Transportation

California Environmental Law Continues to Frustrate Bike Planning (for Now)

Help is on the way. The law that requires the governor's planning office to devise an alternative method for measuring vehicle traffic for environmental compliance will also take up where an earlier law that exempted bike lanes from CEQA left off.

April 16, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

TOD: The 'T' Stands for 'Trail'

Planning for active transportation is the new trend in urban development, according to the Urban Land Institute—and it pays off.

April 16, 2016 - The Architects Newspaper

Broward County, Florida Advances One-Cent Transportation Sales Tax

A one-cent transportation sales tax took a major step forward to being placed on the Broward County November 2016 ballot with the 7-1 approval of the Broward County Commission. It now goes to the Broward County Metropolitan Planning Organization.

April 15, 2016 - Sun Sentinel

Using Highway Medians for Carbon Sequestration

Americans are thinking about undeveloped land alongside and between roadways as a low cost and widely dispersed strategy for carbon sequestration

April 15, 2016 - EarthTalk

Virginia Railway Express Adding New Tracks to Increase Capacity

A Richmond Times-Dispatch article details a pair of projects to add third tracks to Virginia Railway Express stations—one set to complete this month and one just getting ready for construction.

April 15, 2016 - Richmond Times-Dispatch

'Community Partners Program' Offers $5 Memberships for Capital Bikeshare

The new Community Partners Program will help Capital Bikeshare respond to concerns about the system's lack of access for low-income and minority residents.

April 15, 2016 - DCist

Death Star

Friday Funny: The Death Star's Transit System Is the Best

If you've been waiting for a nice crossover of the Star Wars universe and the planning and urban design universe, here it is.

April 15, 2016 - Gizmodo

Is Tesla Ready for an Apple Moment?

A Quartz article describes the recent announcement of the Model 3, and the subsequent response by the market, as a "slow-motion disruption of the global auto industry."

April 14, 2016 - Quartz

On the Risk of Terrorist Attack on Public Transportation in the U.S.

The administrator of the Transportation Security Administration says public transportation systems in the United States are relatively safe from terrorist attack. His reasons for that assessment might surprise.

April 14, 2016 - The Washington Post

Kentucky Governor Signs No-Toll Bill, Likely Sets Back Ohio River Bridge 10 Years

As promised, Gov. Matt Bevin signed the P3 bill that allows private funding, but bans tolls, to pay for the $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project over the Ohio River that connects Covington, Ky. to Cincinnati. Now he needs to find the funding.

April 14, 2016 - Cincinnati Enquirer

The Transportation Policy of Four Presidential Candidates

An article for Next City reveals the transportation policy platforms of Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders, asking the question of whether any of them will shift new support to public transit.

April 14, 2016 - Next City

APA 2016 award

Community Engagement Highlights from APA 2016

As I do every year at the APA National Conference, I did my best to catch as many community engagement sessions as possible. Here are highlights, takeaways, and the common threads I noticed this year.

April 14, 2016 - Dave Biggs

Intersection

Bruce Rauner's Highway to a Shrinking Chicago

How a proposed expansion of Chicago's I-55 could further disperse Chicago's population.

April 13, 2016 - Casey Brazeal

New Frequent Buses Will Arrive More Frequently in Seattle

A few weeks after a major restructure of bus service, King County Metro Transit in Seattle is adding additional bus trips to a few particularly crowded lines.

April 13, 2016 - Mass Transit

Second Avenue Subway to Bring Boon to Upper East Side Neighborhood

For residents of Manhattan's Yorkville neighborhood, life, and property values, will be greatly improved when the Second Avenue Subway opens in December. Until then, construction noise and long slogs to the Lexington Avenue subway continue.

April 13, 2016 - The New York Times

beach Parking

Better Parking, Better Cities

Reformed parking regulations will improve the quality of urban environments. They might even allow to once again construct building types we appreciate only in older cities, but could never imagine building with today’s parking requirements.

April 12, 2016 - Gerhard Mayer

Empty Subway

Public Transportation Ridership: Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back?

Recent data showing declining transit ridership is only the latest news to cast doubt on expectations of a public transit renaissance.

April 12, 2016 - Steven Polzin

BMW Ready to Launch 'Premium' Car-Sharing Service in Seattle

A new car-sharing service called ReachNow will soon hit the streets of Seattle, offering customers a chance to rent a variety of cars manufactured by BMW by the hour.

April 12, 2016 - KUOW

How Bikeshare Replaced Trains on the Day Metrorail Shut Down

Mobility Lab has created a collection of animations and maps that show how Capital Bikesahre filled in some of the gaps for commuters when Metrorail shut down in March.

April 12, 2016 - Mobility Lab

Vermont the Latest State to Post Fatality Figures on Roadside Signs

Call it the low-hanging fruit of traffic safety: a number of states around the country post traffic fatality figures on the message boards posted along highways. Questions remain whether such safety campaigns actually work.

April 12, 2016 - CityLab

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.