Angie Schmitt
Recent Posts
House Transpo Bill Spells Trouble for Transit Projects Across America
| | No Comments
Chicago’s Red and Purple Line modernization project could be delayed or worse under the funding formulas in the House transportation bill, says Representative Dan Lipinski. Image via CTA
A provision in the House GOP’s new transportation bill threatens to upend how transit agencies fund major capital projects, delaying or killing efforts to expand and maintain rail and [...]
Do Environmental Reviews for Road Projects Help the Environment?
| | No Comments
It’s been more than 40 years since the National Environmental Policy Act was enacted. In that time, America has built a lot of emissions-inducing, land-devouring highway infrastructure despite the environmental review process mandated by NEPA. It’s fair to ask: When it comes to transportation infrastructure, does environmental review make a difference for the environment?
The $1.1 billion expansion of the [...]
Salt Lake City’s Groundbreaking New Protected Intersection Is Open
| | No Comments
#ProtectedIntersection in @saltlakecityUT is UT’s first! Creating a safer destination for downtown visitors. #GoSLCpic.twitter.com/zxrLRdifRU
— Alta Planning (@altaplanning) October 15, 2015
The second protected intersection in the country is open in Salt Lake City, another milestone for American bike infrastructure.
Using paint and concrete islands, the intersection of 200 West and 300 South reduces stress for cyclists, makes them more [...]
Feds Propose Major Rule Changes to Eliminate Barriers to Safer Streets
| | No Comments
By eliminating outdated design standards, the feds can make it much easier for local governments to design streets like Fifth Street in Dayton, Ohio. Photo: APA
Applying highway design standards to city streets has been a disaster for urban neighborhoods. The same things that make highways safer for driving at 65 mph — wide lanes, “clear zones” running alongside [...]
Park(ing) Day Scenes From Coast to Coast
| | No Comments
Today is a very fun day in cities around the U.S., when advocates for better public spaces unleash their imaginations on the dreary places where we normally store cars. Park(ing) Day is “an annual worldwide event where artists, designers and citizens transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks,” according to its organizers.
Below we are showcasing some [...]
Ferguson Commission Report Calls for Better Transit
| | No Comments
The Ferguson Commission Report examines the factors that contribute to racial inequity in the St. Louis region. Photo: Wikipedia
The police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, touched off a protest movement that gripped the country and elevated the profile of racism and police violence as a national issue. It also raised questions about a host of factors that [...]
Texas DOT Is Planning to Tear Down a Highway — Seriously
| | No Comments
The Pierce Elevated Freeway, near downtown Houston, has been proposed for removal by Texas DOT. Photo: TexasFreeway.com
This may be the best evidence yet that attitudes about transportation are beginning to change in Texas’s major cities. As part of a plan to redesign and reroute Interstate 45 in the heart of Houston, TxDOT — that’s right, [...]
Minneapolis Sets Out to Build 30 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes By 2020
| | No Comments
Minneapolis is planning to construct 48 miles of protected bike lanes over the next 10 years. Click to enlarge. Map: City of Minneapolis
Minneapolis is one of the best cities for biking in the U.S., and it wants to get better. Last week the city released a plan to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes over the next five years [...]
Ranking the Sad Parade of Federal Transpo Funding Ideas From Worst to Best
| | No Comments
America’s transportation funding system is broken, and no one in charge has good ideas about how to fix it.
The problem seems simple enough: The federal transportation program is going broke because Washington has allowed the gas tax to be eroded by inflation for more than 20 years.
As obvious as raising the gas tax may be, America’s political leaders won’t touch it. Yesterday, The [...]
Parking Madness 2015! First Match: Camden vs. Mobile
| | No Comments
Who will win the Golden Crater?
Happy Selection Thursday, Streetsblog readers — our annual Parking Madness tournament kicks off today. Over the next few weeks, these 16 cities and towns will vie for the coveted Golden Crater, awarded to the most horrendous pit of parking to blight an American downtown.
It’s year three of this competition, and [...]
Parking Madness 2015: Can Your Parking Crater Compete?
| | No Comments
Rochester won last year’s Parking Madness bracket with this downtown catastrophe where a real neighborhood once stood.
March is a special month on Streetsblog. It’s the time when the nation’s worst downtown parking scars face off head-to-head for the shame of winning the “golden crater” — and the local publicity bonanza that comes with it. For [...]
St. Louis Stunner Runs Away With the Vote for America’s Sorriest Bus Stop
| | No Comments
This bus stop in the St. Louis suburb of Lindbergh was the overwhelming favorite for sorriest bus stop. Image via NextSTL
In the end, it was never even close. This bus stop on Lindbergh Boulevard in suburban St. Louis won wire-to-wire in the voting for the Sorriest Bus Stop in America.
There was plenty of worthy competition, but something [...]