Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Cities, Counties, and Countries

Talking With Matt Nichols, Oakland’s New Transportation Policy Director

By Melanie Curry | May 22, 2015 | No Comments

Matt Nichols is Oakland’s newly hired policy director for infrastructure and transportation. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf created the position to shepherd her proposed reorganization of transportation planning, design, engineering, and construction into one department, and to oversee the creation of a cohesive transportation policy. Nichols has been in his new job for about two months, and he’s […]

Design of High-Speed Trains Threatens to Diminish Caltrain Capacity

By Andrew Boone | May 19, 2015 | 127 Comments

The insistence of California High Speed Rail officials on running trains with floors 50 inches above the tracks threatens to reduce the capacity of Caltrain and hamper the benefits of level boarding for the commuter rail agency. Last Tuesday, Caltrain officials gave an update on the electric trains the agency plans to purchase next year, which will […]

What Oakland Mayor’s Proposal for a Department of Transportation Means

By Ruth Miller | May 19, 2015 | No Comments

This week, Streetsblog California takes a look at changes occurring in Oakland, California, related to the way the city plans and implements transportation projects. Today, Ruth Miller, a local planner, former Streetsblog contributor, and a member of Transport Oakland, writes about what the formation of a Department of Transportation will mean for Oakland. Later this […]

Can LA Make “Great Streets” If the Mayor Won’t Stand Up for Good Design?

By Angie Schmitt | May 19, 2015 | No Comments

Los Angeles, with its expanding transit network, is supposed to be in the process of shedding its cocoon of car-centricity and emerging, in the words of a recent Fast Company headline, as America’s “next great walkable city.” The city’s streets, however, didn’t change a whole lot under former mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. When Eric Garcetti was elected mayor in 2013, advocates thought […]

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The Philadelphia Bike Story

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. | May 12, 2015 | No Comments

Of U.S. cities with more than a million residents, the one where people bike the most is Philadelphia. In 2012, the U.S. Census estimated Philadelphia’s bicycle commute rate at 2.3 percent [PDF], higher than Chicago (1.6 percent) and New York (1.0 percent). It’s just about always been that way. That comes as a surprise to many people, since Philadelphia doesn’t have […]

San Jose to Adopt Vision Zero But No Target Date to End Traffic Deaths

By Andrew Boone | May 11, 2015 | 3 Comments

The San Jose City Council is expected to adopt a Vision Zero plan [PDF] tomorrow, making it the third major city in the Bay Area and the tenth in the nation to commit to ending traffic deaths. But San Jose isn’t setting a timeline to achieve this goal. “For years, San Jose created a roadway system exclusively for […]

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