USA

20 is Plenty: Org Puts Up $18M for the ‘Speed Vaccine’

By Kea Wilson | May 18, 2021

A massive coalition of global health authorities, government leaders and advocates are calling on communities around the world to inoculate themselves against the other pandemic that’s killing their residents during COVID-19: speeding drivers.

Can the MUTCD Catch Up with the New Mobility Revolution?

By Kea Wilson | May 17, 2021

Sure, amending the MUTCD is long overdue. But it's also time to set strong standards that go beyond actual street signage and into the digital realm, advocates say.

New Bill Would Help Measure Transportation Access for Non-Drivers

By Kea Wilson | May 13, 2021

A new bill would give U.S. communities money to analyze how easy — or difficult — it is for residents to access the destinations they need most, and how their mode of transportation, race, income, age, disability, and other factors that impact their basic mobility.

NYC

OPINION: The Port Authority’s Wrong Moves at Newark Airport

By Bob Previdi | May 16, 2021

The agency plans to make some improvements to the AirTrain and extend the PATH train — but it should bring the PATH directly to the terminals.

OPINION: Treat Traffic Violence Like Other Violence

By Lucy Lang | May 15, 2021

New Yorkers should not have to choose between ending mass incarceration and safety, says Manhattan DA candidate Lucy Lang. Restorative-justice techniques can help achieve both.

NYC Transit: Here’s Your Ranked Choice Mayoral Ballot For Candidates Who Will Flood The Subways With Cops

By Christopher Robbins | May 14, 2021

Political ads are banned in the subway, but they're apparently kosher for an MTA press release.

LA

Autistic Man Shot Within 83 Seconds of First Contact by LASD: Why Is this Still Happening?

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 8, 2021

Eighty-three seconds. That’s how much time passed between the moment deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) first stood at the door of the Cudahy home of Isaias Cervantes, a 25-year-old autistic man who is hard of hearing and suffering from depression and anxiety, and the firing of the shot that may have […]

Environmental Protection Agency Nixes Metro and Caltrans’ Current Plan for Expanding Lower 710 Freeway

By Joe Linton | May 4, 2021

Dealing a blow to Metro's effort to fast-track expansion of the lower 710 Freeway, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated that Metro follow air quality laws.

Families of Those Killed by LASD Describe Ongoing Harassment by Deputies as Part of a “Triple Assault”

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 13, 2021

"I don't have another life to give. I don't have any more breaths to take. I don't have any more hashtags. I don't have any more energy to be marching with my fist up in the air [only] to come back to the same thing," declared Khadijah Shabazz. "Right now, it needs to be all broken down, torn down, and started all over again."

CHICAGO

CDOT is expanding its “Learn to Ride” bike classes for adults this summer

By Courtney Cobbs | May 13, 2021

The Chicago Department of Transportation will be hosting their regular "Learn to Ride" classes along with an advanced level course and a class designed to increase confidence in heavy traffic.

Get your Helmut on: Honor architect and fallen cyclist Jahn with these bike rides

By John Greenfield | May 12, 2021

There are already a few different ways you can pay tribute to Jahn on your bicycle, including a self-guided tour of his downtown designs.

Architect Helmut Jahn Dies in Bike Crash

By John Greenfield | May 11, 2021

While Jahn reportedly ran a stop sign on his bike, all the facts of his death aren't clear yet, and he deserves our empathy.

SF

Podcast: Saving COVID’s Car-Free Streets

By Roger Rudick | May 14, 2021

If there's been a silver lining to the COVID crisis, it's certainly that for the first time some space between buildings has been wrestled away from the all-but exclusive use of motorists. The Cool Solution podcast did a great piece about a few of the scrappy activists

Panelists Continue Push For Integrated Transit

By Roger Rudick | May 13, 2021

A rational, universal fare structure and coordinated schedules that put the customer first? Sounds great--but how do you do it?

Supervisor’s Comparison of Car-Free JFK to Jim Crow is “Offensive”

By Roger Rudick | May 12, 2021

Trying to stop motorists from using a park as a freeway isn't comparable to segregation. Supervisor Shamann Walton is either ignorant or intentionally misleading on an indefensible position

DENVER

Commentary: How a new emphasis on safer streets could drive big change in Colorado

By Streetsblog Denver | May 4, 2021

Colorado's wowntowns, main streets, and the urban arterials that have become so many of our main streets should be vibrant community centers, but people need to feel safe accessing them, no matter how they get there.

