Traffic
Basics
Talking Headways: Level of Disservice
In California, whether you’re building an office tower or a new transit line, you’re going to run up against the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The law determines how much environmental analysis you need to do for new projects. But sadly, in practice it’s better at propagating car-oriented development than improving the quality of the environment.
December 12, 2014
It’s Happening: Washington State Revises Traffic Forecasts to Reflect Reality
The amount that the average American drives each year has been declining for nearly a decade, yet most transportation agencies are still making decisions based on the notion that a new era of ceaseless traffic growth is right around the corner.
October 21, 2014
How to Reduce Traffic By 30 Percent: Strike Fear Into Motorists
Organizers of major sporting events, from this weekend's "Mass Transit Super Bowl" to the Sochi Olympics a week from now, may benefit from a lesson learned during the 2012 London Olympics: a tactic transportation planners secretly call “the Big Scare.”
January 31, 2014
Study: All Across America, Car Commuting Is Dropping
U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group are on a mission to explore the downward trend in driving. In a series of reports, they point to evidence that it isn’t just a temporary blip, but a long-term shift in how Americans get around. Today, the two organizations released a new report, “Transportation in Transition: A Look at Changing Travel Patterns in America’s Biggest Cities,” which shows that these changes are happening in regions all over the country.
December 4, 2013
In DC, the Danger of Enraged Driving Is on the Rise
Road rage is boiling over. Twelve percent of people surveyed in the Washington, DC, metro area said they often feel “uncontrollable anger toward another driver.” The number of people reporting such feelings has doubled since 2005, according to the Washington Post, which conducted the survey.
September 4, 2013
In Vancouver, Traffic Decreases as Population Rises
Can we all just pause for a moment and give Vancouver a standing ovation?
August 5, 2013
Counting Bikes and Cars Without a Clipboard
Liberate yourself from government transportation data that doesn’t tell you what you need to know!
April 12, 2013
Streetfacts: Americans Are Driving Less
We continue our Streetfacts series by looking at the data on driving in the U.S. Per-capita driving has declined every year since 2005. That's not a blip, it's now an 8-year trend.
April 3, 2013
International Funders Shift Investments Toward Sustainable Transportation
If you think the United States is doing a bad job shifting toward sustainable transportation, take a look at the developing world. The places with the most to lose from auto-oriented development are doubling down on it -- to the enormous detriment of their citizens, especially the poorest.
August 13, 2012