Transportation

Rainy Biker

How Contributory Negligence Punishes Cyclists

In Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Alabama, the legal policy known as contributory negligence blocks cyclists from claiming damages if they're involved in a crash.

July 8, 2016 - CityLab

Texas Rail

Texans Against High-Speed Rail Begin to Flex Legal Muscle

Opposition to the Dallas-to-Houston private Texas Central high-speed rail line has gotten more serious with the creation of a defense fund to assist property owners in protecting their property rights. Texas Central plans to break ground next year.

July 8, 2016 - Your Houston News

Bike Commuter

One Solution to the Last-Mile Problem: 'Park-and-Pedals'

For a year, Boston has been developing a new kind of park-and-ride system: park-and-pedal. One commentator evaluates the idea as a nice halfway point between the first-mile and the last-mile.

July 8, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

Minnesota High-Speed Rail Passes Preliminary Test

The North American High Speed Rail Group has proposed an elevated, $4.2 billion, 150+ mph high-speed rail line above existing highways without public subsidy between Rochester and the Twin Cities. Completion is estimated for 2021.

July 7, 2016 - Post-Bulletin

Wood Street

Philadelphia Discovers the Difficulties of Restoring a Wood-Paved Street

A failed 2012 restoration of South Camac, meant to last five years, only made it until 2015. Now it will have to wait until 2017 to see the historic street paved in wood again.

July 7, 2016 - CityLab

NYC-crosswalk

Crowded NYC Sidewalks Force Commuters Into the Street

In the 1970s, the fear of getting mugged had some NYC pedestrians walking in the street. Nowadays, commuters are sharing space with cars for a very different reason: the sidewalks are too crowded.

July 7, 2016 - The New York Times

Tesla

#TeslaCrash: Three Reasons for Tesla (and All of Us) to Be Concerned

Tesla has just disclosed the first fatal crash of a driver using its "Autopilot" system. Tesla should be concerned about the question of who's liable, and we should all be concerned about the wider consequences of this tragic event.

July 7, 2016 - Scott Le Vine

Ghost bike in New York

2015 Road Toll: 35,200 Fatalities

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released preliminary fatality estimates for 2015. Deaths jumped by 2,525, an increase of 7.7 percent over 2014. Pedestrians and bicyclists saw the biggest increases.

July 6, 2016 - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

California Initiative to Limit the Size of Revenue Bonds Qualifies for Ballot

A California initiative has been likened to the landmark Proposition 13 for how it would affect the budget and major projects proposed in California, including the $64 billion high-speed rail project and $17 billion Delta water tunnels.

July 6, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News

SEPTA Train Tracks

SEPTA Forced to Take 120 Regional Trains Out of Service for Repairs

SEPTA commuters traveling to and from Delaware will spend the summer in transit gridlock, as 120 trains undergo necessary repairs to a serious structural flaw.

July 6, 2016 - NewsWorks

Metro Subway Los Angeles

The Vision for a $120 Billion Public Transportation Revolution in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Metro's new Chief of Planning Therese McMillan joins the agency at a pivotal moment, as county voters will decide in November whether to approve a new, evergreen sales tax to fund future Metro public transportation expansion.

July 6, 2016 - The Planning Report

Rio Subway

Rio Scrambles to Ready Subway Before Olympics

Beset by delays and financial problems, the state of Rio is having trouble completing a new subway line before the Olympics start a month from now. The time crunch may cut into time for testing, presaging problems in August.

July 6, 2016 - Associated Press via Chicago Tribune

Portland Oregon Bus

Riding the Bus in Portland: An Essay

Blogger and transit consultant Jarrett Walker paints a picture of Portland's Line 75, a workaday bus serving urban neighborhoods outside downtown. His reflections on radial and orbital journeys are worth a read.

July 5, 2016 - Bus75.org

Road Projects Shut Down in New Jersey As Funds Run Out

A bill to replenish the state transportation trust fund by increasing the gas tax 23 cents per gallon stalled in the Senate because it would also cut $2 billion annually to the state's general fund.

July 5, 2016 - Planetizen

Community Meeting

The 3 Most Common Community Engagement Mistakes

Planners, like any other professionals, live in a kind of bubble. Those charged with dealing with the public run the risk of expecting too much from residents as they design community engagement activities. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

July 5, 2016 - Dave Biggs

Getting to Know the Bike Lanes of Detroit

Where they are, what they're like, and what they mean for the city.

July 5, 2016 - WDET

Bikeshare

Toward an Equitable Bikeshare System

The Better Bike Share Conference convened in Philadelphia on June 22-24, 2016. Attendees gathered to find solutions for challenges of equity, social justice, and mobility in the country's emerging bikeshare infrastructure.

July 5, 2016 - Better Bike Share Partnership

Meter Maid

Pesky Parking Tickets? There's an App for That

An intrepid student has created a simple chatbot program that helps people get out of parking tickets.

July 4, 2016 - Ars Technica

Contraflow

Washington, D.C. Has New Contraflow Bike Lanes

Sometimes small additions can make a big difference when it comes to bike infrastructure.

July 4, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

Long-Awaited Maryland Bridge Open to Cyclists

Two axles is two axles, doesn't matter whether the vehicle is motorized or not. However, cyclists will be restricted as to when they can cross the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40) over the Susquehanna River when it opens to cyclists July 1.

July 3, 2016 - Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) News Release

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.