Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Around the Block

Photo: Pierce County Sheriff's Office via the Urbanist

What the Amtrak 501 Derailment Says About America’s Failure to Prevent Train Crashes

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 19, 2017 | No Comments

While the investigation is just beginning, initial reports indicate that the train entered a tight curve at too high a speed.

After Harvey, Houston Leaders Look to Rebuild Around Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 11, 2017 | No Comments

The recovery effort needs to ensure that Houston will be better prepared for future extreme weather events.

Transportation now surpasses electric power as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Graph: Bloomberg

3 Policy Fixes That Could Dramatically Reduce Transportation Emissions

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 8, 2017 | No Comments

Changing tailpipe emissions is just one avenue to reduce carbon from transportation. Changing the amount people drive is another - and it can have a powerful effect.

The cost of driving solo on the high-demand stretch of I-66 inside the Beltway. Photo: Salesgrincity/Twitter

The Lesson of $40 Highway Tolls in Virginia

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 6, 2017 | No Comments

It's one of the few cases where solo drivers have to confront the full cost of their trips.

Using low-cost materials like this concrete divider, Toronto set up new streetcar stops on the far side of intersections on King Street, enabling safer boarding and cutting down on time stopped at red lights. Photo: Human Transit

How Toronto Put Transit Riders First on King Street

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 5, 2017 | No Comments

By deflecting private car traffic away from King Street, Toronto opened up new possibilities for faster, safer transit design.

Protesters formed a human chain to protect the bike lane where a truck driver struck and killed Emily Fredricks. Photo: Rebuilding the Rust Belt

Philadelphia Cyclists Demand Safer Bike Lanes — Now

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 30, 2017 | No Comments

About 75 demonstrators took to the streets yesterday after a garbage truck driver struck and killed 24-year-old Emily Fredricks.

New apartments in northwest Atlanta have a walkable footprint but are disconnected from transit. Photo: Darin Givens

Who’s to Blame for Drive-to-Urbanism?

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 27, 2017 | No Comments

Developments can have the trappings of a walkable place but still be very difficult to access without a car.

New restrictions on car access have shave several minutes off streetcar trips along Toronto's King Street. Photos: Jennifer Keesmaat

Toronto Shows How Easy It Is to Speed Up Surface Transit

By John Greenfield | Nov 17, 2017 | No Comments

It only cost Toronto $1.5 million to clear cars off King Street and dramatically sped up streetcar trips for tens of thousands of people.

There are five schools within a mile of this location in Albuquerque. Photo: Better Burque

The People Left Behind By Car-Centric Planning

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 16, 2017 | No Comments

A kid walking to school is an afterthought, or worse, an inconvenience in a system that aspires to scientific efficiency in moving cars.

The Albuquerque City Council isn't interested in fixing intersections like this, where a driver killed a pedestrian last week. Photo: Google Maps

Albuquerque Hits a New Low With Cruel Response to Pedestrian Deaths

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 13, 2017 | No Comments

To prevent pedestrian deaths, Albuquerque is cracking down on -- get this -- panhandlers.

A map of transit accessibility for jobs in Austin, via University of Minnesota

The Top 10 Regions Where Jobs Are Within Reach for Transit Riders

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 10, 2017 | No Comments

See how your city scores on this key measure of economic opportunity.

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