How Sprawl Worsens California’s Terrible Drought
California is in the throes of a drought that Governor Jerry Brown called "unprecedented in recorded history."
April 10, 2015
Is the Lord For or Against a Texas County Road Bond? Opinions Mixed
Things are really getting heated in Montgomery County, Texas, just outside Houston, over a proposal to issue $350 million in bonds to maintain and expand roads. Like fire-and-brimstone heated.
April 9, 2015
The Stakes Are High for Transit as Congress Dithers Over Transpo Funds
"Stand up for transportation" rallies are happening right now all over the country, demanding Congress put an end to the uncertainty surrounding federal transportation funding.
April 9, 2015
Seattle’s Making It Easier for Families With Kids to Ride the Bus
Traveling on transit with a toddler is challenging enough. But transit agency policies can make the situation a lot worse.
April 8, 2015
Designing Roads for Higher “Level of Service” Isn’t About Safety
Traffic engineers have an maddening tendency to hold out "Level of Service" -- a measure of motorist delay -- like a trump card. We need to widen this road, they'll say, because otherwise drivers will angrily stew in traffic, and then there might be "accidents," or some other dire consequence.
January 7, 2015
Mother Jones Rang in 2015 By Blaming Drunk People for Getting Hit By Cars
This was the New Year's revelry advice from Mother Jones, the left-wing, reader-supported magazine: Whatever you do, don't walk anywhere after drinking. That's because, Maddie Oatman writes, it makes you more likely to be struck by a driver.
January 6, 2015
Oklahoma City Weighs 3-Foot Passing Rule — For Cyclists, Not Drivers
Lots of places have three-foot passing laws requiring motorists to give cyclists a safe buffer while overtaking them. Now one Oklahoma City legislator, Eighth Ward City Council Member Pat Ryan, has come up with a new, passive-aggressive spin on the passing law.
January 6, 2015
Can Seattle Stop Its Highway Tunnel Boondoggle Before It’s Too Late?
It's been one year since the world's largest tunnel boring machine, "Bertha," got stuck 120 feet beneath Seattle. Before it broke down, the colossal machine had excavated just 1,000 feet of the two-mile tube that's supposed to house a new, $3.1 billion underground highway to replace an aging elevated road called the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
January 5, 2015
Looking Ahead to the Year in Transit Expansion
After significant transit construction in the United States in 2014, the next year will see another impressive round of groundbreakings and new openings. That's according to Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic, who has catalogued major transit expansion projects throughout the U.S. and Canada for the last six years.
January 5, 2015
To Build Safer Streets, Cities Have to Challenge State DOTs
Have you ever heard this line from your local transportation officials? "We'd like to redesign this street for safety, but the state won't allow it." Often, that is indeed the truth.
December 22, 2014