With the Senate having already approved their transportation bill and the House’s proposal languishing, we thought it might be useful to share this detailed analysis and side-by-side comparison of the two bills. We’ve included links to past blog posts and statements about the various provisions of the two bills so that you can have all [...]

13.BikeLane.15P.NW.WDC.2May2011 Originally uploaded by ElvertBarnes to Flickr. There was a lot of talk among transportation advocates and bloggers about this New York Times article last week, Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy: While American cities are synchronizing green lights to improve traffic flow and offering apps to help drivers find parking, many European cities [...]

High-speed rail investment has the potential to yield great economic and environmental rewards for California, but only if communities make smart decisions about land-use and growth at and around new stations. A new report prepared by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association offers prescriptions for how communities can prepare for rail investments.

Last Wednesday before 800 people in downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) unveiled a vision for the Chicago region’s future called “GO TO 2040,” a document that lays out a roadmap for the future of the city of Chicago and the metro area toward a more sustainable future.

This collection of 12 case studies puts to rest the idea that livability is an exclusively “urban” idea — small cities, towns and rural regions across the country are transforming themselves into more livable communities. Laconia worked with the U.S. EPA on three neighborhood plans to enhance the safety and accessibility of their streets and add more vitality to the community.

Here in Washington, DC last weekend, the 12-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian lane of the Woodrow Wilson interstate bridge over the Potomac River held its grand opening, filling with bikers and walkers joining the thousands of cars that cross the bridge each day. The bridge, connecting Virginia and Maryland on the southern part of the Capital Beltway, is a vital transportation link in the region, where Interstate 95 (and the large majority of truck traffic) bypasses Washington, continuing north or south along the eastern seaboard. But making the Wilson Bridge an intermodal success was not easy.

The Highway Trust Fund, which funds surface transportation projects nationwide, will need as much $7 billion to counter a shortfall in revenue. (Wall Street Journal) Alex Marshall stresses the importance of anticipating demand in transportation planning. (Governing) Gas prices near $3 a gallon leave some feeling stressed out. (Detroit Free Press) The Hummer brand goes [...]

A statewide proposal in California to encourage infill development, shorten commute times, and limit C02 emissions could have a big impact around San Diego, where regional planners are working to make housing more affordable and closer to jobs. (San Diego Union Tribune — Michael Gardner)

S.F. Post’s editorial board says that Californians need to understand the connection between land use decisions, congestion, and greenhouse gases, and backs a proposal by state senator Darrell Steinberg to require that regional and local transportation plans include reports on the impact of greenhouse gases.