Payton Chung
Payton Chung is Editor at Large of Streetsblog USA. He first addressed a city council about smart growth in 1996, accidentally authored Chicago's inclusionary housing law, and sees the promises and perils of planning every day as a resident of "beautiful as well as sanitary" Washington, D.C.
Recent Posts
The Great Traffic Projection Swindle
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This is the final piece in a three-part series about privately-financed roads. In the first two parts of this series, we looked at the Indiana Toll Road as an example of the growth in privately financed highways, and how financial firms can turn these assets into profits, even if the road itself is a big money loser. […]
How Macquarie Makes Money By Losing Money on Toll Roads
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This is the second post in a three-part series about the Indiana Toll Road and privately financed highways. Read part one. Macquarie Group, the gigantic Australian financial services firm with some $400 billion in assets under management, has made a lot of money in the infrastructure privatization game. The publicly traded company owns the Brussels Airport, […]
The Indiana Toll Road and the Dark Side of Privately Financed Highways
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This is the first post in a three-part series on the Indiana Toll Road and the use of private finance to build and maintain highways. In September, the operator of the Indiana Toll Road filed for bankruptcy, eight years after inking a $3.8 billion, 75-year concession for the road with the administration of Governor Mitch Daniels. […]
In Tenth Year of Park(ing) Day, Parklets Bloom on Six Continents
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Cities on six continents celebrated Park(ing) Day on Friday, in its tenth year of temporarily transforming curbside space for cars into public spaces for people. Some of the pop-up parks that caught our eye this Park(ing) Day include: Providence pulled out all of the stops this year, with 32 parklets — and a pop-up protected bike lane down […]
Why Transit Agencies Should Woo “Bohemian Boomers” and “Metro Moms”
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A new national survey released today by TransitCenter seeks to understand not just the who, but also the why, of Americans’ increasing transit use. The survey found that Americans’ feelings towards transit and cities vary considerably by age, personal values, and whether transit provides a feasible travel option in their neighborhoods. Factors that don’t have much […]
Four Mayors on Why They’re Building Out Their Cities’ Bike Networks
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A growing number of mayors want to make big strides on bike policy, and they need smart advocates to help them do it. Mayors Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh, Jennifer Selin of Morgantown, and A.C. Wharton of Memphis addressed the opening session at the 2014 Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place conference, now […]
Oil-Laden Freight Trains Delaying Amtrak, Commuter Trains Across U.S.
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Oil production is booming across North America, as new technologies make it possible to extract liquid crude oil from sources like the Bakken shale oil field in North Dakota and Montana, or Alberta’s tar sands. The ever-increasing volume of crude oil mined in remote Great Plains locations often finds its way to refineries via “rolling pipelines” – freight […]
Alta Chief: Bike-Share Expansions Unlikely in 2014
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Despite continually growing ridership, Alta Bicycle Share-operated bike-share systems across America will probably not be adding bikes or docks this year. The bankruptcy of Montreal-based Public Bike Share Company, known as Bixi, which developed and manufactured the equipment that Alta’s systems use, has disrupted the supply chain that numerous cities were pinning their expansion plans […]
DC to Build a 12-Block Shared Space Neighborhood on the Potomac
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Earlier this month, Streetsblog went on a streak about “shared space” — the idea that some streets can work better when, instead of using curbs and traffic signals to separate users, pedestrians get priority using subtle but effective visual cues. We interviewed a key shared space messenger, Ben Hamilton-Baillie; we showed off built examples in Pittsburgh and Batavia, Illinois; and we […]
The Secrets of Successful Transit Projects — Revealed!
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All across America, cities are investing in new transit lines. Which of these routes will make the biggest impact by attracting large numbers of new riders? A landmark report from a team of researchers with the University of California at Berkeley identifies the factors that set successful transit investments apart from the rest. The secret sauce is fairly […]
Talking Shared Space With Ben Hamilton-Baillie
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“Recovering architect” and street design expert Ben Hamilton-Baillie launched a broadside against the rules of traffic engineering during a plenary speech to the Congress for the New Urbanism’s recent annual meeting in Buffalo. Baillie urges widespread adoption of “shared space” — a design concept popularized by Hans Monderman over the past generation in the Netherlands that has […]
Mapping How Far You Can Bike Without Breaking a Sweat
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Any bicyclist knows that maps can be quite deceiving at first glance. The first time I tried to traverse San Francisco on a bicycle, I foolishly set out from the bike-rental shop on Fisherman’s Wharf with a basic street map, and decided that I’d avoid downtown traffic by heading south across the grid. While I was correct […]