Many U.S. cities are including bicycle and pedestrian facilities in their transportation planning. However, these same cities often find existing design guides do not provide the set of options they need for non-motorized infrastructure, complicating project implementation and reducing the effectiveness of the end product. This gap began to be filled in 2011, when the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released the first edition of its Urban Bikeway Design Guide. The group updated the guide this month.
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Annual survey finds that even in car-centric Houston, people want better access to transit
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University released the results of their 2012 Kinder Houston Area Survey, which found that Houstonians want better transportation options and housing within walking distance from stores, schools, and work. The survey summary points out that attitudes towards urban living are changing in the Houston area, often considered the most car-oriented large city in the United States.
Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People are Driving Less and What it Means for Transportation Policy (Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2012)
A new report released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and the Frontier Group demonstrates that Americans have been driving less since the middle of last decade. This trend away from …
Young people turning away from cars
There has been a substantial decrease in the percentage of young people who possess a driver’s license. The ubiquity of social media may be a cause of this decline in VMT. Young people are also showing a preference for urban living and its better access to transit, walking, and biking. Many young people simply may be unable to afford the high cost of owning and maintaining a car. This decline has led to car companies overhauling their marketing and design strategies in an attempt to win back market share among youth.
The Nature of Context-Sensitive Solutions, Stakeholder Involvement and Critical Issues in the Urban Context (Mineta Transportation Institute, 2011)
Many transportation and planning agencies experience conflicting demands emerging from the need to develop projects in an expeditious manner while at the same time involving stakeholders in the decision-making process. This study examines the issue in the …
NACTO Urban Bikeway Deisgn Guidebook (NACTO, 2012)
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), has issued their Urban Bikeway Design Guide, a collection of the best in innovative bikeway treatments around the U.S. This is part of their Cities for Cycling …
Report documents the continued rise of walking and biking
A new benchmarking report from the Alliance for Biking and Walking shows a 57 percent growth in bike commuting in the United States and a 29 percent rise in pedestrian fatalities in large cities between …
Reinventing the urban interstate
TCRP has released a report entitled Reinventing the Urban Interstate: A New Paradigm for Multimodal Corridors. The authors present a new design framework in which multimodal corridors can take one of three forms: Transit oriented …
Six ideas for fixing the nations infrastructure problems.
Two writers for Governing, Russell Nichols and Ryan Holeywell, have come up with a thoughtful set of ideas, ranging from revamping the highway trust fund to empowering state and local governments to “get cities to …