Despite frequent claims to the contrary, a study from California demonstrates that telecommuters often drive more often, and for longer distances, than those who commute to work.
Environment
Traffic noise disrupts cricket mating strategies
A surprising impact of the evening commute: traffic noise and other human-made sounds significantly disrupt the mating behavior of crickets.
COVID-19 helped drive down emissions
Amid talk of electric and fuel efficient vehicles, one change proved fast and effective at cutting emissions: traveling less.
U.S. Cannot Rely Solely on EVs to Reduce Climate Pollution
More research is emerging showing that EVs are not the “silver bullet” in reducing transportation climate emissions.
“Travel budget” Needed to Meet Climate Goals
A recent study shows that even with significant EV adoption, a ‘travel budget’ is still required to achieve emissions reduction goals.
Underserved neighborhoods with moderate flooding may benefit from green interventions
A new National Institute for Transportation and Communities study, conducted by researchers at The University of Arizona, examines the mitigating effects of Green Infrastructure (GI) on flooding risks to the transportation network.
Caltrans pilots in-place road surface recycling, using new recycled-plastic binder
In an effort to reduce greenhouse emissions, reduce plastic waste, and improve the sustainability of road maintenance, Caltrans is testing a new technology that combines recycled plastic with in-place asphalt recycling.
MPOs making little progress on climate
The bad news: With some exceptions, MPOs appear to be devoting relatively little attention to their role in climate mitigation―reduction of VMT. The somewhat better news: where they are paying attention, MPOs seem to generally be living up to their commitments in their project programming.
Post-COVID calls for “Responsible Transport”
A recent think piece published in the journal of Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives makes a very compelling case for rethinking our current “smart”, “innovative”, and “intelligent” transportation policies. Through their idea of “responsible transport”, the authors want policy makers to move away from the top-down planning approach to a more individual-centric planning attitude, where they want the end user to know the exact impact of their transportation choices before making a mobility decision.
Minneapolis transportation plan addresses climate, pandemic
The City of Minneapolis has released a draft of its Transportation Action Plan (TAP), as a companion to its 2040 Comprehensive Plan. In the latest ITE Journal, Transportation Planning Manager Kathleen Mayell outlines details of the plan, which sets out to respond to the declared climate emergency by prioritizing low-carbon means of transportation, while focusing on additional city goals.