Commentary: Best Foot Forward

By Streetsblog Denver | Apr 26, 2021

Dear Denver: We met on Walk Score. Hello, again. I’m the woman who was looking to move from a mountain town of 450 people to you – you with public transportation and a large public library system and the symphony and museums and movie theaters and neighborhoods to walk.

Commentary: 100 Years of School Safety Patrol Coming to Denver

By Streetsblog Denver | Apr 21, 2021

This guest commentary is by Cassie Tanner, Deputy Director of Public Affairs for AAA Colorado. You can connect with Cassie on Twitter @CassStenstrom and on LinkedIn. At AAA Colorado, we are proud partners in Vision Zero initiatives in Denver and across Colorado, and we’re even prouder to promote safe, non-automotive mobility whenever we can. After […]

CALIFORNIA

A Tragic Story, Used to Oppose Stop-as-Yield Bill on Safety Grounds, May Not Be True

By Melanie Curry | May 18, 2021

A "safety advocate" rewrote the story of her friend's tragic death and has been using it to bolster for her personal "safety" agenda.

Governor Newsom Proposes $500M Bump to Active Transportation

By Melanie Curry | May 14, 2021

It's not the $2B requested by the CA Transportation Commission and advocates, and it's not even near what he proposes for litter cleanup, but it would help

San Diego Making “Modest But Real” Gains on Vision Zero Goal

By Damien Newton | May 12, 2021

In 2020, the pandemic resulted in a steep decline in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and serious injuries in San Diego. Despite the decline in severe injuries and fatalities, harm to bicyclists and pedestrians remained high, with 27 bicycle and pedestrian fatalities and 58 serious injuries.

SOUTHEAST

How I Respond to “Atlanta Is a Car Town, Not a Cycling and Transit Town”

By ATL Urbanist | Jan 2, 2018

A commenter on a recent post of mine mentioned a couple of pretty common criticisms about expectations for growth in cycling and transit in Atlanta.

What Makes a Good City? You Need the Right Codes

By David Walters | Dec 1, 2017

How can we stop design and planning mistakes from damaging our city? Part 2 in a series of illustrated essays on urban design.

Suburban Exclusion of MARTA and Access to the Braves Stadium

By ATL Urbanist | Nov 13, 2017

There is a way to get to the Braves stadium by using Cobb County’s transit service. But that service is nowhere near as extensive as MARTA and doesn’t meet the needs of the people who live in suburban poverty.

OHIO

What’s Really Behind GCRTA’s Falling Ridership Levels?

By Tim Kovach | Dec 20, 2017

The past year has been eventful, to say least, for public transit in Northeast Ohio.

Driving Is the Problem, Not the Solution

By Tim Kovach | Dec 15, 2017

We’re officially in the middle of the holiday season, which can only mean one thing – that’s right, the 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) data for 2016 came out last week.

COTA to Interview Four Candidates for CEO Post

By Brent Warren | Dec 13, 2017

Four candidates will be interviewed to be the next CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority.

STL

Why You Should Go to the Chouteau Greenway Events this Week

By William Smith | Jan 3, 2018

If you haven’t yet heard of Great Rivers Greenway (GRG) or specifically the Chouteau Greenway, you’re missing out on one of the most exciting developments planned in St. Louis.

Take Parking Away From Treasurer’s Office

By Steve Patterson | Jan 3, 2018

Former St. Louis treasurer Larry Williams reminds me of a small town version of New York's Robert Moses (1888-1981), using the state legislature to give him money and power while also remaining free of oversight.

How Much Do People in Missouri Bicycle?

By Brent Hugh | Dec 6, 2017

How much do people in Missouri bicycle? Is the amount of bicycling in Missouri growing? How to Missouri communities compare with other U.S. cities and with major cities of the world?

TEXAS

The One Little Rule That Decides Where Austin’s Towers Build Parking

By Dan Keshet | Jan 2, 2018

Not every tower in downtown Austin looks exactly the same, but there is one defining characteristic that describes almost all of them: parking. Most towers rest on top of what they call in the industry a parking plinth, the tower base where folks store their cars.

Remembering Pedestrian Pete

By Leah Binkovitz | Dec 13, 2017

Irascible, ornery, unconventional, Pedestrian Pete pushed Houston to be better and embrace walkable urbanism.

Harvey to Be a Turning Point for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development in Houston

By Raj Mankad | Dec 7, 2017

Rendering of New Hope Housing project on Harrisburg. Courtesy: GSMA.The urban ambitions of our government leaders — so easy to dismiss in the past as nice words with no budget — may get a serious infusion of funds because of Harvey. The Texas delegation that Governor Abbott took to Washington D.C. lobbied for $61 billion beyond what the state already expects to receive from […]