Transportation
Strange Days: Outrage Absent as Businesses Reclaim Parking Spots
It took a pandemic, but the worldwide effort to move restaurant and retail businesses outside, at the expense of parking, is proving far less controversial than it would have before the coronavirus swept the globe.
Congestion Pricing Scheme Up for Discussion in San Francisco
The public is providing feedback for the idea of a congestion pricing scheme that could charge as much as $12 to drive into Downtown San Francisco.
An Excellent New Book: Right of Way
In Right of Way, Angie Schmitt explains why U.S. pedestrian fatalities have increased in recent years.
Carnage on the Roads During the Pandemic
The National Highway Safety Administration released traffic safety data finding a huge spike in fatalities since the outset of the pandemic, but didn't mention the role of street design in traffic fatalities.
Transit Passes Are Way, Way More Expensive Than Street Parking Permits
Some might call it call it asphalt socialism, but public subsidies tend to only go one way in the United States: toward the car.
Improving Media Coverage of Road Collisions
A new set of guidelines will help the media improve the accuracy of traffic safety coverage.
Baltimore Bus Service Cuts Restored
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan rescinded a plan that would have cut bus service in the city of Baltimore to the bone.
European Tunneling Technique Cuts 50 Weeks From Construction Schedule for Brightline Extension
An innovative tunneling technique, commonly used in Europe, is catching on here in the United States.
Plan Bay Area 2050 Proposes 60% Telecommute Rates for Office Workers
A drastic and unprecedented measure included in the draft Plan Bay Area 2050, released this summer, would require 60 percent of all workers in Bay Area office jobs to telecommute.
Transit Sales Tax Hinges on Local Control in Suburban Atlanta
Gwinnett County voters living have rejected proposals to pay taxes for the MARTA transit system before, so the latest proposal for a transit sales tax is going to great lengths to prove its local control bonafides.
How COVID Impacts the Future of Light Rail in Austin
The budget for Austin’s massive transportation plan was cut by nearly a third in the wake of the pandemic, but a tax rate increase to help pay for it is still on the ballot for November.
Starting Today: The Idaho Stop Is Legal in Washington State
A law passed in March allowing people on bikes to treat stop signs as yield signs when conditions permit takes effect today in Washington State.
Local Opposition to Ohio DOT's I-77 Widening Plans Near Akron
The Ohio Department of Transportation wants to add lanes to Interstate 77 outside Akron to reduce congestion. Some local officials think the project will connect the region to the East Coast; others think the money would be better spent locally.
Tampa Area Spending $1 Million to Study the Hyperloop
Another regional transit authority isn't as skeptical about the Hyperloop as many critics in the transit and technology press.
Environmental Study Released for $7 Billion Houston Highway Project
The final environmental impact statement for the controversial North Houston Highway Improvement Project is available for public comment, courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.
Is it a COVID Car or Mask-Optional Car? Rail Commuters Decide
A midwestern commuter rail line found a unique, if controversial way to achieve 100 percent mask compliance on its trains: Set aside one car, though preferably not the bike car, for riders who opt to travel maskless.
Big Business in Portland Doesn't Want to Pay for Metro Transportation Funding Measure
A heated dispute over a $5 billion Metro transportation funding ballot measure has erupted between climate activists and a group representing Portland's big business interests.
Americans Aren't Likely to Start Driving at Pre-Pandemic Levels Soon
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and gasoline production trends point to VMT in the United States staying ten to 12 percent lower than in 2019 for the next few months, at least.
Richmond-to-Raleigh High-Speed Rail Gets Big Funding Win
Federal grant funding awarded recently takes a critical step toward making high-speed intercity rail service a reality between North Carolina and Virginia.
Union Station Redesign Gets a Placemaking Do Over
Criticisms of a draft plan to revamp D.C.'s Union Station have described the proposal as far too concerned with car storage.
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
