Transportation
Bike-Share Operator Bixi Files for Bankruptcy
With debts in excess of $30 million owed to the city of Montreal, and unhappy customers in New York City and Chicago refusing to pay for outstanding bills, the Bixi bike-share company has been forced to file for bankruptcy protection.
Kansas City Bike Share Program Crowdfunds to Expand (Updated)
The B-Cycle bike share program in Kansas City is using a crowdfunding platform to generate funds for capital investments after an underwhelming attempt to generate funds for operations.
Urban Road-Building Linked to Poor Statewide Economic Performance
Besides wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, road-building may actually be holding back economic growth overall.
The Shared Dynamics of Obamacare and Public Transit
Seems like an absurd pairing, right? Perhaps so but please hear me out.
Performance, Not Efficiency, on Display at Detroit Auto Show
PBS' Hari Sreenivasan and guests share impressions of the North American Auto Show held in Detroit last week. Trucks and luxury cars were the focus, not electric and super-efficient vehicles. Debate on fuel efficiency standards is predicted in 2017.
What are Transportation Planners Talking About?
Last week, the Transportation Research Board held its annual conference with < 10,000 people in attendance. We analyzed the tweets to generate a list of the hottest topics, links to transportation resources, and most influential people.
Rail and Oil Industries Agree on Measures to Prevent Crude-by-Rail Explosions
U.S. DOT brokered a deal with energy and rail industries whereby both would take immediate steps to prevent the recent explosions involving the more volatile Bakken crude. While voluntary, actual regulations will take more than a year to approve.
Is This the Most Useless Crosswalk Ever?
The Transportation Planner posts about an inexplicable crosswalk at a highway interchange located in McLean, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC.
A Suburb that Makes Walking to School a Priority
It's no accident that the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood is one of the few school districts in Ohio without buses. Choices made by planners, parents, and school officials have preserved the inner-ring suburb as a “walking school district.”
California High Speed Rail Project Threatened with Loss of Federal Funding
On Wednesday, backers of California's embattled $68 HSR project were grilled by the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), who wants to kill it.
Pedestrian Safety Becomes a National Issue
With people young and old embracing urban lifestyles and cities working to create more walkable environments, pedestrian safety is a growing concern across the U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has embraced the issue as a priority.
Might Virginia's New Governor Halt a Controversial Highway Project?
Depending on who you're asking, Virginia's proposed Bi-County Parkway is either critical to supporting the state's growth or a sprawl-inducing gift to developers. With a key milestone in limbo, Governor Terry McAuliffe will have a chance to weigh in.
North America's Largest Bike Parking Facility Planned for Portland
Portland has a well-earned reputation as a mecca for cyclists. But a new mixed-use development with 657 housing units will set the standard for the U.S. by providing 1,200 bike parking spaces in underground garages.
De Blasio Outlines Plan to Eliminate NYC Traffic Deaths
Yesterday, Mayor de Blasio launched “Vision Zero”, a multi-agency effort to eliminate NYC's traffic deaths within a decade. With eleven deaths (seven of them pedestrians) already recorded in the new year, progress can't come soon enough.
March Construction Targeted for Charlotte Blue Line Extension
Preparations for the $1.6 billion Blue Line extension project in Charlotte, North Carolina, are nearing completion. Officials have penciled in March to begin construction on the 9.3-mile light rail line.
Revising Urban History: the Interstate Highway Road Not Taken
From Denver to Syracuse, U.S. cities are looking to heal neighborhoods torn apart by the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Could an alternative way of envisioning and financing such a system provide lessons for the developing world?
Ray LaHood Takes on New Role
From Republican congressman from Ill. to President Obama's first Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood now takes on a new role as a co-chair of the bipartisan coalition, Building America's Future, to advocate for increased infrastructure investment.
TIGER Wins and High-Speed Rail Loses in New Federal Spending Bill
For the first time since 2011, Congressional negotiators have agreed on a $1.012 trillion omnibus budget bill to fund the federal government. Tanya Snyder examines the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development winners and losers.
A (Freight) Rail Line Runs Through It - Cities Take Notice
Call it the Lac-Mégantic effect - the July 6 conflagration that leveled the downtown, killing 47 people, has implications for all jurisdictions where oil and freight trains run. Cities must recognize that rail insurance policies are woefully lacking.
Road Safety (and Lack thereof) Case Studies from around the World
An inordinate amount of traffic fatalities occur in developing parts of the world. In some countries, road deaths have surpassed diseases like AIDS and Tuberculosis as a public health threat.
Pagination
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello