After several unsuccessful TIGER applications, Rochester, NY underutilized urban Inner Loop, built in the 1960s, received 17.7 million dollars to facilitate the removal of the expressway and frontage roads and reconstruction as a parkway. A road once disparaged by the city itself as a “noose around the neck of downtown,” has been two decades in planning and will give way to a boulevard that will reconnect the city street grid, improve the business environment, and improve livability for Rochester’s residents.
urban
At a crossroads: Complete streets and functional classification
As the demand for more complete, multimodal streets increases, so does the push to alter the functional classification system to allow for greater local flexibility in roadway design. The functional classification system often restricts communities seeking flexibility in roadway design and can effectively hobble transit planners attempting to advance livability initiatives.
Rural routes more dangerous than those in urban areas
Rural areas, although home to less than 20 percent of the nation’s population, account for 55 percent of traffic fatalities, and largely rural states have the deadliest roadways. Despite the greater risk, according to a 2010 survey conducted by the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota, drivers feel safer and more relaxed on these rural routes than on urban freeways
Cities feel left out of transportation discussion
At the first national conference of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), city transportation and elected officials expressed dismay that cities may be on their own in moving forward with innovative plans and policies. Attendees were frsutrated that neither cities nor transportation overall got much attention during the recent campaign season.
The Correlates of Housing Price Changes with Geography, Density, Design and Use: Evidence from Philadelphia (Congress for the New Urbanism, 2012)
University of Pennsylvania economist Kevin Gillen analyzes the stability of Philadelphia-area home prices from 2007-2012 as they correlate to walkable, urban neighborhoods versus exurban, auto-centered locales. In a reversal of trends from past recessions, the walkable, urban neighborhoods have weathered the recent housing crisis better than more car-centered counterparts.
The Correlates of Housing Price Changes with Geography, Density, Design and Use: Evidence from Philadelphia (Congress for the New Urbanism, 2012)
University of Pennsylvania economist Kevin Gillen analyzes the stability of Philadelphia-area home prices from 2007-2012 as they correlate to walkable, urban neighborhoods versus exurban, auto-centered locales. In a reversal of trends from past recessions, the walkable, urban neighborhoods have weathered the recent housing crisis better than more car-centered counterparts.
New NACTO guide pushes U.S. innovation in bike facility design
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.
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.