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 housing […]

If you have a well-worn copy of Ralph Nader’s seminal “Unsafe at Any Speed” on your bookshelf — and who doesn’t? — you know that in the mid 20th century U.S. auto companies were hostile to the idea of designing safer cars. Introducing basic features like padded dashboards and collapsible steering columns, the thinking went, would […]

No one was hurt when a Metro train derailed in downtown DC yesterday, but the incident wreaked havoc on the morning commute — for transit users and motorists. David Alpert of Greater Greater Washington said the derailment and ensuing Metro service interruption “surely contributed” to gridlock throughout the downtown area, as people who would normally […]

In the early 20th century “chauffeur” was synonymous with “motorist,” and by 1906 Life Magazine had had enough of them. Doug Gordon at Brooklyn Spoke dug up a column titled “Get After the Chauffeurs,” in which Life reported on a two-vehicle crash in Central Park that killed several people, including the driver who caused the collision. “That one got […]

Today in bad ideas, Bike Pittsburgh reports that Pennsylvania State Representative Anthony DeLuca wants state traffic code to mandate that anyone riding a bike at night wear reflective clothing. Bike Pittsburgh points out that this type of law opens the door to selective enforcement and harassment by police. Requiring people to purchase and carry special apparel […]

We wrote a couple of months back about how Amsterdam prioritized people over cars only after ceding city streets to motor vehicles. Today, David Hembrow at A View From the Cycle Path has more on that subject. As in the U.S. and other European countries, people race cars in The Netherlands. “Dutch people like cars […]

“Something big is definitely brewing in Canada.” That’s the word from Michael Andersen at People for Bikes, which monitors Twitter for news on protected bike lanes around the English-speaking world. Vancouver’s investment in bike infrastructure paid off with a 64 percent spike in bike traffic from 2013 to this year. And Andersen says Canada as a whole has […]

Washington Governor Jay Inslee isn’t taking the pill. Last week Inslee signaled he would go ahead with a low-carbon fuel standard for the state, which would have triggered a legislative “poison pill” — a concession to Republican lawmakers — to eliminate billions in funds for transit and street safety initiatives. It was a Faustian bargain […]

The Washington Post reports that Walmart, the retail behemoth whose name is synonymous with big-box sprawl, is looking to attract young people to work at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. To make that happen, the company is investing in amenities to make its hometown — population 40,000 — more urban. To remain competitive, the Post says, Walmart must draw professionals “who might […]

Promising news today from Toronto. Todd Harrison at Spacing Toronto says the city’s bike-share system is expanding thanks to an infusion of funds from Ontario. The best part: Docking stations will be sited near transit stops to bridge “the first and last kilometres.” Harrison sees the move as an indication that Bike Share Toronto will, for the […]

By the end of the 20th century, the Historic Peninsula of Istanbul had a serious pollution problem. Writing for TheCityFix, Tu?çe Üzümo?lu says air quality was so bad that historic sites and monuments were degrading. When a UNESCO study identified poor transportation infrastructure as a factor, the local government pedestrianized streets throughout the district. Ten […]

As we reported yesterday, it looks like Washington Governor Jay Inslee may move forward with a low-carbon fuel standard, triggering a legislative “poison pill” that would eliminate funds for transit and street safety initiatives. The Seattle Times reports that Inslee is gambling on restoring those funds at a later date, but Tom Fucoloro at Seattle Bike Blog […]