Angie Schmitt
Angie is a Cleveland-based writer with a background in planning and newspaper reporting. She has been writing about cities for Streetsblog for six years.
Recent Posts
Will Arlington Streetcar Foes Support BRT Instead?
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News broke yesterday that Arlington, Virginia, is abandoning plans for a 7-mile streetcar along Columbia Pike. Proponents had advanced the streetcar for more than a decade and had secured some $65 million in state support for the $333 million project. But this month’s election delivered a crushing blow, writes David Alpert at Greater Greater Washington. Going forward, […]
The Indiana Toll Road and the Dark Side of Privately Financed Highways
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This is the first post in a three-part series on the Indiana Toll Road and the use of private finance to build and maintain highways. In September, the operator of the Indiana Toll Road filed for bankruptcy, eight years after inking a $3.8 billion, 75-year concession for the road with the administration of Governor Mitch Daniels. […]
Why Is Obama Leaving Top Federal Transportation Posts Unfilled?
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We’ve heard a lot of good policy points on transportation from President Obama during his six years in office, and we’ve seen some progress, too. But transportation reform has never been a top priority for the president. Here’s an example from Network blog Systemic Failure: The Obama administration is leaving top federal transportation positions unfilled. There […]
There’s a Difference Between Bike Share and Bike Rental
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Dallas is in the process of rolling out a “bike-share” system. According to the Dallas Morning News, the city installed the first two stations in a local park this week. The project got a boost from a $125,000 grant, and the plan is to expand the system piece by piece. But due to its pricing […]
How Sprawl Hits Atlanta Residents Right in the Wallet
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There’s no shortage of good reasons to drive less, but maybe the most compelling personal incentive is that it can save you a ton of money. Unfortunately, in a lot of places, making major changes to your travel habits is not that simple. Darin at ATL Urbanist says that in his city, most people are essentially trapped […]
More Evidence That Adding Bike Infrastructure Boosts Biking
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If you build it, they will bike. That’s the upshot of a new study from researchers at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, examining the effect of bike infrastructure. Researchers charted bike commuting rates across the Minneapolis area, finding, not surprisingly, that the biggest increases happened near the biggest investments in safe, comfortable bike infrastructure. The research […]
Portland Gearing Up for Vision Zero. Will Oregon DOT Cooperate?
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A group of Portland leaders are headed to New York City this week for the Vision Zero for Cities Symposium. As Tanya reported earlier this week, the city is formulating its own Vision Zero strategy, seeking to entirely eliminate traffic fatalities. Within city government there seems to be a lot of support for setting street […]
A Big Hidden Subsidy for Highways That Everyone Forgets
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Subsidies for driving in America are so numerous and layered, it can be hard to sort them out. We have general funds paying for roads, tax breaks for big oil companies, free parking nearly everywhere. David Levinson at the Transportationist picks out another one that’s a lot more obscure, but still substantial: The hidden subsidy is […]
Louisville Plans 100 Miles of Bike Boulevards
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What would it take to make Louisville a bike-friendly city? Bike Louisville, a city agency, is proposing a network of traffic-calmed, low-stress streets to fill gaps in the current bike network and increase safety. Network blog Broken Sidewalk describes the plan for roughly 100 miles of “bike boulevards” that prioritize active transportation: Bike Louisville is finishing the […]
Will Second-Ring Suburbs Choose Evolution or Decline?
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Second-ring suburbs are at a crossroads, says Nathaniel Hood at Streets.mn. These aren’t streetcar suburbs, but those that came after, where every home had a garage, the product of an era when driving was considered a symbol of American prosperity. With infrastructure maintenance costs rising with age, and no room for more sprawl, these areas must either “build up” […]
What’s Holding Back DC’s Bill to Help Crash Victims Recover Medical Costs?
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Street safety advocates in Washington, DC, have been pushing for an important legal reform that would help pedestrians and bicyclists injured in car collisions. The DC Council will today consider a bill to reform the definition of “contributory negligence,” which currently makes it almost impossible for victims to recover their medical costs after a collision. […]
Raleigh’s Election Night Transit Sweep Likely to Clear the Way for Light Rail
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Since 1995, leaders in the Raleigh-Durham region of North Carolina have dreamed about connecting its major centers via light rail. The results of Tuesday night’s election might finally make it happen. The light rail plan calls for links between the three downtowns of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Getting three separate areas, and three separate […]