Today on the Streetsblog Network, Connecticut Smart Growth asks for a reconsideration of the cul-de-sac. As the post notes, a couple of important studies in recent years have highlighted how this iconic type of suburban development causes unsafe and costly traffic problems. Now governments in several parts of the country are discouraging such dead-end developments: […]

Today on the Streetsblog Network, a post from Aaron Renn on New Geography about the anti-urban bias in transportation spending. Renn points out that when it comes to the amount of taxes they contribute and the amount of funds they get back from the government, the nation’s cities all too often get the short end […]

Cities and counties across the country are struggling with the funding of their transit systems in these hard times. In New York City, the payroll tax solution touted in Albany last year has failed to meet projections. In Lorain County, Ohio, the rejection of a sales tax by voters resulted in crippling cutbacks to that […]

This morning on the Streetsblog Network, Cap’n Transit is talking about setting budget priorities in lean times. Maintaining efficient, low-cost transit, he argues, should take precedence over keeping bridges toll-free — especially if there’s no political will to raise taxes: In tough times, transit should come first. (Photo: Kevin H. via Flickr) If your personal […]

The other day, we wrote a post in hopes of starting a conversation about the way certain groups of people who ride bicycles — notably, immigrants who ride to work and for work — tend to get overlooked by bicycle advocacy groups and planners. The post (which grew out of an item by Streetsblog Network […]

Today on the Streetsblog Network, we’ve got a post from M-Bike.org, who weighs in on a new crosswalk treatment in a Michigan town: Can this crosswalk penetrate a driver’s consciousness? (Photo: R.D. Jones) Some fancy solar-powered crosswalk signs (the “Enhancer”), with lights, flashing beacons, and a pleasant spoken instructions have recently been installed in Lyon […]

Today from Streetsblog Network member Honking in Traffic, an important reality check about a mostly overlooked segment of the bicycling population — people who ride bikes out of economic necessity and not necessarily by choice. These aren’t the oft-lauded "bike commuters" who ride for a sense of freedom and with at least some intention to […]

Today on the Streetsblog Network, we’re featuring a post from Alex Steffen at Worldchanging that takes on the ever-burgeoning fetish for "green" technologies. Everywhere you look these days, there’s talk of "going green." But Steffen, who’s been paying attention to these issues for 20 years, says the ecofads are hopelessly inadequate. His post, which is […]

A few weeks back, we told you about the dire situation for transit in Lorain County, Ohio, part of Greater Cleveland that’s been hit hard by the recession. At that time, county officials were threatening to cut all bus service after voters rejected a sales tax increase that would have gone in part to fund […]

When does going backward mean progress? When you’re talking about bicycle use in the city of Beijing. According to Streetsblog Network member The City Fix, Chinese officials have woken up to the idea that the city’s traditional bicycling culture, which has been in sharp decline over the last 20 years, should be restored and fostered: […]

The importance of core urban areas to a region’s economy is the subject of a post today from the always thoughtful Aaron Renn, who blogs at The Urbanophile. Renn examines data that suggest job growth (or decline) in a metro region’s core counties is a good indicator for the overall health of those regions. Renn […]

Today on the Streetsblog Network, Yonah Freemark of The Transport Politic looks at the new Brookings Institution report on suburban poverty levels and the connection to future transportation planning in those regions. Freemark, who recently wrote about how the city of Paris is extending its transit infrastructure to its traditionally lower-income suburbs, points out that […]