Streetsblog Network
67 Congress Members Tell Feds: Measure the Movement of People, Not Cars
The federal government hands states about $40 billion a year for transportation, money they can basically spend however they want. The result in many places is a lot of expensive, traffic-inducing highways that get clogged with cars soon after they’re finished. Can measuring the effect of all this spending lead to better decisions? U.S. DOT … Continued
July 28, 2016
Can a Major Minneapolis Transit Project Survive Regional Dysfunction?
The Twin Cities’ Orange Line bus rapid transit project ought to be a slam dunk. According to Sean Hayford O’Leary at streets.mn, it will provide frequent service and travel times similar to the region’s successful light rail lines, which carrying tens of thousands of passengers daily. At just $150 million to construct, the Orange Line … Continued
July 27, 2016
Tim Kaine Took a Stand Against Cul-de-Sacs
Even though the Democratic Party’s strongholds are in cities, we probably won’t hear much about urban transportation and development policy at the Democratic National Convention this week. City issues seldom get much play when political parties are focused on scooping up swing votes in the suburbs. But Hillary Clinton’s VP choice, Tim Kaine, is the … Continued
July 26, 2016
Will More Bike-Share Systems Opt for “Smart Bikes,” Not “Smart Docks”?
When Portland launched its bike-share system last week, it became the biggest American city to go live with a “smart bike” model. The system allows users to drop off bikes anywhere within the service area, as opposed to the more prevalent “smart dock” model, where users pick up and return bikes only at fixed stations. … Continued
July 25, 2016
Elon Musk’s “Master Plan” Won’t Work for Cities
Earlier this week tech entrepreneur Elon Musk released his updated “master plan” for Tesla, including some thoughts on how autonomous mini-buses will supplant today’s transit and “take people all the way to their destination.” Like every Musk pronouncement, this one got a lot of buzz — but it also drew some healthy skepticism. One reason … Continued
July 22, 2016
Portland’s Long-Awaited Bike-Share System Gets Off to an Impressive Start
Tuesday was a very exciting day in Portland, as the city celebrated the launch of its long-awaited bike-share system, Biketown. The network makes 1,000 bikes available in an eight-square mile area of the city. Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland shot these photos of the opening festivities and crunched some numbers from the first 24 hours … Continued
July 21, 2016
Seattle’s New Park-and-Rides Cost a Fortune But Won’t Move Many People
Seattle area voters will vote this November on a $53 billion transit expansion package. But along with new light rail lines stretching across the region, Seattle will also be getting a publicly owned parking empire. In total, the plan calls for $661 million in spending on parking at transit stations. At an astounding $80,000 per … Continued
July 20, 2016
Houston FTW: Transit Execs Aim to Fix Sorry Bus Stops
The lousy state of American bus stops is a serious problem. Transit riders say bad waiting environments are one of their top concerns, according to a recent survey and report by TransitCenter [PDF]. That’s why Streetsblog is highlighting some of the sorriest bus stops in the nation this month. Poor walking conditions and uncomfortable bus … Continued
July 19, 2016
Focusing Only on Commutes Overlooks Women’s Transportation Needs
Commuting accounts for only about 15 percent of trips in the United States. But when planners make transportation infrastructure decisions, they often base them on commuting patterns, not other types of trips. One side effect of this convention is that it undervalues trips by women, writes U.K. blogger Katja Leyendecker, and contributes to a built … Continued
July 18, 2016
A 50-Year-Old Cartoon Satirizing Car Culture Still Rings True Today
If aliens came to Earth, who would they assume is in control — people or cars? Cars, of course. That’s the premise of this 50-year-old animation dug up by Alex Ihnen at NextSTL. It’s worth noting, says Ihnen, that the piece was made by Canadians: It tells the story of aliens viewing earth and concluding … Continued
July 15, 2016