Cars are a very inefficient transportation technology for too many reasons to count. They take up huge amounts of space but get driven around mostly empty — the average private car in the U.S. carries only 1.6 people. A lot of the time, people drive distances that are short enough to easily walk or bike — 28 percent of car trips […]

Cleveland’s first zoning code was written in 1929, and since then it’s been amended in ways that have eroded the walkability of the city. City leaders acknowledge that building compact, mixed-use neighborhoods has basically become illegal under the current zoning code. But in an exciting development, Cleveland is looking to overhaul its regulations to make the city a […]

Public meetings hosted by state DOTs can be very frustrating. People who want safer streets and take the time to attend are often deluged with highly technical excuses about why their suggestions won’t fly. Andy Singer at Streets.mn, known for his excellent cartoon work, says he’s done for good. He’s never attending another Minnesota DOT meeting after devoting “at least […]

A big part of reducing car traffic involves using cars more efficiently. Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are supposedly assisting in this transition by making car ownership less necessary. But even though both companies operate carpool-type services, most of their business still comes from single passenger trips. Other ride-hailing companies are all about shared trips. Network blog Cap’n Transit has […]

According to a recent analysis by the Century Foundation, during the recession and recovery Cleveland transit riders endured more bus service cuts than any other major system in the country. But just a few years later Cleveland transit riders are facing further cuts, and a fare hike to boot. A bad economy, an unfriendly state government […]

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced this week that U.S. DOT is seeking applications for $500 million in TIGER grants — the eighth round of funding since the program was launched in 2009. TIGER is small compared to other federal programs, but it has quickly become an important source of funding for projects like the Indianapolis Cultural Trail or Tampa’s Riverwalk […]

Missouri lawmakers are really grasping for ways to keep the highway money flowing, after voters rejected a regressive sales tax hike backed by road builders in 2014. Richard Bose at NextSTL points out that the key source of funding — the state gas tax — keeps losing purchasing power thanks to inflation. In the above chart, he contrasts the […]

Albuquerque is at a pivotal moment that could determine whether it becomes more a walkable and transit-oriented city. The mayor, a Republican, is backing a major bus rapid transit project called ART along the city’s main corridor, Central Avenue. The project was recently recommended for funding in the Obama administration’s budget proposal. The added momentum for the project […]