In almost every urban area, congestion has been rising for years despite expensive efforts to widen roads and add lanes for private vehicles. But a new study shows that when demand is high, repurposing the road space already available can boost system performance without any expansion. Creating dedicated lanes for buses and bikes can optimize space – and failing to do so can start a vicious cycle of congestion.
Best Practices
One year into congestion pricing, every DOT can learn from New York City
New York City shares many of the same goals as state and local transportation agencies: cutting traffic, improving travel times, making roads safer, and improving quality of life. Yet decades of investment in highway capacity have failed to deliver on those goals. Commute times have increased 7.5% since 2010, congestion has reached an all-time high, and U.S. roadways have become more dangerous than those of any other wealthy nation.
New research shows where low stress streets make the biggest difference
Making streets less stressful for walkers and bikers is strongly associated with more walking and biking, and new research from Maryland helps clarify where those effects are most pronounced. Building on prior research showing that lower-stress street environments are linked to more walking and biking, this study found that reducing traffic stress has the biggest impact for shorter trips and in places where alternatives to driving already exist. for shorter trips and in places where alternatives to driving already exist.
We don’t need to overthink induced demand to act on it
The concept of induced demand is now widely recognized in transportation. But we often treat it as a technical modeling issue rather than a basic principle of how people respond to the world around them. Build for cars, and you’ll get more driving; build for transit or biking, and you’ll get more of those too. Shifting the conversation in that direction can improve near-term decisions and strengthen communication between transportation professionals and the public.
To reduce traffic, DOTs need both “carrots” and “sticks”
Nearly every state DOT is grappling with how to reduce traffic and carbon emissions—many states developed official , and congestion relief is often at the top of a DOT’s priority list. But a new study from Swedish researchers says that some of the most common ways to address these challenges—using only “carrots” rather than “sticks,” in the researchers’ words—may leave states struggling to achieve their goals.
Caltrans review finds outdated and misunderstood models hinder project analysis
In California, where travel demand models often guide project-level decisions and analysis, a new report finds many are outdated, poorly documented, and ill-suited to the purposes agencies sometimes use them for. Transportation agencies rely on models to forecast traffic and guide billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. Without updates, these tools risk locking in old assumptions about growth and travel behavior rather than helping agencies plan for a more sustainable and efficient future.
More transit means safer streets
To reduce traffic deaths, public transit should be seen as a core part of safety infrastructure, not just an alternative mode of travel. Every day, thousands of car crashes occur in the U.S., resulting in injury or death, yet they receive far less attention than the much rarer crashes involving public transit. For city planners working to reduce roadway fatalities, understanding how these perceptions influence travel choices is critical.
Webinar: Sidewalk Data For Detailed First- and Last-Mile Access Analysis
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Walking routes to and from bus stops and transit stations are critical for riders, but sidewalk data can be hard to come by. Washington State DOT is wrapping up a two-year effort to build a unified pedestrian infrastructure dataset that is compatible with OpenStreetMap and geared toward accessibility-forward planning.
Resilient infrastructure, responsible development can reduce insurance risk
Carolyn Kousky, founder of Insurance for Good and longtime researcher on climate impacts and insurance markets, told MIP and SSTI widespread insurance protects local economies, as well as lenders and mortgage markets. “As a warming planet increases the risks of weather-related extremes, insurance becomes harder to get and more expensive. The only long-term solution is serious investments in risk reduction and climate adaptation,” Kousky said in an email.
Involving walkers and bikers in design can make streets safer
Including road users in a participatory “co-design” process can result in better safety interventions than those made by professional engineers alone, according to a new study. Participatory design incorporates the needs and views of end-users of what’s being designed—in this case, pedestrian crossings used by workers and students.