USA

Why Regulators Aren’t Taming the U.S. Megacar Crisis

By Kea Wilson | Jun 4, 2021

Federal regulators have known about the inherent dangers that large vehicles pose to vulnerable road users since the mid-1970s, but have done almost nothing to stop it — and they probably won’t because of who we are as a nation, a new legal research paper argues.

Talking Headways Podcast: More Highways, More Driving

By Jeff Wood | Jun 3, 2021

This week, we're talking about the disconnect between techno-optimists and urbanists in climate change approach (whoa!).

STUDY: AV Taxis Would Speed Up Climate Change

By Kea Wilson | Jun 3, 2021

Autonomous vehicles may make our skies dirtier, even if they’re shared and electric, a new study finds.

NYC

BEEP BEEP! StreetsPAC Endorsees for Borough President

By Eve Kessler | Jun 3, 2021

Let's meet the lucky three who have earned the street safety bump: Mark Levine (Manhattan), Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn) and Donovan Richards (Queens).

Report: 70 Percent of City Drivers are Speeding

By Gersh Kuntzman | Jun 3, 2021

They're fast — we're furious.

Amtrak And Gateway Leaders: We Love That Andrew Cuomo Hates This Project Now

By Dave Colon | Jun 1, 2021

It's a Gateway to confusion.

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

How Ped/Bike-Friendly Are Chicago’s Train Stations?

By John Greenfield | Jun 3, 2021

Unsurprisingly, he found that pedestrian- and bike-friendly stations tend to be located in denser parts of town, but they also correlate with wealthier and neighborhoods.

“School of Rock” Drummer Killed at Notorious Intersection

By John Greenfield | May 26, 2021

This second bike fatality at Logan/Western in 13 years underscores the fact that we can't wait any longer for safety improvements at this location.

What Really Happened to Helmut Jahn?

By John Greenfield | May 25, 2021

The Campton Hills chief of police corrects multiple false statements from a victim-blaming article about the tragedy by a former newspaper columnist.

SF

High-Speed Rail Needs an Olympic Deadline

By Roger Rudick | Jun 2, 2021

It's time to commit and finish California's HSR project all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles

Fiery Crash Underscores Need for Safe 8th Street

By Roger Rudick | Jun 1, 2021

West Oakland residents on 8th Street continue to plead with city officials to put down bollards, planters or any other emergency measures to stop the continual traffic violence perpetrated in their otherwise quiet neighborhood.

Why SFMTA Fails, in One Email Exchange

By Roger Rudick | May 26, 2021

"If the city's not going to respond appropriately to a traffic death a block from City Hall, where will it act?"

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

Legislature Doesn’t Want to Release Voter-Approved Prop 1A Funds to High Speed Rail… Yet?

By Melanie Curry | Jun 4, 2021

Ongoing, behind-the scenes negotiations between Governor Newsom, the Assembly, and the Senate on the 2021 budget continue this week in a push to meet the budget-signing deadline of June 30.

Legislative Update: A Quick Peek at the Current Status of Some Worthy Bills

By Melanie Curry | May 28, 2021

Next Friday, June 4, is the deadline for bills to be voted on by their house of origin.

Asm Patterson Blows Hot Air on “Highway Capacity Increase”

By Melanie Curry | May 26, 2021

As California is figuring out how to put the brakes on its habit of expanding highways everywhere, the pushback over long-planned "legacy" projects has begun.

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 […]