Pennsylvania
Basics
Urban Transit Systems are Adding Riders (Mostly)
You asked for a deep dive on transit ridership numbers — you got it!
October 15, 2019
Boondoggle: Keystone State’s 1-83 Expansion
Pennsylvania is moving forward with a plan to spend $300 million in order to widen I-83 in York County to eight lanes from four. But project documents fail to show how the project will solve any problems or bring clear benefits to the region.
June 27, 2019
A Fix for the Most Dangerous Street in America
Harrisburg's State Street is insanely dangerous. The city has a good plan to fix it. Will the state stand in the way?
November 26, 2018
Highway Boondoggles: Pennsylvania Turnpike Expansion
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is hemorrhaging money. The state's transit riders could end up footing the bill for its expansion.
July 6, 2018
Philadelphia’s Boulevard of Death
If we're going to reduce traffic deaths, we need to start with roads like Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia.
February 12, 2018
The Backstory and Aftermath of Philly’s Teen Bicycle Freeway Takeover
Perhaps you saw video on social media this week showing hundreds of teenagers riding bikes, popping wheelies on a Philadelphia expressway. It was an unauthorized freeway takeover that ought to have brought a smile to even the sourest face.
April 28, 2017
What If State DOTs Listened to Cities Before Starting Urban Projects?
It's not uncommon for bitter disputes to develop when state DOTs come into urban neighborhoods and start making changes to state-controlled streets. Pennsylvania DOT has a different idea: Rather than just muscle everything through, the agency will incorporate local ideas before engineering and design work gets started.
February 24, 2017
Why a Struggling Industrial City Decided Bikes Are the Way Forward
Reading, Pennsylvania, isn't your stereotypical biking mecca. It's a low-income, largely Latino, post-industrial city of almost 90,000 people.
September 23, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: Pennsylvania’s Mon-Fayette Expressway Plan
In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2, U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. Today we highlight Pennsylvania's $1.7 billion Mon-Fayette Expressway plan, a highway plan that has outlived its reason for being.
February 4, 2016
Pennsylvania’s New Governor Is Awesome
Here's another race for governor with big implications for transportation policy: In Pennsylvania, businessman Tom Wolf handily beat incumbent Tom Corbett.
November 6, 2014