Transportation
Intercity Bus Growth Provides New Traffic for Turnpikes
Growth in traffic on intercity buses offers an important new source of revenue for long distance turnpikes and interstate toll bridges. A new breed of curbside bus carriers are seeing rapid growth.
Spain's Six-Mile Madrid Rio Park Replaces Freeway
The NYT chief art critic, Michael Kimmelman, reviews Madrid's almost complete six-mile long park, Madrid Rio, that is having a transformative effect on the city. The park was made possible by the under-grounding of the M-30 ring road.
Increasing State Gas Taxes Insufficient To Meet Road Projects' Costs
In her ongoing coverage of Missouri's I-70 expansion and state transportation deficits, Streetsblog's Angie Schmitt analyzes MO's consideration to double the state 17-cent state gas tax to finance the truck only lanes from Kansas City to St. Louis
Train Times to Accompany Motorists Stuck in Traffic
To encourage train ridership, Caltrans and Metrolink have teamed up to display train times on electronic signs along two oft-congested Southern California freeways.
Henderson, NV Awarded $3.5M HUD Challenge Grant
The largest regional plan in Clark County history, Henderson will be using the funds to more sustainably link transportation, land use, and people. Guy Dawson reports.
CA HSR: A Speed Too Fast?
LA to SF in 2 hrs, 40 mins? That promise in the proposition that voters approved in 2008 could be the train's undoing, as to keep that schedule it will require more expensive design, including viaducts and tunnels, than would otherwise necessitate.
Report Touts Economic Benefits via Maine Transportation Projects
The report put out by TRIP, a Washington, DC non-profit sponsored by insurance companies and transportation labor unions, highlights about 50 trips that are likely to generate economic growth when completed.
After Funding, Highway Projects Go Untracked
After the Big Dig, the most expensive highway projects are subject to more rules, but use of funds is largely up to the states, who may come back for more money pending planning and design issues that arise.
Not An Inexpensive Bike Lane
Adding a pedestrian/bike lane to the 'west span' of the Bay Bridge won't come on the cheap: $550 million is the current estimate. The east span lane, from Yerba Buena Island to Oakland, will be included in the new bridge due to open in late 2013.
Escaping the Data and Going With Your Gut
Jeff Wood, no stranger to transportation modeling and data-crunching, suggests its time to open up transit planning to gut-level reactions.
Life in the Slow Lane
After decades of building for speed, cities are rediscovering the virtues of slow: walking, biking and streetcars are taking over from freeways.
Congressional Transportation Committee Debates CA High Speed Rail
The stage moved to D.C. from Sacramento for the latest debate on the pros and cons of California's embattled HSR plan. The more vocal detractors from the Central Valley and Peninsula testified before the few members of the committee who attended.
Detroit Scraps Train Plans
The city and federal DOT have decided against a $600 million plan that would introduce light rail and, subsequently, more residents to the city. Instead, money will go to improving a notoriously unreliable bus system.
Robot Roadbuilders of the Future
In 1958, it seemed all but inevitable that giant tree-chomping, asphalt-pouring machines would roam across the countryside leaving gleaming interstate highways in their wake.
Potholes as Parks?
Writing in Grist, Chuck Wolfe provides a counterintuitive look at what to do about potholes and how they could become "the universal darlings of walkable urbanism".
Chicago's Bikes and Rail Infrastructure Get Federal Boost
About $20 million in all, the grants will go to improvements to the CTA and the city's first bikeshare program. This is just one of 46 projects nationwide getting funding this round from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Friday Funny: Pedestrian Haiku
NPR reports on NYC's new set of hilarious Haiku traffic street signs, that are meant to make drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians more aware when sharing the street.
Good News/Bad News For GM's Volt
October saw the first time the plug-in hybrid Volt outsell the all-electric Leaf; Consumer Reports rates Volt owners the most satisfied, but the car's potential to catch on fire is being investigated, and the $7,500 EV tax credit is under attack.
Congress Mulling Extending Transit Pretax Benefits
The benefits, which allow for up to $230 a month of pretax income to be set aside for transit commuting, may dip to just $125 a month if Congress does not decide on an extension by the end of the month.
How Planning is Like Growing Tomatoes
An organic system is rarely the sum of its parts. Nothing demonstrates this as clearly as sinking your teeth into a store-bought tomato, writes Ben Brown.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
Sarasota County Government
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
