Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Traffic

Heart Disease, Traffic Jams and ADHD Share One Simple Solution: Drive Less

By Elly Blue | Oct 18, 2013 | No Comments

This is an excerpt from “Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save the Economy,” by Elly Blue (Microcosm Publishing, December 1, 2013, bikenomics.com). See our interview with Elly from spring 2013. Car exhaust is no laughing matter. Nearly half of residents in major urban areas in North America live close enough to highways and other large roads […]

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SSTI to Transport Officials: Start Planning for a Future With Less Driving

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 2, 2013 | No Comments

For a long time in the United States, driving activity moved in step with the economy. Since economic growth was fairly steady, consistent growth in driving was built into all the traffic modeling the engineers used to plan and build streets and transportation infrastructure. But now per capita driving has declined eight straight years in America. Total […]

After the Addition of Bike Lanes and Plazas, Manhattan Traffic Moves Faster

By Stephen Miller | Sep 5, 2013 | 5 Comments

After several blocks in the heart of Times Square were pedestrianized and protected bike lanes were added to five avenues in the middle of Manhattan, motor vehicle traffic is actually moving more smoothly than before, according to the latest release of NYC DOT’s annual Sustainable Streets Index [PDF]. The report, which gathers data from the MTA, the […]

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More Evidence That Unemployment Doesn’t Explain the Decline in Driving

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 29, 2013 | No Comments

For those who say driving rates will pick right back up again when the economy’s really humming, here’s something to chew on: In a report released this morning, “Moving Off the Road,” U.S. PIRG presents further evidence that unemployment rates and driving rates have changed independently of each other. Transportation reformers have made the case that there […]

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Car Ownership May Be Down in the U.S., But It’s Soaring Globally

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 5, 2013 | No Comments

Two weeks ago, transportation researcher Michael Sivak brought us the news that there are fewer cars per person in the U.S. now than there were a few years ago – and that the number isn’t expected to rise again. But globally, the trend is in the opposite direction, and it’s alarming. The world is producing more […]

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How Better Traffic Models Can Lead to More Mixed-Use Development

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 4, 2013 | No Comments

Here’s another obscure but significant obstacle to building walkable places in America: the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ shoddy traffic generation models for mixed-use development. The model used by traffic engineers around the country to measure “trip generation” at new developments consistently overestimates the amount of motor vehicle traffic produced by mixed-use projects, according to the […]

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