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With a two-thirds majority, Houston-area voters approved a $3.5 billion bond issue to pay for transit projects. This is the first time since 2003 that METRO has asked voters to borrow more money through bonds.
METRO’s plans include a bus rapid transit line to Bush Intercontinental Airport along with a light rail line to Hobby Airport. The transit agency also wants to build new park and ride facilities and make enhancements to the current bus network.
— Houston Public Media
The plan will help to expand Houston's fledgling transportation system, which currently includes a trio of interlocking light rail lines as well as a traditional bus network. Houston has over 120 mies of HOV lane. METRONext uses that for a two-way, all-day regional express bus network. City... View full entry
Following in the footsteps of New York City, Indianapolis, Portland, and others, San Francisco's Market Street will soon be redesigned for use by buses, pedestrians, and cyclists. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors has unanimously approved the so-called... View full entry
Late last month, the Portland Bureau of Transportation received approval from the Federal Highway Administration to use red coloring on bus-only lanes. Since the use of red to designate bus-only lanes hasn’t been fully adopted into the FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), cities that want to use the treatment have had to “request to experiment”. After going through an application process, Portland is now on the list of cities sanctioned to use the color. — Bike Portland
Bus-only lanes are sweeping the nation. With recent federal approvals in hand, Portland, Oregon is set to become the latest major American city to implement bus-only lanes in its downtown and suburban districts. View of suburban area bus lane network. Image courtesy of PBOT/Regional... View full entry
On Thursday, New York City transformed one of its most congested streets into a “busway” that delighted long frustrated bus riders and transit advocates but left many drivers and local businesses fuming that the city had gone too far.
Passenger cars, including taxis and Ubers, were all but banned from 14th Street, a major crosstown route for 21,000 vehicles a day that links the East and West Sides of Manhattan.
— The New York Times
The New York Times tries out NYC's new cross-town, car-free boulevard along 14th Street in Manhattan. Under the new rules, between the hours of 6 AM to 10 PM every day, cars are only allowed allowed to make deliveries or pick up and drop off passengers along the stretch of the street... View full entry
Starting on Monday, cars will be all but banned from one of Manhattan’s main thoroughfares.
The busiest stretch of 14th Street—a major crosstown route for 21,000 vehicles a day that links the East and West Sides—will mostly be off-limits to cars. Drivers will be allowed onto the street for just a block or two to make deliveries and pick up and drop off passengers. Then they will have to turn off.
— The New York Times
Closing a stretch of 14th Street in Manhattan to most car traffic is but the latest step New York City officials has taken in recent years to wrest precious urban space from automobiles. According to The New York Times, since 2008, the City of New York has installed 79 car-free... View full entry
"You have generations of people under the age of 35 … who are choosing to live car free and car-lite." – Westside Councilman Mike Bonin — L.A. Times
From the newly installed "protected" intersections in Austin, Texas and Davis, California to additional proposed bus lanes and bike paths in Los Angeles, car culture is becoming less of a given and more of an expensive, perhaps even less desirable, option. Cities across the U.S. are starting to... View full entry
