Transportation

New Hampshire Increases Gas Tax to Fund Highway, Road, and Bridge Projects

The New Hampshire Legislature recently approved a bill that would raise the gas tax in the state by 4.2 cents*. At that rate, the cost of the new tax to someone who drives 10,000 miles a year at 25 miles per gallon would total about $16 a year.

April 29, 2014 - Concord Monitor

Dearborn Street Bike Lane

How To Justify Converting Parking Lanes into Bike Lanes

Montreal city planners used a simple tactic to illustrate the small portion of area car parking that would need to be foregone in order to build a downtown bike path.

April 29, 2014 - People for Bikes

The Reviews Are In: Denver's West Rail Line

After a year of operation, Denver's 12.1-mile West Rail Line has provoked an ambivalent public response.

April 29, 2014 - The Denver Post

Moment of Truth for Cincinnati's Central Parkway

The Cincinnati City Council might vote to rescind an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to complete a protected bike lane from Clifton to downtown along the Central Parkway.

April 29, 2014 - WVXU Cincinnati

Bike Count

Planning on a Budget: There is an App for That

Tight on time, staff, and budget and looking for technology to help your planning effort? Explore new mobile friendly tools that can aid planners with public engagement, documentation of existing conditions, and traffic counting.

April 29, 2014 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

The Health of Cities Depends on Place-Based Development More than Big Projects

Cities take a physical form that either supports or is stressful to people outside of a moving vehicle or building. Witold Rybczynski, in his critique of New Urbanism, forgets that lesson.

April 28, 2014 - Better! Cities & Towns

New Seattle Bus Funding Initiative Addresses City-Suburb Split

It's a pattern seen as recently as two years ago in metro Atlanta: a crucial transit measure wins in the central city but dies in the more populous suburbs. The fix is to craft a city-only transit initiative—just what advocates in Seattle will do.

April 28, 2014 - KUOW

The Grotao Community Center

Interdisciplinarity and the Equitable City

On Urban-Think Tank, a design firm working at the intersection of architecture and urbanism to further environmental justice.

April 28, 2014 - Anna Bergren Miller

Curitiba Skyline

Ecocity versus Duplicity

If certain elements of masterplanning are not carefully chosen—and their impacts not carefully explained to final decision makers—then there runs great risk that the cities we design from scratch perform worse than the cities we already have.

April 28, 2014 - Ian Sacs

California HSR: Banking on Cap and Trade, TIFIA, and More

One positive thing to be said about a project that's been declared on life support by even many of its supporters since a court ruling denied its chief funding source: the Calif. HSR Authority sure is resilient. New funding sources may keep it alive.

April 27, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S. News

Secretary Foxx Talks Funding (and Possibly Tolling)

A recent article by Yonah Freemark details the policy agenda of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, the former mayor of Charlotte and successor of well-regarded Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood.

April 26, 2014 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

Lyft

Veto Kills Uber and Lyft Regulation Exemptions in Arizona

While many states are rushing to figure out how to regulate transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, Arizona came very close to exempting the companies from the taxi and limo regulations.

April 25, 2014 - Phoenix Business Journal

'Kit of Parts' Streamlines the Process of Converting Streets into Parks

An Atlantic Cities article details how the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s People St program is making it easier for communities to design and build plazas, parklets, and bike facilities on their streets.

April 25, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Montgomery County VMT Holds Steady—Despite 100,000 New Residents

Montgomery County, Maryland—located immediately to the north of Washington D.C.—is embracing the trend of driving less while opting for other forms of transportation.

April 25, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Canada Acts while U.S. Lags on Rail Oil Tank Car Safety

Transport Canada jumped past U.S. DOT on April 23 by taking decisive action on "exploding" oil tank cars that are traveling throughout North America due largely to an insufficient oil pipeline network. Within three years, the older cars must go.

April 25, 2014 - The Olympian

'Sticks' and 'Carrots' Required to Build a Mature Transportation System

Gabe Klein says cities can do a better job providing mobility by focusing on the sticks and carrots of transportation—improving transportation options and creating disincentives to driving, respectively.

April 24, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Recovery of Washington Mudslide Area Turns to State Highway

On the one month anniversary of the mudside that wiped out much of Oso, Wash., President Obama came to tour the devastation. The death toll stands at 41, with two missing. Restoring the region's economic lifeline, state Route 530, is top priority.

April 24, 2014 - NPR

A Shot Across the Bow of the Shared Economy

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman penned an op-ed for the New York Times that specifically calls out Airbnb and Uber—two companies at the forefront of calls to regulate the emerging sharing economy.

April 24, 2014 - New York Times

Seattle Area Voters Resoundingly Reject Transit Initiative

With 55 per cent of the vote, King County voters on April 22 opposed increasing their sales tax by one-tenth of one per cent and increasing an annual auto registration fee by $60. 72 Metro Transit bus routes will be eliminated.

April 24, 2014 - Q13 Fox News

Transportation Considerations for Aging Populations

An article on PlannersWeb details the considerations relevant to the needs of people over 65, who are growing more multi-modal and car-independent every year.

April 24, 2014 - PlannersWeb

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.

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.