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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
A Transportation Network Company's Surprising Early Adopters: Seniors
There's more than one way to meet demand for transportation options.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pagination
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello