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
Abandoning Maryland’s Purple and Red Lines Would Cost a Lot
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Since his election in November, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has been threatening to kill two major transit projects that are nearly ready to begin construction. Both the Purple Line and the Red Line are among the most significant transit expansions in the country right now. The Purple Line would extend D.C.’s Metro rail service into […]
American Roads Depend on Handouts From Bus Riders, Cyclists, Pedestrians
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Once upon a time in America, the road system was largely funded by the gas tax. But that was many Highway Trust Fund bailouts ago. Today, only about half the money spent on the U.S. road system comes from fuel taxes, tolls, or other fees paid by drivers, according to a new report [PDF] by the U.S. Public Interest […]
A Fix for Parking Craters Gains Momentum in Providence
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Like many American cities, Providence has a downtown parking crater problem. About 70 acres of prime land in the central business district is occupied by surface parking. James Kennedy, a local advocate who blogs at Transport Providence, is on a mission to fix the problem. Inspired by a similar policy in Pittsburgh, he wants the city […]
Study: Most Roads Don’t Pay for Themselves
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Most American roads — even the most highly trafficked — are financial losers. That’s a major finding from a new study by the Center for American Progress [PDF]. A financial analysis by the think tank found that about four out of 10 U.S. highways don’t carry enough traffic to generate sufficient revenue to pay for their maintenance […]
Will Midwest Governors Drain the Great Lakes to Foster Sprawl?
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A story with major implications for development patterns in the U.S. is playing out right now in greater Milwaukee. The growing suburb of Waukesha has devastated its once-famous water resources through unchecked sprawl and poor planning. Now, despite being located in one of the most water-rich parts of the United States, Waukesha is running dry. […]
Putting TIGER Spending in Perspective
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The House’s current transportation spending bill calls for reducing the share of federal spending that goes to TIGER, a grant program for sustainable transportation projects in cities, from $500 to $100 million. The budget, meanwhile, holds highway funding steady. TIGER is an enormously popular program. In its second year, it received close to 1,000 applications […]
Bipartisan Bill Proposes National Complete Streets Policy
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Streets that safely accommodate everyone, from motorists to cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users — complete streets — have become policy for many American communities, having been implemented in more than 700 local jurisdictions and states around the country. A new bill in Washington attempts, again, to make complete streets the federal standard as well. Maybe […]
Will Private Transit Startups Help or Hurt Public Transit?
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The rise of private transit operators like Bridj, Leap, and Uberpool has raised questions about equity in places including the Bay Area, where such services are fast replicating. A related issue is the impact they will have on traditional public transit systems. Private transit vehicles have been described as “like a lounge on wheels,” with […]
NACTO: If You Want Bike-Share to Succeed, Put Stations Close Together
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A new study from the National Association of City Transportation Officials [PDF] adds credence to the theory that station density is a key factor in whether a bike-share system will flourish or flop. In its analysis of bike-share systems across the U.S., NACTO found that stations that are close to other stations see more use. In addition, […]
Absurd “Pedestrian Safety Kit” Highlights the Perils of Walking in America
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Given how fundamental walking is to our humanity and our health, it’s sad to see how marginalized pedestrians have become in our transportation system. How absurd is it that the simple act of walking would require special equipment, with the onus for safety placed on the most vulnerable? Nathaniel Hood at Network blog Streets.mn says this attitude […]
Study That Spurred Bike Helmet Fetish Was Repudiated By Its Own Authors
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The authors of a study that helped foment the public and governmental obsession with bike helmets later issued research that undermined their initial findings. The 1989 study, by Frederick P. Rivara, Diane C. Thompson, and Robert S. Thompson, found that helmet usage reduced head injury by 85 percent, and the risk of brain injury by 89 percent. […]
You Can Help Make State DOTs Accountable for How They Spend
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Pressure is mounting on the president and Congress to keep roads and bridges from falling apart by increasing transportation funding. But a big part of the problem is states, which receive the lion’s share of federal transportation funds but opt to spend most on new roads, instead of maintaining existing infrastructure. Between 2009 and 2011, states spent just […]