Washington DC
Basics
Soon DC Employers May Pay People to Not Drive to Work
With a "parking cash out" policy, employers who provide employees with parking benefits also give the equivalent value in cash to workers who don't car commute. Now a version of that idea has been introduced in the DC Council by members Charles Allen, Mary Cheh, and Brianne Nadeau.
March 21, 2017
As Fewer Kids Attend Neighborhood Schools, Transportation Challenges Intensify
The more kids get driven to school instead of walking, the more chaotic the drop-offs and pick-ups become. Greater Greater Washington's Matthew Kohler notes that the rise of school choice policies adds a whole new wrinkle, as students shift from neighborhood schools within walking distance to schools farther away.
March 10, 2017
Street by Street, DC Builds Out a Center-City Protected Bikeway Network
There are now nearly 16 miles of protected bike lanes in Washington, DC.
March 8, 2017
Want to See Where Transit and Biking Need a Boost? D.C. Has a Map for That
Most places in the U.S. still use 20th century metrics to measure the performance of transportation systems. The emphasis is still on moving cars, not improving transit service or reducing traffic injuries. One of the exceptions is DC, where the DOT is letting people assess streets according to a different set of priorities.
February 16, 2017
Study: D.C. Bike-Share Cut Neighborhood Congestion 4 Percent
Researchers have released new findings that suggest a more consistent traffic-reduction impact than previously thought.
January 9, 2017
Awful Pedestrian Shaming Campaign Gets the Smackdown It Deserves
This PSA from Montgomery County, Maryland, has got to be one of the all-time worst examples of pedestrian shaming. The young girl with tire treads across her face, it's implied, was struck and killed by a driver because she was "wearing black."
November 7, 2016
How American Cities Can Protect Cyclists From Deadly Trucks
Heavy trucks kill. They account for as much as 32 percent of cyclist deaths in New York City and 58 percent in London, far out of proportion to their share of traffic. Across the U.S., 1,746 bicyclists and pedestrians have been killed in collisions with commercial trucks over the last five years.
October 25, 2016
USDOT to Shut Down Nation’s Roads, Citing Safety Concerns
Crossposted from City Observatory.
May 11, 2016
Two Very Different Ways Bike-Share Benefits Transit
A new survey [PDF] by researchers at UC Berkeley and published in Access Magazine sheds light on how bike-share systems interact with transit.
December 9, 2015
The Looming Transit Breakdown That Threatens America’s Economy
While federal transit funding stagnates, the nation's largest rail and bus systems have been delaying critical maintenance projects. Without sustained efforts to fix infrastructure and vehicles, the effects of deteriorating service in big American cities could ripple across the national economy, according to a new report from the Regional Plan Association [PDF].
November 16, 2015