Transportation
Oil and Rail Industries Agree to Phase Out Oldest Rail Oil Tank Cars
A deal may be near between energy and rail industries and the Department of Transportation to phase out the DOT-111 tank car—the same kind implicated in the horrific explosions of oil trains, particularly those carry Bakken crude from North Dakota.
Concerns Raised about Sprawl, Public Safety Implications of Autonomous Vehicles
A pair of articles sounds separate warnings about what a future of autonomous vehicles will mean for law enforcement and fuel consumption. The warnings are far from the utopian ideal that many desire for the technology.
Speed Cameras: Working in Chicago; Needed in Philadelphia
In Chicago, speed cameras are proving effective at reducing speeds; in Philadelphia, a police commissioner is lobbying the state to allow the implementation of the cameras.
Treasure Island's Big Mixed-Use Developments Bring Transportation Improvements
Located between San Francisco and the East Bay, with harrowing on- and off-ramps for ingress and egress to the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island will soon add 8,000 homes, 500 hotel rooms, and 550,000 square feet of offices.
Examining the Ottawa Cycling Plan for Lessons of Suburban Biking Success
An article by Nour Aoude begins with the premise: "Leaving suburbs out of the biking conversation risks turning biking into a privilege of the few who can afford to live in dense, downtown neighbourhoods."
U.S. Traffic Engineering Manual Closer to Adopting Bike Design Features
Bicycle facilities, such as contraflow lanes, extensions of bike lanes through intersections, and bike boxes, inched toward official approval from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Cleveland Planning 'Iconic' Bridge to Connect Downtown and Lakefront
Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are pushing ahead with an ambitious plan for a pedestrian and bike connection between downtown Cleveland and the lakefront.
Seattle Voters To Be Put To Transit Test in November
Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.
In Search of Clear Transit Platform Signs
Observation of a handful of transit platform sign styles from around the world on their clarity and usefulness.
Mexico's Lacandon Jungle Under Development Pressure
Lacandon Jungle in Mexico is under pressure as tribes, the Mexican government, and preservationists fight between development versus conservation.
LIRR Strike Averted!
A planned shutdown of the nation's largest commuter railroad on Sunday morning appears to have been averted after MTA leaders reached a tentative labor agreement was reached with the eight labor unions after Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined the talks.
In Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh to Oakland BRT Plans Moving Slowly
In the hopes of finalizing a plan to connect Pittsburgh and Oakland with a bus rapid transit route, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has approved $3 million out of the needed $4 million for a preliminary engineering and environmental review.
More People are Riding Bikes; After That It Gets Confusing
A pair of articles explores the implications of data released in May by the U.S. Census about the increasing use of bikes among commuters. The articles, however, don't agree about the implications of the data for low income and minority citizens.
Friday Funny: Daily Show Burns Congress' Highway Trust Fund Dysfunction
In a segment The Daily Show calls "Shabby Road" (complete with photoshopped image of President Obama, Rep. John Boehner, Sen. Harry Reid, and Vice President Biden as the Beatles), Jon Stewart takes down Congress' inaction on the Highway Trust Fund.
*Cleveland's Public Square Redesign is Great—But What About Bus Riders?
Writing for Rust Wire, Angie Schmitt wonders about the odd-person out in a proposal to redesign Public Square in downtown Cleveland: bus riders.
New Orleans Transit Service Not Keeping Pace with Recovery
A pair of articles in the Times-Picayune, along with a new study from advocacy group Ride New Orleans, finds the transit system in New Orleans doing less with more.
Post-Car? Helsinki's Plans for a Tech-Enabled Mobility Network
Helsinki, capital of Finland's, is working to create a "mobility on demand" system that integrates shared and public transit in a single payment network. The idea is that with such a system in place, residents would no longer need cars.
Proposed Pipeline Poses Dilemma for Keystone Pipeline-Supporting Governor
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad supports the Keystone XL Pipeline, as do most Republican leaders. Then again, it doesn't go through his state. Not so for the newly proposed Bakken Pipeline that cuts across the heart of Iowa. No word on his position yet.
Transit-Oriented Cities and Safety: Another Look
Transit-oriented cities are safer than car-dependent cities of comparable size, especially if one considers traffic fatalities in car-dependent cities.
The $20 Million Road for No One in Minnesota
A writer laments the lack of return on investment reflected by a state DOT's decision to fund a highway-widening project for $20 million that will serve 1,100 daily car trips.
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
