Transportation

Bike Lane Removed in Atlanta—Controversy Remains

The city of Atlanta received one of six grants totaling $100,000 from outdoor retailer REI to install a protected bike lane on Westview Drive. A year later the bike lane has been removed and the experience has inspired a lot of soul searching.

July 30, 2017 - WABE

Autonomous Vehicles and Streets: A Guide to Potential Impacts

As the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs) becomes more of a reality, cities need to start considering how this new technology will affect streets and street networks. This brief guide provides an overview and resources on this topic.

July 29, 2017 - Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative

Grid Bike Share

Next From China: Bikeshare Without the Station

Led by the companies Mobike and Ofo, so-called "dockless" bike sharing is all the rage in Chinese cities. Unlocked by app, the bikes can be left anywhere for the next user to pick up. There have been some hiccups.

July 28, 2017 - CNN Tech

Los Angeles Can't Stick to its Road Diet

A high-profile controversy over a decision by the city of Los Angeles to remove a vehicle lane in either direction has finally come to an end. The vehicle lanes will be restored.

July 28, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Capitol Hill

Senate Appropriations Committee Restores TIGER Grant Program

Unlike the House Appropriations Committee's DOT budget that reduces spending by almost 4 percent from current levels and eliminates the TIGER grant program, its Senate counterpart increased transportation spending, including the TIGER grant budget.

July 28, 2017 - The Hill

Speed Limit

Federal Safety Watchdog Takes a Position on Speeding Drivers

Streetsblog USA breaks the news of a major policy departure for the National Transportation Safety Board: speeding kills, and every level of government must do more to counter the problem.

July 28, 2017 - Streetsblog USA

San Diego

New Pedestrian Crossing Between California and Mexico Opening Next Week

The latest in a series of new pedestrian crossings at the Mexico-U.S. border between San Ysidro and El Chaparral opens on July 31.

July 27, 2017 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Wounded Warrior Ride

Portland's 'Adaptive Biketown' Sets a New Standard for Access to Mobility

The Adaptive Biketown system hit the streets in Portland on July 21, 2017.

July 27, 2017 - Bike Portland

Long-Awaited Hartford to New Haven Commuter Rail Expected in 2018

Starting in May 2018: 17 daily round trips between New Haven and Hartford, including 12 trips continuing on to Springfield.

July 27, 2017 - The Hartford Courant

Pedestrian Infrastructure

10 Facts That Explain Crosswalks

These examples are specific to Washington, D.C., but many of the facts listed in this article will apply elsewhere, too.

July 27, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Court Decision Forces Seattle to Improve Sidewalk Infrastructure

The city of Seattle has finally been compelled to maintain pedestrian infrastructure in keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

July 26, 2017 - The Urbanist

SEPTA Bus

Philadelphia to Consider Bus System Redesign

Philadelphia is one of many American cities suddenly beset with declining bus ridership numbers, likely in part as a result of the popularity of transportation network companies.

July 26, 2017 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Hyperloop

A Boring Lesson for Planners

Elon Musk's vision for transportation networks made of tunnels and powered by magnets may or may not come to pass. But planners can still take a cue from his vision for infrastructure development.

July 26, 2017 - Josh Stephens

Bike woth sound system

Bikes That Talk in a World of Self-Driving Cars

The question of whether self-driving cars will make streets and roads a safer place for humans depends on whether technology can protect the most vulnerable users.

July 25, 2017 - National Public Radio

The Branham light rail station area.

Traffic Concerns Sink Light-Rail-Adjacent Development in San Jose

The city of San Jose has a mixed record of moving forward with land use changes that complement its existing and expanding transit systems.

July 25, 2017 - The Mercury News

Gov. Jerry Brown's High-Speed Gamble

To secure needed votes to pass a vital cap-and-trade bill, Brown made a deal with California's Republican lawmakers that could cost him his legacy infrastructure project—the high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

July 25, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bus Stop

First Mile-Last Mile, Intermodalism, and Making Public Transit More Attractive

As planners seek to leverage public transit investments with enhanced first mile-last mile connections, it is critical that market analysis guide those initiatives and that impacts and cost effectiveness are part of the performance assessment.

July 25, 2017 - Steven Polzin

Washington D.C. Bus

D.C.'s Circulator Bus System: Metro Out, DDOT In

The well-documented problems facing the D.C. Circulator bus system came to head earlier in July.

July 25, 2017 - WAMU

Japan

A National Day of Telecommuting

Companies and workers in the country of Japan are less likely to work from home than in the United States. The government hopes to increase the number of telecommuters during the 2020 Olympics, however.

July 25, 2017 - Quartz

Commute

State Transportation Officials Ask Congress to Hike Transportation User Fees

It's not funding Trump's much-talked-about infrastructure package, but the 2020 termination date of the FAST Act has state transportation officials urging Congress to hike fuel taxes to sustain the Highway Trust Fund.

July 24, 2017 - AASHTO Journal

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.