USA

U.S. Cities Have More Car-Free Households Than You Think

By Kea Wilson | Oct 22, 2021

Even the most transit-poor U.S. cities have significant numbers of neighborhoods where almost no one drives — and where they're located often suggests a dire need for more transit to serve the under-resourced residents who need it most.

Talking Headways Podcast: How Partisanship Influences Transportation Reform

By Jeff Wood | Oct 21, 2021

This week we're joined by Kelcie Ralph, Nick Klein, and Calvin Thigpen, who talk about their recent paper "Political Partisanship and Transportation Reform." We chat about why they wrote the paper, what they found out about partisanship and transportation policy, and why actors across the political spectrum have little understanding of induced demand.

America’s Most Toxic Car Ads: Infiniti vs. Cadillac

By Streetsblog | Oct 21, 2021

When most people think about "family values," they don't usually think about violent driver aggression — unless they've bought into American car culture, that is.

NYC

NYPD Neglects 311 Complaints About Driver Misconduct

By Jesse Coburn | Oct 21, 2021

NYPD cops now close out thousands of 311 complaints about driver misconduct in mere minutes, contributing to a culture of lawlessness on city streets, a Streetsblog investigation into more than 26 million 311 complaints shows.

OPINION: NYC Needs an Inter-Borough Bike Highway

By Oscar Fishman | Oct 20, 2021

Unused railway tracks must be recycled to serve the community by serving cyclists.

Vision Zero Cities Op-Ed: How To Manage a City of Eight Million

By Elizabeth Goldstein | Oct 19, 2021

New York needs a 'director of the public realm,' argue officials at two important municipal not-for-profits.

LA

Anatomy of an Officer-Involved Explosion: a Post-Mortem on LAPD’s E. 27th Street Fireworks Blast

By Sahra Sulaiman | Aug 11, 2021

A year ago, a councilmember co-authored a motion to shift $150mil from LAPD's budget. A month ago, LAPD called everyone but his office to watch them detonate fireworks in his district. The explosion rocked the city.

About that Bus Shelter Tweet: Street Services’ Demo Draws Attention to Sorry State of L.A. Bus Stops

By Damien Newton | Jul 23, 2021

Earlier today, a tweet from Metro in support of the Bureau of Street Services’ pop-ups on potential bus shelter designs featuring the above image quickly drew a lot of, er, shade. What about when more than two people are waiting for the bus? https://t.co/nwzwnm9zCM — TransitCenter (@TransitCenter) July 22, 2021 People across the twittersphere dunked […]

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 […]

CHICAGO

What should drivers do to avoid blocking bikeways – especially bike-share workers?

By John Greenfield | Oct 22, 2021

When the person clogging the bikeway is employed by a city-owned bike-share system, an entity whose entire purpose is to make bicycling easier, this kind of blockage can feel like a betrayal.

4 months after racially-charged Council battle, signs for DuSable LSD unveiled

By John Greenfield | Oct 21, 2021

Another fight regarding the coastal highway is on the horizon, as the city and state prepare to reconstruct North Lake Shore Drive.

Why Chicago Should Clear Sidewalk Snow

By Michael Podgers | Oct 20, 2021

Better Streets organizer and local planner, Michael Podgers, makes the case for municipal sidewalk clearance in Chicago.

SF

California Needs to Up its Train Game

By Roger Rudick | Oct 23, 2021

San Joaquin, Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner--new umbrella group wants to promote state's model of operating trains. How about Japan or France instead?

Update on Possible Richmond-San Rafael Bike Closure

By Roger Rudick | Oct 20, 2021

Sometimes even when advocates win, they can't win. The lane may stay--but the approaches might be closed

Why Painted Bike Lanes are Immoral, in One Video

By Roger Rudick | Oct 19, 2021

Leaving vulnerable road users in this kind of mortal danger is abhorrent and unacceptable. Officials who plan, approve, and install them need to do a gut check

DENVER

We Can’t Ignore the Needs of Non-Drivers With Disabilities

By Kea Wilson | Aug 30, 2021

People with disabilities who don't drive are being left behind by accessibility efforts that ignore their unique and diverse needs — and centering them in city-building efforts can carry benefits for everyone, a new study argues.

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.

CALIFORNIA

California Needs to Up its Train Game

By Roger Rudick | Oct 22, 2021

San Joaquin, Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner--new umbrella group wants to promote state's model of operating trains. How about Japan or France instead?

Business Lobbyists Ask Governor to Set Aside Worker Protections, Clean Air Rules

By Melanie Curry | Oct 22, 2021

Cargo backup in SoCal ports taken as an excuse to push anti-regulation agenda

LA City Council Moves to Implement New State Laws on Speed Limits, Bus Lane Enforcement, Slow Streets

By Melanie Curry | Oct 21, 2021

Councilmembers Bonin, Krekorian, and Koretz get things started after Newsom signs bills into law

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 […]