Is Elon Musk An Elitist Jerk?
Elon Musk has some unkind things to say about the state of public transportation today. His remarks did not sit well with transportation engineers and urban planners.
urban planning
Bicycles & Autonomous Cars Are On A Collision Course
Bicycles present a unique challenge for city planners and designers of autonomous cars. The question is, what do cities of the future want to be — still focused on cars or centers of refuge for pedestrians and bicyclists?
NYC Subway Extension Arrives ~100 Years Late, But With Beautiful Stations
NYC’s Q train recently got a big new subway extension, after nearly a century-long wait for the mythic segment. New Year’s Day 2017 saw the first phase of the “Second Avenue subway” opened — that’s after a 1972 “groundbreaking.” The segment was envisioned in the 1920s.
Leveling The Playing Field Via “Parking Cash Out”
Donald Shoup pointed out many years ago that if companies pay the costs of parking for their employees, a common fringe benefit (and an expensive one, at that), those employers are essentially giving “an invitation to drive to work alone.”
The Loop Link In Chicago: $32,000,000 For A Lane Still Filled With Rush Hour Traffic
Rush hour Chicago provides an untapped income for the city of Chicago. Traffic enforcement could pick up funds from well-deserved traffic tickets. It seems no one is getting a ticket and the chaos continues. The larger question is — after $32 million of taxpayer money to build it, is the Loop Link being used as intended? No, not much, it seems. It was designed for fluid, fast, reliable movement — time-saving, much-needed flow for the city’s buses. Lost? The Loop Link is specially marked bus lanes meant to offer mass transit an unfettered flight during rush hour times. And yet…
Berlin Transport Secretary Thinks Cars On Their Way Out — What’s The Eventual Fate Of…
Recent comments from Berlin’s Transport Secretary, Jens-Holger Kirchner, included his thought that personal car use in the city was on its way out, and that it is probably the slowest way to get around.
Apartments Near Transit Generate More Tax Revenue (DC–Baltimore Case Study)
The idea of apartments near train stations and along bus corridors makes perfect sense. Along with greater convenience, a new report released by the Urban Land Institute shows this to be a good move for tax revenues.
Loved Dutch Bikeway Design Manual Now Updated!
Word of mouth is a way of education that continues to be powerful in the midst of societal and technological change. In the impassioned subcultures I frequent, activities growing fast because of word of mouth include bicycling, urban farming, and organic farming. For those subcultures, word of mouth seems more powerful than anything else. The word comes from someone doing rather than telling, and that is largely the force of change.
Seattle Adds 45,000 Jobs, Transit Dominates New Commuter Choice
Focusing on mass transit over cars is best for cities, for the air, and for the ambiance. Traffic jams don’t improve city life.
Vancouver’s World-Renowned & Comfortable Multi-Modal Infrastructure (Film)
Infrastructure that supports multi-modal travel makes it possible to live comfortably without a car. Vancouver is perhaps North America’s #1 city in this way. How unusual is the city of Vancouver? Well, for one thing, in the 1960s, Vancouver’s citizens refused to allow freeways in the city. That may seem like an obviously smart move today, but it was radical back then.
