Transportation

25 Years of Rails-To-Trails Success on St. Petersburg's Pinellas Trail

A bike trail can be much more than a bike trail.

December 3, 2015 - Tampa Bay Times

Roberto Clemente Bridge

Pittsburgh Launches Complete Streets Planning in Earnest

With a planned pace of ten new miles of bike lanes every year for the next five years, Pittsburgh is already making over many of its thoroughfares in the complete streets model. A formal city policy certainly won't hurt, however.

December 3, 2015 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Seat of Government

Transportation Reauthorization Now a Done Deal

The plan, now five years rather than six, still needs the sign-offs from both chambers before being sent to the president for his signature on Friday according to POLITICO. Ironically, another extension will be needed to allow a signing ceremony.

December 3, 2015 - Politico Morning Transportation

Self-Driving Car

New Research: Planning for Cars That Drive Themselves

Erick Guerra of U Penn guest blogs about his new article in Journal of Planning Education and Research, which explores why regional plans have overlooked the future of autonomous vehicles.

December 2, 2015 - JPER

Traffic Fatalities Rising Again—As Does the Blame Game

Traffic fatalities are on pace to reach 35,000 in the United States this year. Some advocates are saying it's time for traffic engineers to stop blaming the victims.

December 2, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

Both Ways

Transportation Planners and Reformers: Rethink Your Terms

Remember the term "transportation alternatives," as in alternatives to motor vehicle transportation? It's not used much anymore, and for good reason. But more modern terms, e.g. road diet, need to be rethought as well, posits Nate Holmes for Medium.

December 2, 2015 - Medium

1965 Mustang

Message from 1965: Cars Are Like Frankenstein's Monster

We've known for some time that it would be difficult to rein in the automobile once the country's obsession had taken hold. Footage from a news special aired in 1965 offers historic perspective.

December 1, 2015 - nextSTL

Bus Rapid Transit Hitting Speed Bumps in the Silicon Valley

A proposed BRT route between Palo Alto and San Jose is the latest to hit a setback.

December 1, 2015 - Palo Alto Online

Federal Transportation Reauthorization Agreement Close at Hand

The Wall Street Journal reports that a deal is very near—maybe Monday—for a 6-year transportation reauthorization bill with funding for not three years, as both the House and Senate bills include, but five.

December 1, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal - Politics

Two Regional Transit Planning Efforts Underway in Portland

With a light rail network now reaching 60 miles, the Portland region is ready to explore its next regional transit options.

November 30, 2015 - The Oregonian

Pittsburgh Neighborhood Ready for Traffic Safety Solutions

A string of fatalities has residents and commuters alike ready to explore new options, such as a complete streets plan, to improve the safety of the neighborhood's streets.

November 30, 2015 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Embarcadero

Urban Revitalization Through Highway Teardowns

Alana Semuels, staff writer for The Atlantic, examines highway teardowns beginning with the San Francisco Embarcadero in 1989 to see how they have worked in terms of revitalizing poorer areas or restoring the urban fabric that they destroyed.

November 29, 2015 - The Atlantic

Somerville, MA, an Urban Lab for Mobility

In Somerville, Massachusetts, Audi is working in partnership with the city and the Federal Realty Investment Trust, a developer, to build the infrastructure to test two new technologies, Car-to-X technologies and automated parking.

November 29, 2015 - Cities of the Future

Possible Competition for Bay Area Bike Share

With Bay Area Bike Share serving nearby Redwood City in San Mateo County, it might seem odd that the city of San Mateo would look elsewhere for starting a bike share program. However, the city of almost 103,000 did not want a "hub-based" model.

November 28, 2015 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

High-Speed Rail to Stop Short of Downtown Houston

The latest plan for the Texas Central high-speed rail line would stop trains well short of downtown Houston. Transit advocates are displeased with the change of plans.

November 28, 2015 - Houston Chronicle

HOT Lanes Do Not a Toll Road Make

A look back at a controversy from this month's Virginia State Senate election, which produced some seriously misleading rhetoric about "toll roads" (i.e., the proposal was for HOT lanes, not a toll road).

November 28, 2015 - Vox

Crumbling road

Iowa DOT Chief Takes Novel Approach to Transportation Infrastructure

The strategy of Iowa's Department of Transportation chief, Paul Trombino III, for maintaining the state's "25,000 bridges, 114,000 miles of roadway, and more than 4,000 miles of rail" is not to do so. In a word, "shrinkage" is part of the solution.

November 27, 2015 - KCRG-TV9

Texas Transit Agency Faces Financial Demise

The TAPS transit agency is severely distressed, and continuing to receive bad news about its finances.

November 27, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

Like Amazon, but for Gas

Never go to a gas station again. We're not talking about transit—we're talking about an app that sends people to your car to fill it up with gas with no service charge.

November 25, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Why Only 330,000 Electric Vehicles on the Road?

The answer to the question posed by the New York Times is surprising. Hint: Don't blame the customer if the sales force isn't trying to sell them on vehicles that never need to go to a service station to purchase fuel.

November 25, 2015 - The New York Times - Science

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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