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
It’s Parking Madness Time — Send Us Your Parking Disasters!
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It's March and that means it's Parking Madness season at Streetsblog. Today we're launching our fifth annual tournament in search of North America's worst parking blight, and we're switching things up a little.
Coming Soon to Boston’s Massive Parking Crater: More Subsidized Parking
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Quick -- what should a city do to improve access to a rapidly developing area near a bus rapid transit station? In Boston, officials have settled on an expensive plan to subsidize driving and traffic.
How Engineering Standards for Cars Endanger People Crossing the Street
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At the Landmark Interchange by Fenway Park in Boston, people trying to walk across the street sometimes have to wait as long as two minutes for a signal. And that, says Northeastern University Civil Engineering Professor Peter Furth, is dangerous.
The Trouble With Uber
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It's been a bad few weeks for Uber, with CEO Travis Kalanick recently caught on tape in a shouting match with a driver over the company's diminishing pay. Joe Cortright at City Observatory says that beyond the public meltdown, there are a growing number of signs that Uber's business model just isn't sustainable.
Earl Blumenauer Introduces Vision Zero Bill in House
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U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer has introduced legislation in the House that would help cities establish Vision Zero policies aimed at eliminating traffic deaths, reports Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland. “Something has to change," Blumenauer said. "We have to do better and finally treat this public health crisis."
Win Back Transit Riders By Speeding Up Bus Boarding
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One surefire way for U.S. transit agencies to improve bus service is to streamline the boarding process by enabling riders to get on at any door. In a new report, NACTO makes the case for all-door boarding and looks at how American transit agencies are moving forward on implementation.
Austin May Cut Parking Requirements By Nearly 50 Percent
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Austin is in the process of overhauling its zoning code -- an initiative called CodeNext -- and one of the most promising aspects is a major reduction in parking requirements. If the current draft holds up, the effects on walkability, housing affordability, and water quality could be impressive.
Why Do We Still Pay People to Drive to Work?
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The federal government spends $7 billion annually subsidizing parking for car commuters -- almost as much as it spends annually on transit. No wonder cities are so congested. If we're going to cut traffic in major cities, parking subsidies have got to go.
Transit Ridership Falling Everywhere — But Not in Cities With Redesigned Bus Networks
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Transit ridership decreased in almost every major American city last year. But there were two notable exceptions -- Seattle and Houston. Those two outliers share one thing in common: In addition to expanding light rail, they're both redesigning their bus networks.
What If State DOTs Listened to Cities Before Starting Urban Projects?
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It's not uncommon for bitter disputes to develop when state DOTs come into urban neighborhoods and start making changes to state-controlled streets. Pennsylvania DOT has a different idea: Rather than just muscle everything through, the agency will incorporate local ideas before engineering and design work gets started.
Why Is Portland’s Transit Chief Advocating for More Highways?
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After suffering an embarrassing defeat a year ago, the Oregon highway lobby is rattling the can for more money again. They have a list of highways they want to widen, and they say Portland's economy depends on it. In addition to the usual suspects, the highway cheerleaders include Neil McFarlane, general manager of TriMet, the regional transit agency.
Why Seattle Should Boot Cars Off Its Busiest Street for Buses
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Seattle is booming, and in downtown, transit has been absorbing most of the city's growth in travel. With the streets full during rush hour, the only way to increase capacity is to reallocate street space from cars to more compact modes like buses and bikes.