Transportation

Northbound Amtrak

Louisiana, Gulf Coast Push for New Passenger Rail Service

A new passenger rail line between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is just one of the links being proposed along the Gulf Coast.

November 7, 2015 - The Advocate (Louisiana)

Breaking News: End of the Line for Keystone XL Pipeline

After TransCanada hit the "pause button," President Obama hit "reject." The seven-year saga has come to an end, announced President Obama in a noon White House statement to the press on Friday where he took no questions.

November 6, 2015 - The White House

Mapping U.S. Road Fatalities from 2003-2014

An intrepid mapmaker and data cruncher has created a map that illustrates the ubiquity of fatalities on U.S. roads and highways.

November 6, 2015 - Metrocosm

Seattle Moves in a Big Way on Election Day

Prop. 1, a $930 million, nine-year transportation levy backed by Mayor Ed Murray, was approved by 54 percent of Seattle voters on Nov. 3 to the delight of bus, bike, pedestrian and good roads advocates. First order of business: Safe Routes to School.

November 6, 2015 - The Seattle Times

Report: Transit Ridership Dropped in First Half of 2015

Fears that low gas prices and increasing vehicle miles traveled would negatively affect transit ridership might have come true in the first half of the year, according to data provided by the American Public Transportation Association.

November 6, 2015 - Progressive Railroading

NYC-crosswalk

Out of the Way Slow Walkers

A retailer in Liverpool has installed a new 'fast track' pedestrian lane outside its store to separate the slow from the hurried.

November 6, 2015 - CityLab

House Passes Six-Year Transportation Reauthorization Bill

The House of Representatives plowed through about 270 amendments this week, with floor votes on nearly 130 of them, before passing the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015 (STRR Act) with funding for three years.

November 6, 2015 - The Hill

Mexico City from the air

A Growing Mexico City Faces Infrastructural Hurdles

As Mexico City continues to add population, issues of sprawl, inequality, and water infrastructure remain challenges in the growing megalopolis.

November 5, 2015 - Inverse

Transit Oriented Development

4 Principles for Making Transit Oriented Development Work

Many communities that want more transit oriented development are still struggling to build the political will and the financing mechanisms necessary to deliver. Here are four ideas about how to make TOD happen.

November 5, 2015 - The City Fix

More Diversity Needed in Bike Planning Processes

Left behind in business-as-usual city planning processes: low income and racial minority residents who rely on biking for transportation.

November 5, 2015 - Next City

Explained: Bus-On-Shoulder Service

Allowing buses to drive on the shoulder of highways when traffic slows has been shown to increase ridership, thus proving an important point: people will ride transit when it's a reasonable option.

November 5, 2015 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

Colorado Town to Fund Transit…By Taxing Skiers

Here's a novel approach to funding transit only available to a lucky few communities that happen to be located on the side of a ski mountain: taxing lift tickets.

November 5, 2015 - Summit Daily

Double Trucks

House Rejects Amendment Allowing Heavier Trucks

One of the nearly 270 amendments the House is considering in the $325 billion transportation reauthorization bill would allow individual states to allow heavier trucks to use highways. It was decisively defeated in a floor vote on Tuesday.

November 5, 2015 - The Hill

The New Speaker's First Test: The Transportation Reauthorization Bill

Congress began work this week on a 6-year transportation bill, the first since SAFETEA-LU expired in 2009. Overseeing the process of adding amendments to the bill will be new House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in his first significant test of leadership.

November 4, 2015 - Roll Call

Subway

Street Harassment: An Issue for Planners?

Women and men experience public spaces differently. It is all too common for women to experience street harassment when in public spaces. Nina Flores explores the ways that this issue is being combatted in the online public realm.

November 3, 2015 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

30 Crossing Would Widen I-30 and Remove a Streetcar Line in Little Rock

Advocates at the local and the national level are voicing their concern over a proposal by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department to widen the I-30 freeway in Downtown Little Rock.

November 3, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Southeast Seattle Sidewalks

Seattle Has a Low-Cost Plan for 250 Blocks of New Sidewalks

Seattle political leadership recently announced an ambitious plan to build more sidewalks with less money.

November 3, 2015 - The Urbanist

A Negative Review of 'Vision Zero'

The 'Vision Zero' movement to eliminate pedestrian deaths is fantastic. It is helping cities around the world create better, safer streets. The name and its embrace of absolutes dooms cities to failure.

November 3, 2015 - California Planning & Development Report

Gas Pump

Guess Where Americans Are Plowing Their Gas Savings

Gas prices are 80 cents a gallon less than a year ago and $1.50 less than April 2014. With this amount of savings, the economy should be improving from all the extra cash in consumers' hands. You'll be surprised where much of the savings is going.

November 3, 2015 - Business Insider

Parking Lot

How Parking Management Can Help Cities Grow Smarter

An excerpt from the introduction to "Parking Management for Smart Growth," by Richard W. Willson, Ph.D., FAICP. Here Willson argues for parking management strategies as a critical tool for communities to get more out of the space devoted to cars.

November 2, 2015 - Richard Willson

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.