Trends
Glow-in-the-dark roads debut in Netherlands
A 500 meter (approximately .3 miles) section of a highway in the Netherlands is getting its glow on. Glow in the dark road markings — made with a photoluminescent powder incorporated into road paint that charges in the light and radiates green in the dark for up to eight hours — have been painted on […]
Universities lead the way on public transport
A recent study by the US PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group reveals that the steps universities are taking to encourage students and staff to use eco-friendly modes of transport are paying off: fewer students are bringing cars with them to campus. University of Missouri Kansas City In 2011, UMKC’s students faced constant parking supply […]
Sneckdowns: Should snowstorms plan your streets?
Throughout urban areas hit hard by wintry weather this season, Mother Nature is making her own traffic planning suggestions known. Piles of snow known as “sneckdowns” — more on the origin of that word later — are drifting into areas that, upon reflection, are ideal for road diets and sidewalk extensions. As Streetsblog reports, “all […]
Have scientists been measuring traffic wrong all this time?
Transportation is changing, compelling experts to reexamine the way they analyze transport problems – and they may have been operating with faulty data for decades, argues Todd Litman, executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, in a recent blog post on Planetizen. In the past, efforts to figure out how effective transportation systems are […]
Government projections of driving rates continue tradition of wrongness
The government is fairly shoddy at predicting the habits of American drivers, according to studies recently reported by The Atlantic. And the government’s repeated over-projections of American miles driven may exert a direct impact on infrastructure and transportation policy – and budgets – for years to come. According to The Atlantic’s Emily Badger, by now, […]
Confronting 11 pedestrian deaths this month, NYC’s new mayor talks traffic safety
Days after a weekend which saw four pedestrian traffic deaths, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his administration’s plan to reduce New Yorker traffic deaths to zero over the next 10 years. “The goal is literally to reduce fatalities on our roadways to zero. That is our singular focus,” he said, according to […]
Brussels receives a car-free makeover
Brussels, one of Europe’s most traffic-jammed cities, may soon go car-free — at least in part. The city’s newly inaugurated mayor, Yvan Mayeur of the Socialist party, hopes to transform the central area of Belgium’s capital into a pedestrian-only area, according to a recent report by The Atlantic. Brussels is notorious for its congestion. TomTom, […]
Salt Lake City angles for mass transit upgrades
Salt Lake City commuters may eventually enjoy faster buses and trains, fewer transfers, and cleaner air. But “may” is the keyword — the Salt Lake City Council has asked for a Transit Master Plan to promote “a future of clean air, economic development and a lifestyle independent of cars,” according to The Salt Lake City […]
How do Americans get around? Not by driving
A new study by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group has found that in 99 out of the country’s top 100 regions, fewer people commuted to work in a private vehicle in 2010, as compared to 2000. These regions contain over half the US population, and are key to the US economy. More people are […]
New theory explains urban sprawl
Most cities follow a familiar pattern – they start at the center of trade routes or near plentiful food resources, gradually accumulating population, and ending with multiple centers connected by urban sprawl. But what’s behind the evolution of a metropolis? A new mathematical model by two physicists holds the answer to how cities and their […]
