Month: March 2013

Today we’re getting a look at the last two contestants in Streetsblog’s Parking Madness bracket, the tournament that will “crown” the worst parking crater in the U.S. But don’t worry. Milwaukee, Tulsa, Dallas, Atlanta, Louisville, Cleveland, Houston, and today’s winner still need to do battle to determine the final victor. The final first round match-up … Continued

Welcome to the first of five shorts we're calling Streetfacts. With Streetfacts, we'll be highlighting developing trends affecting transportation and planning policy, as well as addressing the cost of "bad practices" that prevent us from shifting to a more balanced transportation network that supports more livable places.

If Jane Doe rides her bike a mile to the post office and then back home, is it fair to assume she just avoided two miles of driving? And can we then assume that she prevented 2.2 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted?

Usually when we hear news from a Streetsblog Network member about the Missouri Department of Transportation, it's because the agency is blocking ideas like a complete streets bill or a highway-to-boulevard conversion in downtown St. Louis. The advocates at BikeWalkKC report that now the agency is feeling some grassroots resistance to its cars-first approach:

Teacher Tania Madfes, 68, Dies After Being Hit by Driver on West Portal Last Week (SFGate) BART Board Reaffirms: Fare Increases Go Towards Infrastructure Fixes, Not Worker Pay (SF Appeal) Driver Crashes Into Bayview Home, Flees (ABC, KTVU) SFPD Officer Hospitalized After Falling on Bike on Market Street (SF Appeal) Man Found on Glen Park … Continued

Four blocks of Potrero Avenue, from 21st to 25th Street at SF General Hospital, could be made safer under proposals from the Department of Public Works to extend sidewalks, narrow the roadway, and plant existing median space. But whether the street's narrow 9-foot sidewalks will be widened to 15 feet on the east side depends on city officials' willingness to re-allocate public space from car parking to people.

With Milwaukee, Tulsa, Dallas, Louisville, Cleveland, and Atlanta advancing to the second round of Parking Madness, there are only two spaces left in the Elite Eight of parking disasters. In this installment, we're looking at two very different cities, each of which is extremely car-centric in its own way. It's San Bernardino versus Houston.

Yes, traffic fatalities have been (mostly) going down, but as long as cyclist and pedestrian fatalities keep going up, we can’t truly say our streets and roads are getting safer. That’s the message from 68 members of Congress to one pretty receptive audience: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

We hope you're enjoying our Parking Madness Sweet 16-style tournament to determine the most soul-killing parking crater in a U.S. downtown. Here's another one you might like: REI is holding a tournament to determine the best cycling city. Today, Denver and Washington, DC square off in the Suit & Tie Dye region. Tomorrow, it's New York vs. Minneapolis: Concrete Jungle Region.