Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is poised to cruise to a second term this year, but an expected electoral landslide doesn’t mean everyone is happy. Transportation advocates in “America's Walking City” say the past four years have brought big promises, but not much on-the-ground progress for walking,...
| Read more >Bus stop “thinning” (Metro’s term) was proposed in Madison in 2016 and is now again being proposed in the name of “transportation equity.” As if bus riders in older and more densely settled areas of the city deserve to be punished for the awful land use decisions of city officials and planners...
| Read more >The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) has released its recovery plan for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell urges HART to stick to schedule, noting that now that the necessary legwork to complete the rail project has taken place, it is time to...
| Read more >SB 595, which won final passage in California’s state legislature and now awaits Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, provides for a vote in the nine Bay Area counties next year to raise bridge tolls by as much as $3. If the Bay Area Toll Authority, the agency that oversees the bridges, seeks that...
| Read more >
Biking isn’t just a recreational activity or a fun and efficient way to get around. Biking can mean independence, a healthier life, and can be a tool for economic development — but it’s not always accessible to everyone. Bicycle Colorado’s active transportation manager, Rachel Hultin, notes...
| Read more >If there’s one thing Google’s got at its disposal, it’s a global army of avid map users. Now the company is leveraging that power to make its Maps feature more useful for people with mobility challenges—a group that often gets overlooked in the world of transit and urban innovation.
| Read more >A bill calling for more diverse representation among California Transportation Commission members, A.B. 179, has passed both the Senate and the Assembly and now awaits the signature of Governor Jerry Brown to make it law. The bill originally called for much stronger rules about commissioners’...
| Read more >Slow Roll Chicago cofounder Oboi Reed and other advocates of color are arguing that American efforts to adopt Vision Zero have been flawed because they haven’t focused on the relationship between structural racism and higher traffic violence rates in Black, Latino, and low-to-moderate income...
| Read more >Even though the Washington region’s Capital Bikeshare is one of the most successful bikeshare programs in the U.S., officials concede that there are still gaps in the system. Few of these bikes and docking stations are located in D.C.’s outer wards. A new program using dock-free technology could...
| Read more >A crisis besets America’s largest city. It threatens to derail the entire economy, but it most cruelly punishes working people, especially low-income residents, folks in the outer boroughs, the old and the young. It’s not a stretch to say it poses a threat to public safety, as the risk of...
| Read more >In the fall of 2016, the city of Austin readjusted its rudder and straightened itself on a course toward equity. Brion Oaks stepped in as the chief equity officer of the newly established Equity Office, which is a dedicated city-funded effort to eradicate disparities in Austin. The Equity Office...
| Read more >Duluth City Council candidates hit the stage Wednesday to answer questions about improving transportation equity in the city. The forum was organized by local nonprofits and research groups who say transportation is a vital necessity to be able to access employment and income, education, and...
| Read more >In a recent conversation with Rutgers University Senior Researcher and Adjunct Professor Charles Brown regarding Vision Zero Chicago and Slow Roll Chicago’s Bicycle Equity Statement of Principle document, Mr. Brown made a clear, forceful case for the Vision Zero Chicago Action Plan being a...
| Read more >It wasn’t that long ago that demolishing black neighborhoods to make way for highways was official U.S. government policy. In fact, though most cities now recognize what a horrible mistake that was, we can’t even close the chapter on that era just yet. Last week, public officials in Shreveport,...
| Read more >The prognosis is not good. The city bus, “a staple of American urban life,” the Wall Street Journal tells its readers, “is in a state of steady decline.” That’s according to an analysis of data from the Department of Transportation indicating that ridership on city buses is down 13 percent from...
| Read more >Maryland’s Purple Line will receive a $900 million federal full funding agreement from the Trump administration, a critical step forward for the oft-delayed project. The breakthrough came after “very productive, high-level conversations” between Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Transportation Secretary...
| Read more >At a Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) panel, an invited panelist noted that there were no people of color in the lineup despite there being plans to discuss topics specific to African-American and Latino neighborhoods. CAF staffers informed him that they were aware of the issue and had...
| Read more >The National Urban League and Lyft Inc. are joining forces to advance ride-hailing services for every community, especially those that are underserved. Moving forward, National Urban League and Lyft commit to dig deeper together, to expand access to transportation, to grow economic...
| Read more >Chicago’s Vision Zero efforts are focusing on high crash areas and corridors, and most of the areas most heavily impacted by traffic violence are in lower-income communities of color on the South and West sides. These neighborhoods will be prioritized for safety outreach and education, partially...
| Read more >If Denver got its house in order on road maintenance, council members wouldn't be forced to choose between much-needed transit fixes and other street improvements. The city will never have infinite resources, and choices must be made between different options. But in this case, funds are being...
| Read more >New York could be backing away from a key tool used in the “broken windows” strategy of policing: arresting people who jump subway turnstiles. The strategy’s critics are many. They’ve called for the New York City Police Department to deemphasize it, citing the disproportionate impact on...
| Read more >A common criticism of bike share programs nationwide involves the lack of docking stations in lower-income areas. Indeed, the GoBike expansion has drawn criticism for limited expansion in the less-affluent parts of the East Bay area. But in this case, the absence of infrastructure comes from the...
| Read more >Encouraging communities to take advantage of bike/pedestrian opportunities requires a deep understanding of the sociopolitical and economic barriers that historic urban planning advanced. There must be a commitment to diversity, equity, and willingness to make the hard cultural shifts in the...
| Read more >Before ride-share services came to Philadelphia in 2014, there were not many alternatives. Now, riders are contributing to a significant shift in the region away from public transit, particularly buses, to Uber and Lyft. SEPTA’s 123 bus and trolley routes lost about 4.4 million ride trips from...
| Read more >