Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Around the Block

Left: Columbus bus service arriving at least every 15 minutes today. Right: Frequent bus service after the city's upcoming network overhaul. Maps via Columbus Underground

Columbus Is About to Double Access to Frequent Bus Service

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 3, 2017 | No Comments

Columbus, Ohio, is following Houston's lead and overhauling its bus network to make the system more useful to more people.

The "audit" of Oregon DOT buries information on the five-mile Highway 20 project, which came in more than 200 percent over budget. Photo: ODOT via Bike Portland

“Independent” Audit of Oregon DOT Looks More Like Agency PR

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 2, 2017 | No Comments

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been under fire for its embarrassing management failures. Most damaging was the revelation last year that the agency lied about the carbon reduction impact of a big $343 million transportation package it was pushing. The package failed to pass. Now ODOT is trying again to convince the state legislature to expand its budget. […]

America Builds Way Too Much Parking Near Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 1, 2017 | No Comments

We build parking that nobody ever uses because that's what American engineering standards recommend.

Wisconsin's $800 million Marquette Interchange is so large and complex, project leaders joked "it could create its own weather." Photo: Lunda Construction

Wisconsin Highway Costs Exceed State DOT Estimates By Nearly 100%

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 27, 2017 | No Comments

Highway costs have nearly doubled WisDOT's projections, and the overruns will be even bigger for projects that are still in the works. But Governor Scott Walker isn't interested in reining in highway spending.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said the city won't be "bullied" by the Trump administration. Photo: The Urbanist

Mayors Stand Up to Trump’s Executive Order on Sanctuary Cities

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 26, 2017 | No Comments

With an executive order yesterday, Donald Trump followed through on his threat to punish cities where local police do not report undocumented immigrants. Funds for transportation, housing, and other programs may (or may not) be at stake, but mayors of sanctuary cities around the country made it clear they are not backing down.

Capital disinvestment during the 1970s and 80s left New York City's subway system in shambles. Photo: TransitCenter

How Could Transit Agencies Cope With a Sudden Loss of Federal Funds?

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 24, 2017 | No Comments

Under Trump and the Republican Congress, transit agencies can't be certain the funding they're expecting will materialize. Via TransitCenter, here's a look at how cities have coped with the sudden and dramatic loss of resources.

Even a booming city like Seattle still has a lot of land tied up in parking lots. Photo: The Urbanist

The Case for a Tax on Parking Lots

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 18, 2017 | No Comments

Parking lots make cities less walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly. They crowd out space for housing. They erode the tax base. A few American cities have special taxes on surface parking lots that create an incentive for redevelopment, and Seattle is one of them. The trouble is, says Doug Trumm at The Urbanist, Seattle’s parking lot tax […]