Transportation
Google Celebrates the Birth of the Traffic Light
If you opened Google to do a search on Wednesday, you'd see an image (the "doodle") of a traffic light and six Model-T era cars spelling out the company's name. It was honoring the 101-year anniversary of the birth of the electric traffic light.
NIMBY Obstruction and the Density Paradox
An op-ed describes a paradox produced by the ongoing debates over density while also presenting potential solutions for overcoming the resulting impasse.
MAP-21 Regulations—From 2012—Delay Detroit Streetcar Opening
Detroit's M-1 Rail, under construction since 2014, has bumped back its project delivery date. Blame for the delay is assigned to weather, streetcar delivery delays, and the roll out of a federal transportation law from 2012.
Pennsylvania Could Require Reflective Clothing for Biking at Night
Pennsylvania is the latest state legislature to consider a bill requiring special clothing for people riding bikes.
Buses Win Big in Kalamazoo Millage Tax Measure
Residents in the Kalamazoo, MI area voted on Tuesday to maintain and expand bus service by passing a 0.75-mill tax. They can expect more frequent and late night service to be provided by the new Central County Transportation Authority.
Safety Improvements Needed for Pacific Coast Highway Through Malibu
A consistently miserable record of crashes and fatalities, including pedestrians and collisions with parked cars, is compelling the city of Malibu to undertake a large number of safety improvement projects along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Downtown Seattle Works to Curb Driving as it Grows
With the highest levels of construction in over a decade, the city is working to reduce traffic congestion.
5 Lessons from the Growing Open Streets Movement
As Open Streets events become more popular and spread to cities all over the world, emerging trends show how to make the most of the opportunity to reclaim streets from cars for a few hours.
Op-Ed: Nashville Should Coordinate Transit, Housing Plans
Urban planning is front in center in Nashville, with a general plan update underway and a mayoral election looming on August 6. One candidate took to the editorial pages of The Tennessean to lay out a housing and transit agenda.
San Francisco Bikers Score a Point for the Idaho Stop
Last week, along a popular San Francisco bike route, a group of protestors took to their bikes to advocate for new laws, such as the Idaho Stop, that make it easier to bike in the city.
End These 5 Transportation Planning 'Rule of Thumbs'
An op-ed calls for an end to five examples of them planning status quo, and recommends four new "rule of thumbs" that can provide a better model for the transportation planning of the future.
A Really, Really Big Fuel Cell Vehicle Possibly Coming to the Bay Area
This vehicle would be larger than a Hummer, a bus, and even an 18-wheeler. Then again, it would not travel on land. The proposal goes by an appropriate acronym: SF-BREEZE. Think fresh air over the bay.
A Decade of Walkable Strides in Transit Innovation
A new Transit Center report shows what it takes to enact change.
First Roundabout Comes to New York City
Roundabouts, not to be confused with traffic circles, are becoming popular throughout the United States. The Bronx will get the first one in NYC. The insurance industry and FHWA consider them far safer than traffic lights and stop signs.
More Rational Analysis Of Seniors' Driving Risks And Safety Strategies
A new American Automobile Association study argues that efforts to reduce driving by higher-risk seniors threaten their health. This analysis is backward: seniors benefit most from reduced driving and improved transport options.
The Origins of Speed Limits
Motor vehicle crashes claim over 30,000 lives per year, with related costs in the hundreds of billions. While we sometimes view that frightening statistic as inevitable, there are reasons to reexamine speed limits and how we set them.
Beijing Heads Towards Population 130 Million
China's capital city is already one of the largest in the world, but it's about to get a whole lot bigger. As the Chinese population continues to migrate from rural to urban areas, the Chinese government is planning for megacity of 130 million.
President Obama Signs Three-Month Transportation Funding Bill
The Senate was hard at work on Thursday, passing not one but two transportation funding bills—first its controversial six-year (funded for three) transportation reauthorization bill, the DRIVE Act, and then, most importantly, the patch bill.
Op-Ed: Transit-Oriented Gentrification Should Be Taxed
This piece from the Vancouver Sun advocates using land value capture taxes to fund transit and related improvements. Such a tax would target speculation, the author writes, rather than productive activity.
Northeast Rail Corridor Woes Extend Far Beyond Hudson River Tunnels
While Amtrak's century-old Hudson River rail tunnels may capture the public's attention, particularly when they are closed, infrastructure problems on the Northeast Corridor also plague the line from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C.
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
