Transportation

After a Slow Start, Can the BeltLine Speed a Culture Shift in Atlanta?

Much to the chagrin of those who partake in the city's congested commute, cars dominate as Atlantans' prime means of mobility. The city's wildly ambitious BeltLine project seeks to change this, but can it be built fast enough to have an impact?

June 5, 2013 - ASLA The Dirt

Indexing Gas Taxes: Kentucky Shows How

While some state struggle to raise the gas tax by even a few cents a gallon, indexing the excise tax to inflation avoids these costly battles. Kentucky approved such legislation over 10 years ago. On July 1, the gas tax will increase by 2.4 cents.

June 5, 2013 - The Courier-Journal

Citi Bike Rack

What's Behind The Wall Street Journal's Odd Anti-Bicycle Rant?

Since it appeared online over the weekend, a humorously odd 5-minute diatribe by Wall Street Journal editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz has spread like wildfire. J.K. Trotter considers the possible sources of her anti-bicycle vitriol.

June 5, 2013 - The Atlantic Wire

Sharing Transit Costs Produces Shared Benefits in D.C.'s NoMa Neighborhood

Jay Corbalis profiles NoMa (short for “North of Massachusetts Avenue”), Washington D.C.'s fastest growing neighborhood, where a building boom has been propelled by an innovative transit funding partnership between the public and private sectors.

June 4, 2013 - Smart Growth America

Cuffed for a Crosswalk: DIY Traffic Safety Intervention Gets Man Arrested

The arrest of a Vallejo, California man for painting a crosswalk at a dangerous intersection near his home is the latest guerrilla urbanist intervention to run afoul of the law.

June 4, 2013 - CBS Sacramento

Two Pessimistic Outlooks on Fixing the Nation's Bridges

Brian Naylor of NPR and Stephen Lee Davis of Transportation for America examine different aspects of the government's inability to ensure that bridges are in a state of good repair.

June 4, 2013 - NPR

Senator Frank Lautenberg, Friend to Transit, Dies at 89

New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, the last World War Two veteran to serve in the body, passed away on Monday. Kate Hinds looks at the record of 'the driving force between some of the country's most transformative transportation policies.'

June 4, 2013 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

How to Encourage Terrorism

Shutting down cities as a response to terrorism makes such violence more rewarding and thus more tempting.

June 3, 2013 - Michael Lewyn

British Columbia Rejects Massive Northern Gateway Oil Pipeline

The rejection may ultimately doom the $6 billion pipeline to transport Alberta's oil sands crude west through British Columbia for export. Final word is reserved for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but many say an overturn would be highly unusual.

June 3, 2013 - CBC News

Bypassing L.A.'s Fixation on Cars

In two new exhibits on Los Angeles's modern architectural history - part of the sprawling Pacific Standard Time Presents initiative - the city's infamous infatuation with the automobile is examined and then left behind in the rear-view mirror.

June 3, 2013 - LA Weekly

The One About the Parking-Pinched Merchant…

Small business owners who drive themselves nuts arguing against the reuse of on-street parking with other balanced transportation solutions is a shame because there is so much good data to prove it's actually very good for business.

June 3, 2013 - Ian Sacs

Moscow Gives Biking a Go

While the launch of NYC's bike share program was all the rage in the U.S. last week, Moscow began a program of its own with 220 red bikes at 30 stations. Sally McGrane frames it more as a 'triumph for political activism' than a commuting revolution.

June 3, 2013 - The New Yorker

The Rockaways Gets Its Subway Back

Seven months to the day after Superstorm Sandy ravaged Rockaway, Queens and took out most of the A-line, the subway opened after a round-the-clock, $75 million restoration of much of the line from Howard Beach south. But locals may prefer the ferry!

June 2, 2013 - Daily News

Feds Clear the Road for Self-Driving Cars

This week, the NHTSA issued the federal government's first directive on the benefits and hurdles related to the introduction of self-driving cars. The guidelines should make it easier for companies to develop autonomous technologies.

June 1, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

How the 'Bikelash' Was Beaten Back

When Mayor Bloomberg and transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan began expanding NYC's bicycle infrastructure, a vocal 'bikelash' threatened to undo their efforts. Jay Walljasper looks at the forces that conspired to beat back the bikelash.

May 31, 2013 - Green Lane Project

Is the U.S. Ready for Fuel Cell Vehicles?

Toyota is set to introduce its first fuel cell vehicles in the U.S. in 2015, which are expected to cost between $50,000 and $100,000. But will the U.S. be ready for it, i.e. will there be hydrogen fueling stations? Yes, say public officials.

May 31, 2013 - Automotive.com

Global Roads Safer, But U.S. Performs Poorly

A study from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development shows that traffic fatalities across the world have reached an all-time low. However roads in the U.S. are less safe than in 28 other countries, including Serbia and Greece.

May 30, 2013 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Toronto's $50 Billion 'Big Move' Gets a Financing Plan

This week, the Toronto region's transportation agency floated a strategy for how to fund the wildly ambitious 25-year transportation plan know as the Big Move. A combination of new taxes and fees are expected to yield $2 billion per year.

May 30, 2013 - The Toronto Star

Cycling's Diversity Belies Infrastructure Divide

A new report documents the diversity of America's cycling community, countering the stereotype of the "spandex- or skinny jean-clad" white rider. However, minority communities suffer from a deficit of cycling infrastructure. Can this be changed?

May 30, 2013 - Grist

Trend Watch: Swapping Gasoline Excise Taxes for Wholesale Sales Taxes

The D.C. Council is going the way of neighbors Virginia and Maryland by approving new wholesale sales taxes on gasoline and diesel. In it's budget approved on May 22, the council swapped the current 23.5-cent excise tax for a new 8.3% fuel tax.

May 30, 2013 - The Washington Post - D.C. Politics

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