Transportation

The Far-Reaching, Lasting Effects of Low Oil Prices

With SUV sales up, car sales down, and mileage driven up, the effects of lower gas prices could soon extend to land use, making suburban and exurban commuting more affordable. Economists have a term for these effects: demand response.

February 24, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal - The Outlook

Community Support Lacking for Sound Transit's TOD Plans on Mercer Island

Development connected to a proposed light rail line through Mercer Island—connecting Seattle to the West and Bellevue to the East—has met staunch local opposition.

February 23, 2015 - The Seattle Times

DDOT's 2015 Goal: Filling Gaps in Bike Infrastructure

The District Department of Transportation's plans for 2015 include closing critical gaps in the District's bike infrastructure network.

February 23, 2015 - Greater Greater Washington

Pushing Back on Mayor de Blasio's Ferry Service Idea

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's recently announced an ambitious proposal to expand and extend ferry service around the five boroughs. Although the proposal has inspired support, one blogger offers a strongly dissenting stake.

February 23, 2015 - Second Ave. Sagas

Complete Street Vancouver

Intentional Impermanence: Complete Streets 2.0

Douglas Hausladen, New Haven’s transportation director, envisions building complete streets quickly through a fail-fast approach.

February 23, 2015 - CityLab

School Buses

Transportation Start-up Fails for Being Too Public-Minded

Night School, planning to use school bus fleets to supplement late-night Bay Area transit, lost the regulatory fights Uber and Lyft handily won.

February 22, 2015 - Pacific Standard

Political Opposition Surfaces to All Aboard Florida

Florida's private inter-city rail project is getting a taste of California-style rail opposition from two counties that responded to citizens' complaints by voting to allot $4.1 million for potential legal action against rail line.

February 21, 2015 - The Palm Beach Post

Accepting a Deadly Daily Commute

Responding to the New York train crash that killed six this month, Sam Tanenhaus reflects on how commuting got so dangerous and why we don't demand better.

February 21, 2015 - The New Yorker

90 Years of Transit Evolution in Melbourne

"Depending on where you live in Melbourne, it could take longer to get into the city than it did in the 1920s," according to an article The Age. But really not much has changed.

February 20, 2015 - The Age (Australia)

Annual Fee to Fund Critical Transportation Projects in California

Under the transportation funding plan proposed by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, motorists would pay an annual road user charge of about $50 to help pay for the $59 billion in deferred highway and bridge maintenance that Gov. Brown noted recently.

February 20, 2015 - U-T San Diego

A Proposal for a New Set of Bike Rules

Most states classify bicycles as "vehicles", and therefore bicyclists as "drivers" of vehicles. Practically what this means is: car rules are bike rules.

February 20, 2015 - Community Builders

Should Car Safety Technology Protect Bikers and Pedestrians Too?

It wouldn't exactly mean cats and dogs living together, but what if technological innovations could make cars safer for pedestrians and bikers?

February 19, 2015 - The Washington Post

Gas and Bikes

Deep Cut Proposed for California's Gas Tax

A proposal to cut the gas tax by 21 percent would dig a huge hole in the state's transportation budget. It comes from a requirement in 2010 fuel tax swap legislation that doubled the excise tax while reducing the sales tax on gas by 6 percent.

February 19, 2015 - U-T San Diego

I-94 to Expand Out (Not Up) in Milwaukee

Wisconsin state transportation officials have settled on a plan to expand the I-94 freeway in Milwaukee—instead of building a double deck freeway through a cemetery the plan is too widen the freeway without disturbing an human remains.

February 19, 2015 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Funding Questions Loom for Montgomery County's BRT Plans

Even when a community has thrown its full support behind a transit project, questions of funding and operations can create controversy. The next few months will be worth watching for Montgomery County, Maryland's proposed BRT system.

February 19, 2015 - Greater Greater Washington

Austin Texas

How Austin Paved Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot

A local blogger takes umbrage with claims that Austin's density is causing its traffic problems. The obvious problem with that argument: Austin is 68% as dense now as it was in 1950.

February 18, 2015 - Car Free Austin

Can Taxis Survive Competition from the Sharing Economy?

Two experts consider the future of cab companies in the age of Uber and Lyft.

February 18, 2015 - The Planning Report

Oil Train Derailment in W.Va. Results in Fiery Explosion and Oil Spill

A 109-car oil train carrying crude from North Dakota derailed Monday afternoon, causing a fireball that was still burning Tuesday morning. Initial reports had at least one tanker leaking oil into a tributary of the Kanawha River, closing water plants

February 17, 2015 - The Charleston Gazette

Changing the 'How' and the 'What' in Infrastructure Spending

When it comes to infrastructure, we are frequently reminded of the consequences of not repairing roads and bridges. Two prolific transportation writers recently changed the focus to where the money is spent.

February 17, 2015 - CityLab

The Best and the Worst Airports to Access

If you want great access to an airport, go overseas—that's the main finding of a study by Golden Gateway Alliance, a Manhattan-based airport advocacy organization. Tied for dead-last in terms of access is Denver and a certain New York airport.

February 17, 2015 - New York Post

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.

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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.