Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Streetsblog USA

The Feds Want to Reform the Cult of “Level of Service”

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 29, 2016 | No Comments

“What you measure is what you get,” the saying goes. That’s certainly true for transportation policy. And for a very long time one metric has reigned supreme on American streets: “Level of Service,” a system that assigns letter grades based on motorist delay. Roughly speaking, a street with free-flowing traffic gets an A while one where […]

Study: Upward Mobility Much Higher in Regions With Less Sprawl

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 28, 2016 | No Comments

Living in a sprawling area, like Atlanta, or a compact one, like Boston, doesn’t just affect how you get around. A new study published in the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning suggests it may also have a significant impact on your chances to escape poverty. The study by Reid Ewing at the University of Utah compared upward […]

SF One of 10 Cities Chosen to Help Model Vision Zero Policy in the U.S.

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 27, 2016 | No Comments

What is Vision Zero? Simply put, it’s a recognition that traffic fatalities are preventable, and a commitment to ensure that no one is killed in traffic. Cities that adopt Vision Zero set out to end traffic deaths within a specific time frame. In America, a few cities have publicly committed to Vision Zero. So how […]

5 Things States Can Do to Bring Transportation Policy Out of the Stone Age

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 22, 2016 | No Comments

On its page commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower signing the Federal Aid Highway Act, the Federal Highway Administration offers a “Then and Now” chart showing how much America has changed since 1956. It’s a little corny, but in 1956 Chuck Berry was a chart-topper, hula hoops were the new craze, and Cold War tensions were very high. The […]

Chris Christie Sticks It to Pedestrians for No Discernible Reason

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 20, 2016 | No Comments

In 2014, 170 people were killed while walking on New Jersey streets, accounting for 31 percent of total traffic deaths in the state (about double the national share). In addition, 13 people were killed while biking that year. To address the problem, lawmakers and advocates in New Jersey have been working on a bill to establish a Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Council […]

Highway Boondoggles: Widening I-95 Across Connecticut

By Jeff Inglis and John Olivieri | Jan 19, 2016 | No Comments

Last year Congress passed a multi-year transportation bill. Like previous bills, it gives tens of billions of dollars to states every year to spend with almost no strings attached. How much of this federal funding will state DOTs devote to expensive, traffic-inducing highway projects that further entrench car dependence and sprawl? In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2 (the […]

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