX Purple Line has begun service on 17 Avenue SE.

January 10, 2019 - Roads and Bridges

Jiujiang power plant

U.S. Carbon Emissions Increased Last Year After a Three-Year Decline

The sobering news comes from the Rhodium Group, a research firm that tracks CO2 emissions. The preliminary estimate is the third in two months to show an increase in 2018, attributing it to an improved economy and Trump's regulation rollbacks.

January 10, 2019 - The Washington Post

Kid on Bus

Frequent Rider Miles for Buses

In Minneapolis and San Francisco, public transit agencies are considering loyalty programs to boost ridership.

January 9, 2019 - Forbes

San Francisco Tunnel Boring Machine

What to Expect From Transit Construction in 2019

Mixed results and high costs are to be expected among the 89 public transit construction projects underway in 2019.

January 9, 2019 - the transport politic

Self-Driving Car

Autonomous Driving Technology Might Have Saved Lives

It could have been a multiple-vehicle fatal car crash—a driver fell asleep at the wheel driving 70 mph—but the outcome was two DUI charges.

January 9, 2019 - SFBay

Delayed Opening for TEXRail Blamed on Federal Shutdown

Trinity Metro ended up delaying the opening of the new TexRail line for five days—from Saturday, January 5, until Thursday, January 10.

January 9, 2019 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Car Graveyard

More 'Car-Rich' Households Mean More Car Ownership

More people are buying cars, even while more people are choosing to go without cars.

January 9, 2019 - CityLab

Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Tops California in Emission Reductions

California and Massachusetts use the same name for climate change legislation, Global Warming Solutions Act, and set the same target date for reductions, 2020. Both achieved their targets 2016, but the Bay State had a tougher goal to meet.

January 8, 2019 - WBUR

Carpool Lane Sticker

New Year's Law: Over 200,000 EV Drivers Lost Access to California Carpool Lanes

As many as 215,000 owners of mostly electric vehicles purchased before 2017 lost their privilege to access carpool lanes on New Year's Day. The main purpose of HOV lanes is to reduce congestion.

January 8, 2019 - Capital Public Radio

empty parking lot of Eastvale, California's best buy and kohl's, mountains in background

A New Day for the California Environmental Quality Act

The California Natural Resources Agency posted the final version of amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act, enabled by 2013's SB 743, at the end of 2018.

January 8, 2019 - Streetsblog California

Bus

Yes, There Are Still Carless Poor

Despite the decline in gas prices, cars are still a luxury for many low-income Americans, and low-income zip codes still tend to have low car ownership rates.

January 8, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

U.S. Route 40 Alternate and U.S. Route 219

Opinion: Maryland Governor's 'Road Warrior' Status Doesn't Excuse This Boondoggle

A Baltimore Sun columnist writes a scathing critique of Maryland's highway building program.

January 8, 2019 - The Baltimore Sun

Los Angeles Metro Train

New York Times: Transit on West Coast Surging Ahead of East Coast

East Coast transit systems used to be the envy of other cities, but now the West Coast is taking big steps to expand their networks.

January 7, 2019 - The New York Times

Long Beach to Los Angeles

Major Temporary Closures Coming to Los Angeles Metro Rail

Metro will close several stretches of the Blue and Green lines as it completes $350 million worth of upgrades and opens the new Crenshaw Line. More than 100,000 daily riders may be inconvenienced.

January 7, 2019 - Long Beach Press-Telegram

Multi-Modal Commute

D.C. Metro Allows Bikes At All Hours

The agency hopes that allowing more bikes on trains will boost ridership for both.

January 7, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

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.