Streetsblog Network

Detroit’s transit system is in crisis. The region’s fractious transit network was highlighted last year by the story of James Robertson — “Detroit’s walking man” — whose one-way, 23-mile commute consists of two bus routes and 10-plus miles of walking. The Detroit region has been struggling to create a unified city-suburb regional transit agency for the last few years. Next … Continued

Louisville is trying to get a handle on pedestrian safety. An average of 16 pedestrians are killed on the city’s streets annually, and the last few years have been getting worse. The city has received funding from the federal government for a three-year safety campaign dubbed “Look Alive Louisville.” Branden Klayko at Network blog Broken Sidewalk has been … Continued

Gracen Johnson at Strong Towns has tapped into something universal with her post “Places I Don’t Want to Sit.” The above photo sums it up nicely: lousy, leftover spaces with public amenities grafted on as an afterthought. Since the whole surrounding parking lot is so hostile to people, why would anyone want to sit there? There’s an epidemic … Continued

Today on the Streetsblog Network, Mary Newsom at the Naked City has a classic story about a dangerous street in desperate need of a design overhaul, and a DOT that’s only willing to try out tiny, cosmetic changes. Charlotte is out with its annual list of high-crash intersections, and not for the first time, the … Continued

Five years after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spiked the ARC transit tunnel to redirect money to roads, politicians are finally discussing how to go about upgrading rail capacity between Jersey and Midtown Manhattan, currently limited to a pair of century-old tunnels under the Hudson River. But just about every announcement related to the proposed Gateway Project comes with a … Continued

What if the United States treated traffic violence like the public health issue it is? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that would entail building bike infrastructure and slowing down drivers. Last week the CDC released a report on the long-term mortality rate among U.S. cyclists. The study covers 38 years of U.S. DOT data … Continued

On Sunday, Houston debuted an entirely new and improved bus system. The city didn’t pass a new transit levy. Instead it put existing resources to use in a way that is designed to maximize frequent service and boost ridership. With the help of consultant Jarrett Walker (of Network blog Human Transit), Houston’s METRO changed nearly … Continued

We have an update on one of the year’s biggest stories on the Network. Remember when Maryland Governor Larry Hogan killed the long-planned Baltimore Red Line so he could spend the funds on road projects? Washington says that decision is about cost the state $100 million in federal funds. Progressive Railroading reports that U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski asked Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx whether … Continued

  Does Atlanta want to be a sustainable, transit-oriented city? The answer has a lot to do with how it addresses parking. Following up on “Atlanta’s Parking Addiction,” a recent column in the alt-weekly Creative Loafing, Darin at ATL Urbanist points out that much of the city’s new downtown streetcar route is lined with vehicle storage, rather than … Continued