Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about transit

The scene at SeaTac airport Saturday, where police briefly interrupted transit service. Photo: Browngoetz via Twitter

Police Tried to Cut Off Transit Access to Airport Protests

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 31, 2017 | No Comments

Thousands of protesters were pouring into American airports Saturday in response to Donald Trump's refugee ban, when suddenly light rail service skipped the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The incident raises serious questions about who controls access to transit.

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.

Eaton Corporation used Port Authority funds to relocate its headquarters from downtown Cleveland to the nexus of several highways in the east side suburbs. Photo: Eaton Corporation

The Injustice of Subsidizing Jobs People Can Only Reach By Driving

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 13, 2017 | No Comments

The more far-flung the jobs in a region, the fewer are accessible via transit, biking, and walking -- or even a short, inexpensive car commute.

2017 is going to be a big year for transit expansion projects, reports Yonah Freemark in his annual roundup.

Anticipating a Big Year for Transit Expansion in 2017

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 12, 2017 | No Comments

About 80 major new transitways will be under construction across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, reports Yonah Freemark in his annual roundup.

If Not for Trump, Last Night Would Have Been Great for Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 9, 2016 | No Comments

Last night had the makings of a historic election for transit. Voters in cities as varied as Raleigh, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles turned out to support ballot measures to dramatically expand bus and rail service. But the election of Donald Trump and the retention of GOP majorities in both houses of Congress cast a pall of uncertainty over transit agencies […]

Transit Vote 2016: Raleigh’s Chance to Grow Smarter

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 1, 2016 | No Comments

We continue our overview of what’s at stake in the big transit ballot initiatives this November with a look at Wake County, North Carolina. Previous installments in this series examined Indianapolis, Seattle, Detroit, and Atlanta. Ask Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson how Raleigh’s transit system is currently functioning, and he doesn’t sugarcoat it. “I just really don’t think we’ve got […]

What the Price of Parking Shows Us About Cities

By Joe Cortright | Oct 24, 2016 | No Comments

Cross-posted from City Observatory. Earlier, we rolled out our parking price index, showing the variation in parking prices among large US cities. Gleaning data from ParkMe, a web-based directory of parking lots and rates, we showed how much it cost to park on a monthly basis in different cities. There’s a surprising degree of variation: […]

Of Course the GOP Transportation Platform Is a Catastrophe

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 21, 2016 | No Comments

In the past few years, Congressional Republicans tried and failed to turn the federal transportation program into a highways-only affair. Still, the GOP isn’t giving up on eliminating federal funds for transit, walking, and biking. Donald Trump may have made his name building on the most transit-rich real estate in the nation, but he hasn’t changed the […]

How Good Is the Transit Where You Live? Measure It With AllTransit

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 19, 2016 | No Comments

Do you have the sense that transit in your city could be a lot better, and you want to show your local elected officials what needs to improve? Look no further: Chicago’s Center for Neighborhood Technology has produced a new tool called AllTransit that assesses the quality of transit down to the neighborhood level. AllTransit lets you evaluate your […]

Georgia Lawmakers Won’t Even Let Atlanta Vote on Transit Expansion

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 1, 2016 | No Comments

Once again, state lawmakers in Georgia have undermined urban transport in Atlanta. A bill to allow residents Fulton and DeKalb counties to vote on a half-cent sales tax to fund transit died in the Georgia Senate this week when leaders refused to bring it to the floor for a vote. A successful referendum would have raised $8 […]

High Transportation Costs Make a Lot of HUD Housing Unaffordable

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 29, 2016 | No Comments

Rental assistance from HUD isn’t enough to make the cost of living affordable when the subsidies go toward housing in car-dependent areas, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Texas and the University of Utah. The study evaluated transportation costs for more than 18,000 households that receive HUD rental subsidies, estimating that nearly half of recipients have to spend more […]

Congress Expected to Level Tax Benefit for Transit and Car Commuters

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 16, 2015 | No Comments

A federal policy that has encouraged Americans to drive to work instead of taking the bus or the train won’t tilt the playing field toward car commuters so much. A bill that extends provisions of the tax code will permanently set the maximum transit commuter tax benefit at the same level car commuters get for parking expenses. Both classes of commuters can now […]

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