Transportation
Florida High Speed Rail to Remain Privately Funded
Apparently some in Florida were uncomfortable with the much touted "privately funded railroad" using a $1.6 billion Federal Railroad Administration loan, so All Aboard Florida applied for tax exempt bonds to supplement or replace the loan.
Los Angeles Lacking Data to Support Bike Infrastructure Investments
Los Angeles has added hundreds of miles of bike routes in recent years, but the local paper of record identifies a lack of data as contributing to ongoing discord from drivers who feel like they're being pinched by bike lanes.
Philadelphia Replacing 7 Bridges Above Vine Street Expressway
"A five-year, $82 million project to replace seven bridges over the Vine Street Expressway will also remodel the cultural spine of the city," reports Paul Nussbaum.
How Seattle's 'Rose-tinted Fantasy' Threw Billions in Public Money Away
"Seattle is in the midst of a full-spectrum transportation fustercluck," writes David Roberts for Grist.
An App to Help the Visually Impaired Use Transit
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, working with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is testing an app that will help the blind navigate Arlington Station in early 2015. The app will eventually be free to use throughout the system.
Op-Ed: Put Chicago on a Road Diet
"The city should consider road diets for all streets with excess car capacity, although they're not always politically easy," writes John Greenfield.
Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority
New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.
What Would it Take to Build a Tram Network the Size of Melbourne's?
Melbourne, Australia, is fortunate it inherited the largest tram network in the world, because building something like it today—say in a city such as Sydney—would be extraordinarily expensive and difficult.
$4 Billion Plan for Intermodal Connections to LAX Moves Forward
Southern California is in the process of undoing the decades of planning that has left LAX isolated and inaccessible except through an ocean of congestion and frustration. Plans to connect the airport to the region recently gained critical approval.
Montreal to Tear Down Elevated Bonaventure Expressway
The city of Montreal announced final plans to tear down an elevated highway and replace it with an urban boulevard.
Michigan Voters to Decide on Transportation Sales Tax
The Michigan legislature compromised on a plan to raise money for state transportation funding. Instead of increasing the fuel tax, voters will consider an increased sales tax that exempts the fuel tax.
Branding, Operating Details Approved for Cincinnati Streetcar
Several important details of the Cincinnati Streetcar came into focus in recent weeks. Included is a component of the operating agreement that will take advantage of rising property values in funding the system.
Washington Governor Proposes Cap-and-Trade to Fund Highways
After a failed attempt to increase the fuel tax, itself a form of carbon tax on gas and diesel sales, Gov. Jay Inslee seeks to use revenue from carbon permits purchased by stationary sources in a new cap-and-trade program to pay for transportation.
Washington D.C. Announces 'parkDC'—Value Pricing—for Downtown
Washington D.C. is ready for a change in parking policy. The District Department of Transportation announced plans, so far mostly conceptual, to launch the parkDC value pricing system next summer.
Transportation Think Tank Recommends Ending Highway Trust Fund
The non-partisan Eno Center for Transportation has had it with futile attempts to raise the federal gas tax and the never-ending transfers (bailouts?) from the federal general fund to keep roads and transit funded. "Pay as you go" no longer works.
The Top Bike Lane Projects of 2014
Bike lanes are hot right now in cities all over the country. As more and more cities build more and more miles of bike infrastructure, which projects are exemplary?
Philadelphia Waterfront Revitalization follows the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk
It might lack the High Line's design ambition, but the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk will fill an appreciated role in the network of trails along the Philadelphia waterfront.
Study: Youth Learn Reckless Driving Habits at the Movies
Researchers in the Behavioral Science Institute at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands produced evidence that movies like Fast and the Furious influence the driving of young people.
Significant Jump in California Driving
Mirroring a previously reported increase in gasoline consumption in California, the vehicle miles traveled increase over last year is the largest in a decade. The reasons are the same: cheaper gas and an improved economy with more people working.
On the Importance of Bike Parking to Bike Commute Adoption
A blogger writes that bike advocates should think outside the bike lane to bike parking facilities—only when the costs of biking are externalized will a critical mass adopt biking.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
