Transportation

Houston's Big Year in Transit Pays Off in New Ridership

It was a big year for transit in Houston: two new light rail lines launched operation and the regional bus system got a makeover on the high frequency grid model. Ridership is also up.

December 30, 2015 - Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County

Cambridge Bike Lane

10 Best Bike Lanes of the Year Announced

The victories keep piling up for the advocates, bureaucrats, and politicians fighting for more and better bike infrastructure.

December 30, 2015 - People for Bikes

'Transit-Oriented Communities': A New Agenda For L.A. Metro

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is implementing a new vision for "transit-oriented communities."

December 29, 2015 - The Planning Report

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Meet the Beautiful Bridges 'Spanning Oregon'

Oregon lovers and bridge lovers alike will find lots to appreciate in the "Spanning Oregon" series.

December 29, 2015 - The Oregonian

Air Pollution Forces Italian Cities to Enact Serious Driving Restrictions

Unusually mild and dry weather in much of Italy has worsened air quality so much that city governments are acting to reduce emissions from one of the chief sources of air pollution by enacting odd-even license restrictions on driving.

December 29, 2015 - The New York Times - Europe

Rail Extensions Receive Sizable FTA Grants in Omnibus Spending Bill

Sound Transit, L.A. Metro, and Santa Clara VTA received sizable funding in FTA's New Starts/Small Starts program for their light and heavy rail extensions, thanks to Congressional representatives who included them in the omnibus bill,.

December 28, 2015 - RT&S (Railway Track & Structures)

Toll-Paying Motorists Crowding-Out Carpoolers in Seattle Area Express Toll Lanes

The new I-405 Express Toll Lanes between Bellevue and Lynnwood might be undercharging solo commuters at $10. Carpoolers, who drive for free, are increasingly hard to spot in the lanes, according to anecdotal reports.

December 28, 2015 - The Seattle Times

Self-Driving Car

Google and Ford Partner-Up to Develop Self-Driving Cars

Google and Ford have partnered to bring together their software know-how with their auto building know-how as the launch of autonomous cars moves one step closer.

December 28, 2015 - Yahoo! Autos

Google Self-Driving Car smaller

All I Want for Christmas Is a Driverless Car

An op-ed describes some of the not-so-hard to imagine drawbacks of a world full of a world full of self-driving cars.

December 28, 2015 - Steven Polzin

BRT in High Gear in Jacksonville

A car-dependent city is undertaking one of the most ambitious build-outs of bus rapid transit found anywhere in the United States.

December 28, 2015 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Big Transit Happenings Expected for the Sun Belt in 2016

A streak of landmark years for public transit in Sun Belt cities from the West Coast to the Florida Panhandle will continue in 2016.

December 27, 2015 - The Urban Edge

Seattle Tunnel Boring

Bertha Awakens—New Hope After a Two-Year Delay for Seattle Tunnel-Boring Machine

Baby steps are an improvement for the tunnel-boring machine known as Bertha. The drill moved a total of 1.5 feet this week, but the symbolic distance probably felt like a mile.

December 27, 2015 - The Seattle Times

Popularity of Electric Vehicles Threatens Viability of Bay Area's Express Lanes

The California DMV announced that the maximum of 85,000 Green Clean Air Vehicle Decals had been issued to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, denying new Volt and plug-in Prius owners the coveted sticker allowing them free access to HOV and HOT lanes.

December 26, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

Austin Transit Planners Regroup After Bond Defeat

The voters of Austin rejected a $1 billion transportation bond in 2014, but transit advocates and Capital Metro staff are already reorganizing to make a new pitch for transit in the quickly growing city.

December 26, 2015 - Community Impact Newspaper

Civil Rights Activists Target Baltimore Red Line Cancellation

A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation alleges that Maryland Gov. Hogan's decision to cancel the long-planned Red Line rail project violates the Civil Rights Act.

December 26, 2015 - The Washington Post- Wonkblog

Vote on 2015's Best and Worst Developments in Streets

Streetsblog is calling for voters in the 2015 Streetsie awards—make your opinion count about the year's biggest developments in multi-modal transportation.

December 25, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Crosswalk no daylight

Staten Island Hasn't Seen the Good Side of Vision Zero

The early results of New York City's far reaching Vision Zero initiative to reduce traffic fatalities to zero has produced positive results—everywhere except Staten Island.

December 24, 2015 - SI Live

Orange Line Bus

Remix Promises to Streamline Transit Planning

Based out of San Francisco, Remix is an intuitive, data-rich tool for transit planners as they consider new routes. All you need to do is draw out the line on a map and add stops.

December 24, 2015 - Next City

Uber Car

Uber's Impact on the New York Rush Hour

Researchers found a small uptick in Manhattan traffic during rush hour, as Uber gains more riders from 4 to 7 p.m. than taxis lose. Uber also holds general sway over the other boroughs when it comes to for-hire vehicles.

December 23, 2015 - FiveThirtyEight

Pedestrian Overpass

What's Wrong With Removing Sidewalks in the Name of Pedestrian Safety?

Broken Sidewalk analyzes an example of the kind of street design decisions continuing to encroach on pedestrian infrastructure around the country. The case study: Ninth Street in Louisville.

December 23, 2015 - Broken Sidewalk

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.