Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

Does your state Department of Transportation dismiss every mode except driving as "unserious" forms of transportation?

Well, the sad truth is, it could have a lot to do with the lifestyles of the state transportation officials themselves. Project for Public Spaces recently looked at where all the state DOT headquarters in America are located, and they found that a lot of these workplaces are accessible only by car.

PPS's Mark Plotz offers this explanation:

It isn’t hard to imagine that, deep within the bowels of the state DOT, there are people who’ve never ridden transit, who’ve never walked to lunch, who live a suburban lifestyle, who cannot imagine their children walking to school, and who haven’t ridden a bike since they passed their driving test. Should it be a surprise to us that driving is the first thing the engineer or planner thinks about when he or she sits down to review a plan for a bridge, an intersection, a corridor, or a roadway “improvement”?

We decided to have some fun with Walkscore and state DOT headquarters. We found the address for each state headquarters office and found that the average walkability rating for state DOT headquarters offices is a paltry 67.4. As any high school student can tell you, that’s a barely-passing “D” grade.

To go along with the above slideshow, PPS made this awesome PDF that shows the Walkscore of every state DOT HQ in the country. Is your state transportation bureaucracy "walking the walk," so to speak?

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Missouri Bike Federation reports that cycling is a billion dollar industry in its home state. The City Fix outlines a few of the many, many ways transportation affects health outcomes. And Stop and Move offers an example of the all-too-common phenomenon of road "improvements" making streets worse for pedestrians.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Stand Up for Transit

Transit needs investment, not defunding, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib writes in The Hill.

April 29, 2025

First New Yorker To Get A Subsidized E-Bike: ‘It’s Perfect’

Meet the first person in the Empire state to get a subsidised e-bike!

April 28, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Defy Duffy

It was a bad week for the transportation secretary, between firing too many DOT employees and his lawyers accidentally undermining their own case in a congestion pricing lawsuit.

April 28, 2025

USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy Is Dead Wrong About Bike Lanes

The Secretary of Transportation says he hasn't seen enough data to believe in the benefits of bike lanes. So we put together an explainer help him out — mostly using information from his own department.

April 25, 2025

Friday Video: Check Out Lorde On a Bike!

The Kiwi singer is on the top of the charts — and in our bike-riding hearts.

April 25, 2025
See all posts