Transportation

Kids on bikes

What Will it Take to Make People More Comfortable With Biking?

A new national survey gathers evidence about what it would take to convert larger numbers of people to the bike lifestyle.

March 15, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Road Rage

On the Psychology of Road Rage

Few of us are fully immune from the effects of road rage. Psychologists are asking why driving can provoke changes in behavior—and how to avert them.

March 15, 2015 - Pacific Standard

If Rail Crossings Can't Be Grade Separated, Can They At Least Be Safer?

That's the question asked by legislation introduced after a Metro-North commuter train slammed into an SUV at a crossing in Valhalla, N.Y., killing six people. More than 200 people die annually in over 2,000 grade crossing crashes.

March 15, 2015 - Progressive Railroading

Study: Congestion Pricing Improves Traffic Safety

According to new research, London's congestion pricing program has improved traffic safety both in the cordoned city center and in the free adjacent areas. Although traffic is moving faster, fatalities have been reduced.

March 15, 2015 - The Guardian

Vancouver SkyTrain

Public Transit Turning Point for Vancouver

Metro Vancouver is about to vote on a historic Transportation and Transit Plan, and an associated sales tax increase to pay for it. Will the citizens of this model transit Metro vote against a transit-friendly future? Canadian urbanists weigh in.

March 14, 2015 - Brent Toderian

Change of Venue for Denver's Transit CEO: Los Angeles

Phillip Washington will leave his role as CEO of the Denver Regional Transportation District to take the same position at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

March 13, 2015 - Los Angeles Daily News

Where Have All the Oil Trains in California Gone?

While many California were protesting oil trains carrying the hazardous Bakken crude, a funny thing happened—they stopped coming. While protests may have delayed the construction of new oil terminals, economics is at the root of the slowdown.

March 13, 2015 - The Sacramento Bee

From the Golden Gate Bridge: How Many Bikers Is Too Many Bikers?

A city councilmember in Sausalito in the North San Francisco Bay Area is ready to limit the number of tourists riding rental bikes into her city from across the Golden Gate Bridge.

March 13, 2015 - ABC7

Friday Funny: Your Subway Train Says a Lot About You

Clickhole, the Buzzfeed-style spinoff of The Onion, has produced a listicle of what the New York Subway line you're riding says about your personality. Prepare to learn nothing and laugh a little.

March 13, 2015 - Clickhole

La City Hall Cycling

On the Re-Orientation of Los Angeles

Aaron Paley, the man who brought Ciclovia to the United States, wants Los Angeles to be a model for the transition from auto-dependent to car-optional.

March 12, 2015 - The California Sunday Magazine

Seaside Entrance

The Four Phases of New Urbanism

Robert Steuteville discusses the slow, phased emergence of the New Urbanism. We are only partway through a change that will take generations. We are now immersed in the revitalization of cities. More phases will come.

March 12, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

200 Years of Faster Travel Times

A post on Vox collects a series of maps from the "Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States" showing how travel times changed over the past 200 years of U.S. history.

March 11, 2015 - Vox

GPS Technology Chosen for Oregon's Road Usage Charge

Oregon's much heralded mileage fee program, known as OReGO, has selected the technology to record the miles driven by participants. A French and Canadian company will collaborate to provide a telematics road usage charging framework to begin July 1.

March 11, 2015 - Automotive News

MTA Testing Bike Racks on Staten Island Buses

What is the one transit facility New York lacks that every other major city in the country has? Bike racks on buses. A new system was tested recently on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, but it's a long way from delivery.

March 11, 2015 - StreetsBlog NYC

Texas State Capitol building

Texas Legislation Would End Federal Funding for Transit

SB 1048, proposed by Senator Bob Hall (R-Rockwall), levels an unprecedented attack on transit in Texas. Although it's probably an extreme example of dead-on-arrival legislating, it's notable that an elected official would consider such a proposal.

March 11, 2015 - Examiner.com

Ca73

A Pedestrian's Perspective on Sprawling Orange County

Southern California's Orange County isn't exactly known for its walkability. Frank H. Wu decided to test that notion on a recent carless visit.

March 11, 2015 - Huffington Post

Business, Government, and Infrastructure in Brazil

With one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Brazil is at the cusp of major change. Arup's Gustavo Ferreria discusses the role that public-private partnerships are playing in modernizing and expanding the country's infrastructure systems.

March 11, 2015 - Arup Connect

Crude-by-Rail's New Workhorse No Better than the Old Workhorse

The new oil tank cars were supposed to be key to preventing the fiery explosions associated with oil-train derailments. However, four recent explosions since Feb. 14, with two occurring last Thursday and Saturday, all involved the new tankers.

March 10, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Three Challenges for Multi-Modal Trip Planning Apps

A recent post on Mobility Lab explains some of the challenges developers encounter when creating the multi-modal trip planner apps of our dreams.

March 10, 2015 - Mobility Lab

Two New Transit Hubs Planned for Cincinnati Neighborhoods

Randy Simes reports on the latest fruits of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority's (SORTA) approach to transit planning in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

March 10, 2015 - Cincinnati Business Courier

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.