Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Around the Block

Walkable retail development would be easier to build under Austin's draft zoning revisions. Photo: Doorsteps

Austin May Cut Parking Requirements By Nearly 50 Percent

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 1, 2017 | No Comments

Austin is in the process of overhauling its zoning code -- an initiative called CodeNext -- and one of the most promising aspects is a major reduction in parking requirements. If the current draft holds up, the effects on walkability, housing affordability, and water quality could be impressive.

Why Do We Still Pay People to Drive to Work?

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 28, 2017 | No Comments

The federal government spends $7 billion annually subsidizing parking for car commuters -- almost as much as it spends annually on transit. No wonder cities are so congested. If we're going to cut traffic in major cities, parking subsidies have got to go.

Commuters in San Jose lining up to board Caltrain. The modernization project is expected to help the railroad carry 40,000 more passengers in the years ahead. Photo: Richard Masoner/Flickr

Will Caltrain Electrification Win Out Despite the California GOP?

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 27, 2017 | No Comments

The electrification of commuter rail service between San Jose and San Francisco was all but ready to begin construction when Donald Trump's transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, pulled the rug out from under the project earlier this month. Local officials are trying to adjust on the fly to salvage the project.

Where bus crowding is most intense. Map: DDOT

Want to See Where Transit and Biking Need a Boost? D.C. Has a Map for That

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 16, 2017 | No Comments

Most places in the U.S. still use 20th century metrics to measure the performance of transportation systems. The emphasis is still on moving cars, not improving transit service or reducing traffic injuries. One of the exceptions is DC, where the DOT is letting people assess streets according to a different set of priorities.

Milwaukee Subsidizes the Rest of Wisconsin, Not the Other Way Around

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 15, 2017 | No Comments

Perhaps nowhere has the tactic of trashing cities to win elections played out more starkly than in Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker blows his dog whistle by portraying Milwaukee as a welfare case. But Walker's got it all wrong: New data shows Milwaukee's wealth is in fact being siphoned off by the rest of the state.

A buffered bike lane in Louisville. Photo: Bicycling for Louisville via Broken Sidewalk

To Get More People on Bikes, Louisville Needs to Raise Its Game

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 14, 2017 | No Comments

Louisville is making an effort to build out its bike network, adding a number of buffered bike lanes and beginning a network of low-stress "Neighborways" along residential streets. It's a start, but peer cities like Indianapolis and Pittsburgh are doing more to make cycling an appealing way to get around.

Memphis swallowed territory at a rapid pace in the 20th Century, and policy makers now believe the city is spread too thin. Image via Modern Cities

Reversing Sun Belt Growth Model, Memphis Looks to Shrink Its Footprint

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 13, 2017 | No Comments

Like many Sun Belt cities, Memphis owes its population growth over the last several decades to outward expansion. Since 1998 alone, the city has overseen 15 annexations, occupying a larger footprint than Chicago. But now the city believes that some of its farthest flung territory is more liability than asset.

Transit has absorbed most of the growth in commute trips in downtown Seattle. Graphic: Commute Seattle

Downtown Seattle Added 45,000 Jobs and Hardly Any Car Commuters

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 10, 2017 | No Comments

Transforming from a car city to a transit city is no easy task. Just ask Denver and Los Angeles, which have spent billions to build rail systems but struggled to reduce solo car commuting rates. But Seattle shows it can be done: The share of downtown commuters who drive alone dropped from 35 percent in 2010 to 30 percent last year.

Bill Shuster, head of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Photo: House T&I Committee

It’s Not Just Trump: House GOP Members Ramp Up Road-Building Campaign

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 9, 2017 | No Comments

Watch out: The leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is making a push for an infrastructure spending spree, even though the current federal transportation funding law doesn't expire for several years. Advocates will have to guard against a new road-building binge.

Racial segregation in housing and transportation policy hobbled Atlanta's transit system for generations. Photo via Darin Givens

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