Transportation

This week, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority made public its request for $5 billion in federal aid to rebuild what was damaged during Superstorm Sandy. But a look at the details reveals an ambitious agenda for improvements.

December 1, 2012 - The New York Times

As Britain confronts the silent epidemic of inactivity and obesity, Peter Walker examines how the invisible dangers of a sedentary lifestyle are compared to the more publicized risk of injury from activities designed to get people moving.

November 30, 2012 - The Guardian

Thanks to a $2 million federal grant, New Orleans is embarking on a study focused on improving the city's Claiborne Avenue corridor, which sits adjacent to an elevated stretch of Interstate 10. The project's public outreach effort begins next month.

November 30, 2012 - The Times-Picayune

Driverless cars, 'super elite" fliers, and more rail for everyone; these are among the predictions from experts for how travel in the United States will change over the next decade.

November 30, 2012 - CNN Travel

In the aftermath of controversial Mayor Rob Ford's ouster this week, architecture critic Christopher Hume looks at how Toronto's next mayor can begin to "deal with issues that matter."

November 29, 2012 - The Toronto Star

Yesterday, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) was named the new head of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, replacing former chair John Mica. With MAP-21 expiring in less than two years, what can rail and bike/ped advocates expect?

November 29, 2012 - DC.Streetsblog

Too much parking and too much transit creates a glut of unneeded parking. Of course, this is by design - that is, zoning design, where Downtown Brooklyn developers are required to accommodate new residents of their new buildings with large garages.

November 29, 2012 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Damien Newton reports on L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's creation of a Transit Corridors Cabinet (TCC) to coordinate the work of all City departments and agencies with the goal of producing a "more transit-oriented Los Angeles."

November 28, 2012 - Streetsblog LA

Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley tour the "otherwise nondescript brick building" on San Francisco's Mason Street that houses the machines running the "Endless Wire Ropeway" that hums beneath the city's streets and pulls its famous cable cars.

November 28, 2012 - The Atlantic

Transit-oriented developments multiplied and held their values comparatively well in the housing crisis. In this article, Josh Stephens explores whether the trend will continue post-recession, or if sprawl is poised for a comeback.

November 28, 2012 - InTransition Magazine

After a decade of steady declines in traffic-related fatalities in New York City, amid a focused effort to improve traffic safety, Robert Kolker examines why such deaths spiked upward of 23 percent in the past year.

November 28, 2012 - New York Magazine

In cities across America, municipal bike-share systems have had a hard time reaching low-income and minority populations. As Chicago plans its new system for next year's launch, the city is developing measures to broaden the demographics of cycling.

November 27, 2012 - Grid Chicago

Are you an environmentally aware, well educated, upper-middle class white man in your early 50s with a garage equipped with an electric outlet? If so, you meet the demographic to buy an electric vehicle. And that may be the EV's only potential group.

November 27, 2012 - USA Today

As part of a broader effort to encourage less vehicular traffic city-wide, D.C. is expanding permit parking and reducing on-street parking in some of the city's most crowded neighborhoods. Not all are happy with the changes, reports Tim Craig.

November 27, 2012 - The Washington Post

One of planners’ most important jobs is to help develop the indicators and frameworks use to define problems and evaluate potential solution. Often, a particular solution will seem cost effective and beneficial when evaluated one way, and wasteful and undesirable if evaluated another. It is important that we help develop comprehensive evaluation frameworks that effectively inform decisions.

November 27, 2012 - Todd Litman

The plan to reconnect Southern California to Las Vegas via passenger rail took a major step forward last week with the announcement that operators Las Vegas Railway Express Inc. have reached an agreement to use Union Pacific's freight rails.

November 26, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

As colder temperatures and adverse weather descend on the District of Columbia, Ashley Halsey III finds that the city's emerging bicycling culture endures.

November 26, 2012 - The Washington Post

It could be a win-win: Reducing the deficit, stimulating job creation, and avoiding the dreaded 'fiscal cliff'. Those pushing for a gas tax increase have joined other industries in using the need to raise and/or cut $500 billion to avoid recession.

November 26, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Charles Marohn turns a critical eye toward the inertia of federal transportation policy and the shortsightedness of its most treasured investment. Since America seems to be stuck with a federal transportation bill, he suggests ways to make it work.

November 25, 2012 - Better! Cities & Towns

“Despite long ago having fallen from favour among North American city planners and traffic engineers, the multi-lane, multi-use, tree-lined avenue will soon return to our fair burg,” writes Christopher Hume.

November 24, 2012 - The Star