Transportation

Connecting Maryland and Virginia By Transit
Bethesda and Tysons, in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia, respectively, look like neighbors on a map, but they lack a direct transit route. That could change.

Hospitals and Healthcare Workers Brace for Influx of COVID Patients
Coronavirus infections, while at record-high levels, have decreased during the past week, unlike hospitalizations, which are still surging. Public health experts expect it to get a lot worse due to the Thanksgiving holiday travel.

Columbia River Crossing Back From the Dead With a New Name and Potential Changes
2021 will be a big year for planning on the Interstate Bridge Replacement project, née Columbia River Crossing, that will connect Washington and Oregon across the Columbia River.

Lessons From the Viral Video of Lake Michigan Taking Out a Bike Commuter
Climate change will only increase the frequency of incidents like the one captured by a television news station in Chicago earlier this week.

More Transit Agencies Propose Cuts; Congress Finally Takes Notice
The stakes in the economic stimulus package under consideration on Capitol Hill this week are incredibly high.

Researchers Flaunt the Benefits of Reduced Minimum Parking Requirements
Seattle is one of the U.S. cities shrinking minimum parking requirements to allow for denser, more affordable development near transit.

Transport Access Manual: A Guide for Measuring Connection between People and Places
This new Manual is a guide for evaluating peoples' ability to access services and activities, and therefore the performance of transportation and land use configurations.

An Atlas of E-Scooter Policies
Introducing the Micromobility Policy Atlas.

U.S. DOT Releases First-Ever Pedestrian Safety Plan
Record numbers of pedestrians have been killed by drivers in recent years. The federal government says a "team effort" will be necessary to stop the carnage.

The Transit Catastrophe Continues: San Francisco, D.C. Forecast Service Cuts, Layoffs
Advocates have been waiting for the other shoe to drop as transit agencies deal with cratered revenues during the pandemic without support from Congress.

Cars Pollute in More Ways Than One
Tires wear down and shed toxic microplastics into stormwater, which eventually ends up in rivers and the ocean. Recent research sheds new light on the extent of the damage.

Connecting Light Rail Plans to Affordable Housing Opportunities
To keep up with affordable housing demand, Snohomish County needs to add 200,000 units by 2050. Planned light rail stations could be the ticket.

Thanksgiving Air Travel Breaks Pandemic Records
As expected, air travel in the United States reached heights not seen since before the pandemic, but still fell well short of the norm.

Dedicated Center Lane Planned for Madison Bus Rapid Transit
Some portions of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system planned for Madison, Wisconsin will resemble the fully realized BRT systems more common in other parts of the world.

Maryland's Purple Line Gets the Green Light Again
The public-private partnership behind the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland fell apart in September, and has this past week been revived.

Opinion: Proposed Parking Tax Reduction Would Do More Harm Than Good
Recent investigations into the conditions facing workers in private parking lots in Philadelphia has produced a series of legislation reforms, but one idea, to lower the city's parking tax, isn't going to fly with this opinion writer.

The Top Urban Planning Books of 2020
The public health crisis of the coronavirus pandemic upended all the normal day-today routines this year. At least there are plenty of great urban planning books to read.

Cities Double Down on Car-Centric Services During the Pandemic
The pandemic has created even more obstacles to participation in society for those without a car.

Controversial Aerial Tram Proposed to Serve Dodger Stadium
A new electric aerial gondola system is being proposed to transport baseball fans and concert goers from Union Station over the Los Angeles State Historic Park to Dodger Stadium.

New York City Traffic Fatalities Pass 2019 Totals
The visions of a car-free utopia that might have seemed like a potential silver lining in March and April have given away to a tragic reality.
Pagination
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service