Stephen Miller
In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation.
From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.
Recent Posts
NTSB: Speed Kills, and We’re Not Doing Enough to Stop It
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More than 112,500 people lost their lives in speed-related crashes from 2005 to 2014, accounting for 31 percent of all traffic deaths in America over that period. In a draft report released earlier this week, the National Transportation Safety Board says excessive speed is a deadly problem in our nation's transportation system -- one that federal and state officials aren't doing enough to address.
Self-Driving Cars Should Accommodate People, Not the Other Way Around
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You think victim-blaming is bad now? Making everyone walk or bike with a "don't hit me" device would further penalize the most vulnerable.
What’s Keeping People From Using Bike-Share? New Study Breaks It Down by Race and Income
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Low-income communities and people of color view traffic risk, high prices, and the potential for crime and harassment as the biggest barriers to bicycling and using bike-share in their neighborhoods, according to a new report from researchers at Portland State University.
Why Looking at Crash Stats Alone Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story About Pedestrian Safety
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Some intersections are riskier to cross than others, but looking at the number of pedestrian injuries alone doesn’t tell the whole story. A new study from Minneapolis combines crash data with pedestrian counts to deliver a more nuanced picture of traffic dangers for people on foot. Among the findings: There’s safety in numbers for pedestrians.
In Sprawling Areas, Can the Bus Become Anything Other Than a Lifeline for the Poor?
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Transit shouldn't just be for marginalized groups. Though it may be a long time before it's seen as an essential public service for everyone in Burlington, some are making exactly that argument.
NACTO Wants to Find Out How Cities Can Design Better Streets, Faster
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The National Association of City Transportation Officials, representing more than 50 urban transportation departments across the United States, is known for street design guides that prioritize walking, bicycling, and transit. Now the organization is turning its attention to the nuts-and-bolts of how city bureaucracies can implement these designs in a timely manner, so meaningful change can happen within our lifetimes.
Can Algorithms Design Safer Intersections?
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Cities and tech firms are deploying new technology to gauge risks at dangerous intersections. These sensors, cameras, and machine-learning algorithms are promising, especially when it comes to measuring close calls that don't result in crashes - but cities are still figuring out how they can use this information. In the meantime, there's no reason to wait on designing safe streets.
Male Cyclists Need to Stop the “Macho Nonsense” Directed at Female Riders
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In the United States, women account for only a quarter of bike trips. There are many possible factors for the discrepancy: the lack of bike infrastructure, social pressures during adolescence, and complex trip patterns play a role. But one of the big things keeping women out of the saddle is that when they bike they're harassed. All the time.
Riding Transit Should Never Be a Pathway to Deportation
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A sad story has been unfolding over the past few weeks in the Twin Cities, where a transit fare enforcement stop led to a man being deported. The officer who initiated the stop, Andy Lamers, has since been fired, but it was too late for the passenger, Ariel Vences-Lopez, 23.
Trump’s Budget Is a Disaster for Transit, and His Infrastructure Plan Is a Gift to Wall Street
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The Trump administration's fiscal year 2018 budget, released yesterday, includes severe cuts to federal transit funding. Next stop: Congress, which will consider the president's proposal before it passes a budget over the summer.
Don’t Judge Transit By the Gridlock on Nearby Roads
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Transit can be a success without making car trips faster.
Public-Private Partnerships Will Not Save U.S. Infrastructure
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a panel of experts told Congress that, even with perfectly executed public-private partnerships, the federal government still needs to provide its own support -- especially for projects, like transit lines, that aren't guaranteed to generate toll revenue for profit-seeking investors.