Transportation

States React to Tax Impacts of Dropping Gas Prices

Certain states have had to scramble to restructure their gas taxes as gas prices have dropped—and kept dropping—lest transportation funds hit empty.

December 23, 2015 - Governing

An Early Look at Seattle's Sound Transit 3 Ballot Initiative

Seattle is in the process of drafting a $27 billion transit funding initiative for the November 2016 ballot.

December 22, 2015 - Publicola

Chicago Launches Loop Link BRT Service

Until this weekend, CTA buses in Downtown Chicago averaged a speed of 3 mph. The Loop Link is designed to improve those results.

December 22, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

Wastewater Treatment Plant to Produce Fuel for City Vehicles

With transportation the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in California, San Mateo will be the first city to reduce emissions by using biogas produced at its wastewater treatment plant for use in city vehicles.

December 21, 2015 - San Mateo Daily Journal

Parking Meter Fail

Minor Tweaks and Major Advancements Suggested for L.A.'s Parking System

Responding to aggravated parkers in Los Angeles, a citizen's advisory committee has come up with a raft of recommendations to make parking fines fairer and to add technological innovation for finding a parking space and avoiding tickets.

December 21, 2015 - KPCC

Traffic Jam in Bangkok

Why it's Unfair to Only Plan for Rush Hour

Determining whether to widen a street solely based on rush hour traffic ignores how the street is used and who uses it the rest of the day.

December 21, 2015 - Streets.MN

Coming This Spring: A New Streetcar in Kansas City

The Kansas City Streetcar will debut its $100 million streetcar system in April—or maybe March. But definitely April.

December 20, 2015 - The Kansas City Star

Image of Chicago Lake Shore Drive Freeway

A Call to Put Chicago in the Driver's Seat for North Lake Shore Drive Redesign

An op-ed calls for the Illinois Department of Transportation to end its car-friendly approach to the redesign of North Lake Shore Drive.

December 19, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

Better Management, Not Lane Additions, Will Increase Capacity on Virginia's I-66

New express lanes on I-66 inside the Capital Beltway on I-66 will be significant for two reasons. First, no lanes will be added. HOV lanes will be converted to HOT lanes. Second, revenue will go to options to get drivers out of cars, such as transit

December 18, 2015 - The Wahington Post

Shut It and Gut It: Anchorage Takes Hard Look at Transit Center

After 500 hours of analyzing its downtown transit center, Anchorage officials have come to one conclusion: The only way to fix this building is to shut it and gut it. The transit center, over three decades, has become a blight on Downtown.

December 18, 2015 - Alaska Commons

A Transportation Network Company's Surprising Early Adopters: Seniors

There's more than one way to meet demand for transportation options.

December 18, 2015 - New York Magazine

New Year 2015

The Most Popular Planetizen Posts of 2015

The results of a year's worth of writing, reading, sharing, and commenting are in. These are the most popular Planetizen posts from the year 2015.

December 18, 2015 - James Brasuell

Planning Programs to Watch in the Federal Omnibus Spending Bill

Congress is on pace to wrap up a major piece of federal legislation before leaving for recess.

December 17, 2015 - APA Policy News

Pedestrians

When 'Vision Zero' Conflicts With Local Politics

Community leaders sometimes present the biggest obstacles when and where the rubber hits the road on Vision Zero traffic safety improvements. New York City Mayor de Blasio is pushing for more power for the DOT.

December 17, 2015 - StreetsBlog NYC

Congress to Even Tax Breaks for Car and Transit Commuters

Tax benefits have long provided more incentives for car commuters than transit users. Congress is expected to even the score with a new tax bill.

December 16, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

First There Were Electric Vehicles—Will Electric Roads Be Next?

Two Texas universities received a federal grant to embed sensors in road asphalt to create renewable electricity from the wind created by passing vehicles to power roadside lights and traffic signals.

December 16, 2015 - Energy Harvesting Journal

Rail Stations Shortchanged as Homeland Security Focuses on Airports

Rail travelers are not subject to the same degree of security measures as air travelers according to security experts, reports Ron Nixon for The New York Times. Yet far more travel by rail than plane, and rail has been a terrorist target abroad.

December 15, 2015 - The New York Times

Bike Lane

A New Theory for Traffic Engineering

If transportation officials embrace a new approach backed by science, safe and effective mobility no longer need conflict with the multidimensional role of streets as public spaces and with people's varied modes of travel.

December 14, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

Bus Stop Winter

The Quest for Accuracy in Predicting Bus Arrivals Has a New Friend

With better predictions, an app may help alleviate the urban annoyance of waiting for the bus that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago.

December 14, 2015 - Medium

An image of Transit Oriented Development in Saltillo Lofts, Austin, Texas

Turning TOD On Its Head: Why You Don't Necessarily Need the T'

New research about the importance of transit in building transit oriented communities has some surprising results that may have significant implications for how we plan and build in the future.

December 14, 2015 - The Urban Edge

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.