Transportation
Bicycling on the Rise in Mexico City
USA Today reports that efforts to increase cycling in Mexico City have succeeded in getting middle and upper-class residents on two wheels.
Red Light Cameras: Cash Cow Or Traffic Safety Tool?
The passage by the PA state senate of a bill allowing Pittsburgh and other cities to use red light traffic enforcement cameras has drawn a strong warning and a study from Penn Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) to only use them for safety purposes
Closing Loopholes in NYC Parking Reforms
New York City already has low parking maximums in place in much of Manhattan, but those maximums are riddled with loopholes. A set of reforms being developed by the Department of City Planning would tighten those regulations further.
Support the Freeway, Or Your Bus is Axed
Interstate 69 is planned to run through Bloomington, Indiana, but residents have raised objections. The Feds now threaten that I-69 must be in the city's transportation plan or the city will lose $12 million in funding.
California's 'Other' HSR Line Receives Key Go-Ahead
The privately funded, 190-mile grade-separated high-speed line linking Victorville, San Bernardino County and Las Vegas received clearance from the federal Surface Transportation Board provided DesertXpress implement mitigation measures..
Friday Funny: Mimes Scold Naughty South Americans
Brazil, Venezuela and Columbia have all hired a curious sort of police force to encourage pedestrians and drivers to follow the rules -- mimes, who hang out at busy intersections and make fun of bad behavior.
Jerusalem's 8-Mile "Miracle" Train
Joel Epstein says it was "nothing short of a miracle" that Jerusalem's Red Line light rail opened this year.
Transportation Enhancements Battle Brewing in D.C.
In fact, that's putting it positively, as the battle may already have been lost according to House Transportation Chair John Mica. Enhancements, most of which fund pedestrian and bicyle projects, may become voluntary rather than a requirement.
Transferring Issue is 7 Line Extension's Downfall
According to Alon Levy, the 7 line extension from New York City to Secaucus, NJ will get workers "almost to their jobs," but not quite. It may seem trivial, but literature on the penalty of certain transfers may be pointing to failure.
The New Trend in Highways: Capping Them
Blair Kamin uses Columbus, Ohio's retail development on the Cap at Union Station as a success story. What can Chicago learn from this design strategy that at once addresses economic development and the enrichment of the cityscape?
"Sloppy Nature" of Parking Study Could Hinder Reform
The New York City Department of City Planning wants to place maximums in the Manhattan core, but there's just one problem: its own two-year-old parking study. Noah Kazis reports on the faulty arguments against reform.
Illinois Pairs With Zipcar
Zipcar is a car sharing service based in Cambridge, Mass. The program allows you access to a car for either several hours or the whole day. Illinois contracted with the company giving its state employees access to nearly 500 vehicles.
Seniors Equate Mobility with Life
"Carjacked" author Anne Lutz Fernandez says Time's tearful coverage of the traffic deaths of a 72-year-married Iowa couple fails to recognize the true problem: that Americans are persuaded that driving = living.
From Zero to 1.2 Billion Passengers in 2 Decades
Guangzhou, China's public transit network barely existed back in the late 1980s, when the Guangzhou Metro Corporation (GMC) was created to oversee its creation. Today they employ over 17,000 people and in 2010 GMC carried 1.18 billion passengers.
For Biking to Flourish, Empower the Community Boards
Tom Angotti believes that community participation and neighborhood-level planning are key to a wider network of bike infrastructure in New York City.
Bane of the Middle Class: Rising Gas Prices
In this Washington Post blog, Brad Plumer writes on a New American Foundation report on rising gas prices and their disproportionate impact on the poor and middle class. Public policies intended to reduce fuel consumption, however, benefit the rich.
Subway Vent Benches Kill Two Birds With One Stone
Hurricane Irene brought flooding to the M and R subway lines in Queens, prompting the MTA to seek innovative ways to prevent it from happening again. Rogers Marvel Architects developed an innovative solution that also creates a bench above.
Executives Told To "Pack Suitcases" For Libyan Infrastructure Boom
Tripoli Airport and Misrata hospital are the first specific projects to be named, as western governments begin to release frozen assets to the National Transition Government (NTI) and international corporations spot an opportunity.
The Mysterious Disappearing Transit
After nine years of public outreach and study, transit was abruptly and secretively dropped from plans for the new Tappan Zee Bridge. Now, neither New York Governor Andrew Cuomo nor the US Department of Transportation will say why.
Preparing for "Peak Car"
Shifting demographics combined with changes in lifestyle preferences and growing frustration at the limitations of auto-oriented living is leading to a shift away from car use and ownership, some experts say.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
