Yonah Freemark
Recent Posts
Too Little, Too Late? A Decade of Transit Investment in the U.S.
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The Transportation Research Board’s 99th Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. from Jan. 12-16, 2020. Click here for more information. The following article originally appeared on The Transport Politic. It is reposted here with permission. It’s been a busy decade for many cities throughout the U.S. From coast to coast, they’ve been building up […]
As Transit Expands in Los Angeles, Will Walkability Follow?
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Even as the region's rail network grows, too many stations remain engulfed by single-family housing and park-and-ride lots.
Los Angeles Bus Service Declined as Rail Expanded
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Given the tens of billions of dollars that L.A. will spend on transit over the next few decades, it's all the more important to invest it in ways that will be useful and attract riders. But since 2014, ridership has been dropping.
The Bus Network Redesign in Indianapolis Will Be Like Launching a Brand New Transit System
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What Indianapolis is doing deserves attention, especially from other spread-out American cities looking to spend their transit dollars as efficiently as possible. The big change is a complete reshaping of bus service, which will be like setting up a brand new transit network.
As Jobs Sprawl Outside Indianapolis, Transit Tries to Keep Pace
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The suburbanization of jobs in Indianapolis has put more and more entry-level positions far from the urban transit network - out of reach, in other words, for many people without advanced degrees who need those jobs. But to their credit, suburban employers and local governments have been working together to make the best of this situation.
Can Transit Work Well in a Sprawling City Like Indianapolis?
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Transit service in Indianapolis is scarce and very few people use the existing system. A key reason for these lackluster outcomes is the city's sprawling pattern of development.
Indianapolis Has a Long Way to Go to Get Transit Right
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Suffice it to say that it’s simply not convenient for most people to use the Indianapolis transit system. Things are looking up, though: Last fall, Indianapolis residents voted massively in favor of a funding package that should significantly improve service in the coming years.
Atlanta’s Raising $2.5 Billion to Invest in Transit. Will It Be Money Well-Spent?
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The city seems to have learned from mistakes like its mixed-traffic streetcar and is looking to give future transit lines dedicated rights of way. Still, there are many more decisions ahead that will determine whether the city spends $2.5 billion in new transit revenue well or not.
Atlanta’s Streetcar Investment Is Not Paying Off
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Unable to assemble new funding from the state to significantly improve the rapid transit system, the city of Atlanta chose to focus on a cheaper-to-implement streetcar line. But more than two years after launch, ridership on the streetcar is falling far short of expectations.
A Fixation on Parking Threatens Transit Progress in Atlanta
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Darin Givens is frustrated with how Atlanta is planning for the future. “We don’t feel like the city is building transit that fits needs, or places that fit transit,” says the founder of local advocacy site Thread ATL. “You see nodes of density nowhere near transit, located nowhere near a MARTA station or a regular MARTA bus. We’re not matching development and transit.”
In Atlanta, Transit Service Lags Behind a Booming Population
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Since 2000, the Atlanta region has grown by more than 1.5 million people, or over 25 percent, but transit service is not keeping up. Both rail and bus ridership on MARTA, the major regional transit provider, have fallen dramatically in recent years.
Introducing a New Streetsblog Series: Getting Transit Right
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With more American cities raising impressive sums to expand transit, the question of how to invest effectively is increasingly essential. So far, few places have hit on a policy combination that makes transit more useful to more people. To help cities "get transit right," Streetsblog is launching a new series about which transit strategies are working and which are not.