Streetsblog Network

Charles Marohn at Strong Towns has posted a pretty epic analysis of 150-plus years of rail and highway expansion in the United States. The upshot of this historical overview: Marohn argues that raising more money for transportation using what he calls "slush funds" -- including the federal gas tax -- will only prolong the era of wasting huge sums on unnecessary roads and other public infrastructure.

What do proponents of healthy cities -- or smart growth, if you prefer -- really want? Is it top-down government bureaucracy interfering with everyone's lives, or is it more choices? Like the choice not to live in tract suburbia and drive to work alone each day.

What's the cost of wide, high-speed, uninviting roads in urban neighborhoods?

Residents of urban neighborhoods across the country are increasingly advocating for lower speed limits and automated traffic enforcement. As the above graphic illustrates, the stakes are high for pedestrians.

The Netherlands has the best bike infrastructure in the world. But bikeways that may seem first-rate to everyone else no longer cut it for the Dutch. They have made cycling so mainstream that people are demanding even better options -- and the government is delivering, reports David Hembrow at A View from the Cycle Path:

A park road just for walking and biking -- that's no longer a fantasy in Pittsburgh.

Chuck Marohn is an engineer and planner who spent years dispensing the conventional wisdom to cities and towns before arriving at the conclusion that it was fundamentally, disastrously wrong.

The business model for big box stores like Walmart just doesn't seem to be holding up quite like it did for so long. Wall Street analysts are suggesting some sweeping changes for the retail giant with the enormous parking lots. Chuck Marohn at Strong Towns points us to this snippet from CBS News:

As protected bike lanes become more widespread in the United States, creating physical separation from motor vehicle traffic that makes more people comfortable cycling on city streets, advocates are starting to push for even safer bikeway designs.