Transportation

Georgia Gov. Deal Wants to Spend $10 Billion on Regional Transportation

Commuters in the Atlanta region would benefit most by the $10 billion transportation plan proposed by Governor Nathan Deal.

January 18, 2016 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New Research Explains Why Only Some Neighborhoods Get Bike Infrastructure

Canadian researchers made the case at the Transportation Research Board this past week that improved bike infrastructure and neighborhood gentrification go hand in hand. They used research gathered fromi Portland and Chicago.

January 18, 2016 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

The UK Will Have Nationwide Contactless Bus Travel by 2022

Contactless travel could be in place on every bus in Britain by 2022 under a multi-million-pound plan being developed by the country’s five leading bus operators.

January 18, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Idaho Stop—Meet the California Stop

Similar to a local proposal by San Francisco cyclists to reduce priority for for ticketing cyclists for rolling through stop signs, a state senator hopes to do with state legislation for motorists making "California Stops" at red lights.

January 17, 2016 - San Mateo Daily Journal

One App Combines Bikeshare Info for 110 Cities

The trip planning app Moovit this week announced a big upgrade, bringing together bikeshare info from cities around the world into one place.

January 17, 2016 - Geektime

Maryland Gov. Hogan Pitches Highway Widening

Gov. Larry Hogan spent the week pitching a $152 million improvement project for a highway located at the north end of the state. The announcement comes less than a year after Gov. Hogan killed a light rail plan.

January 16, 2016 - The Baltimore Sun

Trulia Ranks the Best and Worst Neighborhoods for Renters to Park

The availability of parking can make or break opinions of neighborhoods, and renters are especially likely to be impacted by parking difficulties.

January 15, 2016 - Trulia

Friday Eye Candy: Google Streetview Tours the World's Largest Model Railway

After documenting places like the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and the vertical walls of El Capitan in Yosemite, the Google Streetview team thought small for its latest project.

January 15, 2016 - CityLab

FAST Act Missing from President Obama's Last State of the Union Address

President Obama's final State of the Union made no mention of the FAST Act—the first long term transportation reauthorization since SAFETEA-LU, which expired in 2009. It's omission baffled many high ranking leaders.

January 15, 2016 - Politico Morning Transportation

Bike Racks

Friday Funny: Parody Twitter Account Roasts the Transportation Research Board

The week has been marked by a steady stream of news about new research and ideas coming from the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. There to poke fun at it all was parody Twitter account @FakeTRB.

January 15, 2016 - Twitter

Seattle's New Light Rail Extension: On Time and Under Budget

Seattle, home to the most infamously bungled infrastructure projects in the country (the Bertha-blocked tunnel), has managed to do something rare for any city: complete a transit extension on-time and under-budget.

January 14, 2016 - MyNorthwest.com

Study: BRT Lines Offer Significant Real Estate and Jobs Benefits

The real estate market has been transformed in cites that added bus rapid transit in the past decade, according to a new study presented this week at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting.

January 14, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Providence Scraps Streetcar Plans in Favor of an 'Enhanced' Bus Line

Citing the drastically reduced costs of a bus line, the city of Providence is hoping to replace its proposed streetcar line with the Providence Enhanced Bus Circulator. The new proposal requires federal funding to display a similar flexibility.

January 13, 2016 - Providence Journal

Expanding Car-Sharing to New, Car-Centric Markets

Zipcar is a newcomer in Tampa Bay, but the efforts to expand its business in the next few years will provide a case study in how less dense cities can expand alternative transportation options.

January 13, 2016 - Tampa Bay Times

Wisconsin Considering Local 'Pothole Tax'

Though the governor's office remains staunchly opposed to new taxes, the Wisconsin State Legislature is searching for politically viable ways to fund transportation infrastructure improvements at the local level.

January 12, 2016 - Urban Milwaukee

Motorcycle No Helmet

The High Cost of 'Motorcycle Freedom'

Michigan's mandatory motorcycle helmet law was repealed in April 2012. It only took a week for Dr. Carlos Rodriguez to notice an increase in patients not wearing a motorcycle helmet in his trauma unit in Grand Rapids, so he launched a study.

January 12, 2016 - Huffpost Healthy Living

SE 26th Ave Portland

Oregon DOT Plays its Trump Card to Remove Portland Bike Lanes

A bike advocate tells the story of the how the state department of transportation convinced local officials to remove a popular bike lane in Portland.

January 12, 2016 - Bike Portland

SEPTA Token

Philly Transit Riders Need To Keep Those Tokens Handy, For Now

While most big city transit systems have moved on to electronic passes or paper tickets, Philadelphia's riders are left to deal with tokens and transfer slips until SEPTA's plans for a system upgrade come to fruition.

January 11, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Guess What 'Empire Station' Replaces

An earlier post on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's big capital project proposal this week gave barely a mention of his new plans for the renovation, or rebirth, of Penn Station, America's busiest rail station.

January 11, 2016 - The New York Times

Cars in the snow

It's Snowing—There's An App for Tracking That

A snow storm came through overnight, your street hasn't been cleared. When can you expect to have your street cleared? Cities are increasingly providing snowplow tracking information to residents.

January 11, 2016 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

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.