Transportation

Downtown, now

The Man Who Made Chicago Easy to Navigate

Edward Brennan waged an extended turn-of-the-century campaign to clean up Chicago's then-confusing address numbering system. Though few recognize his name, Brennan's legacy lives on in modern Chicago.

June 19, 2015 - WBEZ

Op-Ed: Stop Letting Alternative Transportation Slice from the Highway Trust Fund Pie

A Congressional bill has been introduced to "provide a long term solution" to the transportation funding problem by eliminating spending on transit, biking, and local projects rather than finding funding to maintain $50 billion in annual spending.

June 19, 2015 - Cincinnati Enquirer

End of the Line for Honda's CNG-Fueled Cars, Civic Hybrid, and Accord Plug-In

Honda announced that low gas prices contributed to low demand for the Civic Natural Gas, the only compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered car for sale, the Civic Hybrid, and their first plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle, the Accord.

June 18, 2015 - Wall Street Journal

Metro Atlanta Developing 52 Miles of Express Lanes

The Georgia Express Lanes project will add managed traffic lanes to routes along I-85 and two separate stretches along I-75.

June 18, 2015 - SaportaReport

Vintage Taxi

Uber Vehicles are Not Taxis, Even When They Want To Be

A June 16 vote by the San Francisco MTA to improve safety will allow taxis, along with bicycles and Muni buses, but not ride-hailing services to make turns onto the downtown's main thoroughfare, Market Street, has upset San Francisco-based Uber.

June 18, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Labor Ruling in California Means Big Changes for Uber's Business Model

A California labor commissioner has resolved a long-standing dispute over the employment status of Uber drivers. Uber and other transportation network companies will have to adjust.

June 17, 2015 - Bloomberg Business

Toronto to Implement '10-Minute-Or-Better' Transit Service Network

Toronto Transit Commission recently approved a major overhaul of transit service in the city. In total, 52 transit routes will operate on ten-minute (or better) headways.

June 17, 2015 - Progressive Railroading

Half-Cent Transportation Sales Tax Considered for Tampa's Hillsborough County

A proposal to include a tax referendum on the November 2016 ballot in Hillsborough County has broad political support.

June 17, 2015 - The Tampa Tribune

Latest Hotbed of High Speed Rail Opposition: San Fernando Valley

Opposition, followed by legal action to the California High-Speed Rail project began in Northern California, spread to the Central Valley, and now has hit southern California, particularly in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County.

June 17, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Lyft

Suburbs Jump on Ride-Hailing Bandwagon

Ride-hailing services have already conquered center cities, with companies like Uber and Lyft changing the landscape for commuters, visitors, and late-night revelers alike. The next challenge: solving the suburban-to-urban commute.

June 17, 2015 - InTransition

10-Mile Bus Rapid Transit System Planned in Albuquerque

Albuquerque is working on a multi-modal reconfiguration of the old Route 66.

June 16, 2015 - Albuquerque Journal

Legislation to Decimate the Federal Gas Tax Resurfaces

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has reintroduced a bill to cut the federal gas tax by 80 percent and give transportation authority to states, known as devolution. Also, House Transportation Chair Bill Shuster is promoting repatriation as a funding source.

June 16, 2015 - The Hill

Seattle Streetcar

Seattle Confronts Its Transportation Bottleneck

By some measures, Seattle's geography makes other cramped cities like Boston and San Francisco seem positively agoraphobic. New Transportation Director Scott Kubly has vowed to keep Seattleites moving through its many bottlenecks.

June 15, 2015 - Grist

Lack of Data Still Impedes Multi-Modal Trip Navigation

A call for all transportation agencies to open their data.

June 15, 2015 - Mobility Lab

The End of the Illiana Expressway Is Nigh

According to a recent op-ed, the Illiana Expressway "was built upon faulty assumptions, and motivated largely by crony intentions."

June 15, 2015 - Illinois Policy

Governing Profiles Charles Marohn's Message on Transportation Funding

An article for Governing profiles the method and message of Charles Marohn, known to Planetizen readers as the name behind the Strong Towns blog.

June 15, 2015 - Governing

Michigan House Road Funding Plan B Would Rob Peter to Pay Paul

Now that voters have decisively rejected a sales tax measure that would have also hiked the gas tax, House representatives have proposed eliminating the state's Earned Income Tax Credit that benefits the working poor to help pay for roads.

June 15, 2015 - Record-Eagle

Increase Gas Tax—Fund Highway Expansions

While some states are cutting back on transportation expenditures as funds run short, Iowa is not one of them, having passed a 10-cent gas tax increase that took effect March 1. New highway expansions are funded in addition to "fix it first."

June 14, 2015 - The Gazette

Seattle Bikeshare Proposal Would Expand Service from 5 to 42 Square Miles

Seattle is showing all indications of a city ready to take its bikeshare system to the next level.

June 14, 2015 - Seattle Bike Blog

Aerial Tram Proposed to Connect Staten Island and Manhattan

A proposal to build a $175 million tram across the New York Harbor has the support of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and a mayor who is willing to listen.

June 13, 2015 - Staten Island Advance

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.