Translating Road Engineer-Speak Into Honest English
Scott White at Velo Paso in the great state of Texas has been developing these "snarky pseudo infographics" based on some of his observations of the traffic engineering world. He's been Tweeting them under the hashtag #TransPedia, a satirical take on the language of road widening and car-centric street design.
2:41 PM EDT on May 20, 2015

Scott White at Velo Paso in the great state of Texas has been developing these “snarky pseudo infographics” based on some of his observations of the traffic engineering world. He’s been Tweeting them under the hashtag #TransPedia, a satirical take on the language of road widening and car-centric street design.

The images, White says, were inspired by some of his experiences at public meetings in El Paso and in part by graphics produced by Andy Boenau, who also makes the Urbanism Speakeasy podcast. “It kind of turns out, these faux definitions are just a little too true,” White said.
Here are some samples of what he and others have come up with.



Angie is a Cleveland-based writer with a background in planning and newspaper reporting. She has been writing about cities for Streetsblog for six years.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
How To Fix The Broken Gas Tax
Drivers aren't paying their fair share — and no one else is getting their due. Is it time to rethink our federal road funding mechanisms?
March 31, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Peace Out
The congressman at the helm of the House transportation committee is stepping down. Who will step up?
March 31, 2026
Chicago to St. Louis Is the High-Speed Rail Test America Can’t Afford to Fail
A looming deadline could be the end of high speed rail in Illinois — or the beginning of an entire midwest network, a top advocate argues.
March 31, 2026
Trump’s ‘Freedom Means Affordable Cars’ Rings Hollow As Gas Prices Surge
Real freedom is the freedom to choose how you get around — including not driving at all.
March 30, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Pedal Backwards
The Trump administration really does not want to make it easy to ride a bike.
March 30, 2026

Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.