roads

Highways Don't Pay For Themselves, Even When They Do

One common argument for the highway-centric status quo is that highways pay for themselves, while trains and buses are government-subsidized.  This argument has been debunked again and again, and the debunking itself has even been debunked. ... read more »

Are Wider Streets More Congested?

In a recent Planetizen blog post, Brett Toderian had an interesting insight: "When vehicles are moving, they take up much more space. The faster they move, the more separation distance and space between vehicles is needed."  This makes intuitive sense to me: when I am driving on a 20 mph stre... read more »

Even In Phoenix, You Can't Build Your Way Out of Congestion

A recent op-ed in Canada's Globe and Mail argued that yes, you can build your way out of congestion by building more roads, because after all, Phoenix built lots of roads and they don't have that much congestion.  The author invoked the Texas Transportation Institute's report on Phoenix  t... read more »

Escapades on Lebanon’s North Yungas Road

This road offers a classical example of urban planning gone wrong and a real life illustration of the intricate relationship between the evolution of road infrastructure and that of society as a whole.   ... read more »

How Road Subsidies Might Cause Transit Subsidies

A recent article by Josh Barro admits that cars are subsidized through road spending, but argues that roads are less subsidized per capita because so much of car-related spending is private.   ... read more »

Three-cornered politics

In metro Atlanta, the Sierra Club is allying with Tea Party activists to fight a one-cent sales tax increase designed to raise additional funds for both roads and transit, primarily because of concerns about increased funding for sprawl-creating expressways.   ... read more »

Takin' It to the Streets, Part III

Armed with a speed gun and a working knowledge of what it takes to make streets safe, CNU's Heather Smith recently set out on downtown Chicago to check the speeds of mid-morning traffic. This episode finds Smith braving the wide-open terrain of Wacker Dr., where "there's very little in the way of ge... read more »

Takin' It to the Streets, Part II: "The Slow Down on State St."

Armed with a speed gun and a working knowledge of what it takes to make streets safe, CNU's Heather Smith recently set out on downtown Chicago to check the speeds of mid-morning traffic. Journey with Smith along State St., where the built environment informs a slowing effect on all its moving pa... read more »

Saving Lives Through Good Street Design

Last week's post from Ben Schulman, "Roads Aren't the Problem. ... read more »

Takin' It to the Streets, Part I: "Not Too Deadly"

Armed with a speed gun and a working knowledge of what it takes to make streets safe, CNU's Heather Smith recently set out on downtown Chicago to check the speeds of mid-morning traffic. Follow along as Smith catalogs the speed of westbound traffic on Chicago's Adams St. ... read more »