Streetsblog USA

With more American cities raising impressive sums to expand transit, the question of how to invest effectively is increasingly essential. So far, few places have hit on a policy combination that makes transit more useful to more people. To help cities "get transit right," Streetsblog is launching a new series about which transit strategies are working and which are not.

Most places in the U.S. still use 20th century metrics to measure the performance of transportation systems. The emphasis is still on moving cars, not improving transit service or reducing traffic injuries. One of the exceptions is DC, where the DOT is letting people assess streets according to a different set of priorities.

Perhaps nowhere has the tactic of trashing cities to win elections played out more starkly than in Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker blows his dog whistle by portraying Milwaukee as a welfare case. But Walker's got it all wrong: New data shows Milwaukee's wealth is in fact being siphoned off by the rest of the state.

Transforming from a car city to a transit city is no easy task. Just ask Denver and Los Angeles, which have spent billions to build rail systems but struggled to reduce solo car commuting rates. But Seattle shows it can be done: The share of downtown commuters who drive alone dropped from 35 percent in 2010 to 30 percent last year.

Watch out: The leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is making a push for an infrastructure spending spree, even though the current federal transportation funding law doesn't expire for several years. Advocates will have to guard against a new road-building binge.

Mayors frequently face pressure from business interests to remove bus riders from downtown areas. But that's a big mistake, says transit consultant Jarrett Walker.

Columbus, Ohio, is following Houston's lead and overhauling its bus network to make the system more useful to more people.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been under fire for its embarrassing management failures. Most damaging was the revelation last year that the agency lied about the carbon reduction impact of a big $343 million transportation package it was pushing. The package failed to pass.

With an executive order yesterday, Donald Trump followed through on his threat to punish cities where local police do not report undocumented immigrants. Funds for transportation, housing, and other programs may (or may not) be at stake, but mayors of sanctuary cities around the country made it clear they are not backing down.