How should engineers be thinking about building wealth in communities? That’s just one of the questions Chuck Marohn asks of Ian Lockwood, a recognized national leader in sustainable transportation policy and urban design.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryStrong TownsMay 1, 2023Podcast, podcast, engineers, engineering profession, transportation, Safe and Productive Streets

America Has No Transportation Engineers

If all a nation can provide are civil engineers who are given a crash course in transportation studies, what do we get?

End Highway Expansion, Safe & Productive Streets, Member Post, Transportation, Top StorySteffen BerrFebruary 17, 2023End Highway Expansion, Safe and Productive Streets, engineers, engineering profession, traffic engineering, transportation

Lawsuit Update: Making a Stand for Engineers in the Minnesota State Court of Appeals

In this Strong Towns Podcast, listen to the latest update on our lawsuit agains the Minnesota board of engineering licensure and the oral arguments made in front of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 30, 2023Podcast, podcast, engineers, engineering ethics, engineering profession

Everything Is a Safety Improvement

…At least, according to the transportation professionals who advance harmful infrastructure projects in the communities they’re supposed to serve.

End Highway Expansion, Engineering Profession, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJanuary 10, 2023Safety, End Highway Expansion, Infrastructure, engineers, engineering ethics

Traffic Engineers Blame YOU for THEIR Mistakes

MDOT’s M.O.: create deadly streets, and then blame drivers for high traffic death rates.

#SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Sheppard, Transportation, Top StorySeairra SheppardDecember 9, 2022safety, Safe and Productive Streets, Street Design, streets, forgiving design, car crash, engineers, traffic engineering, transportation, #SlowTheCars

MoDOT Is Proud of Their Highways. Missourians, Not So Much.

MoDOT recently put out a tweet celebrating the 50-year anniversary of a highway that tore up Kansas City’s downtown. Here are just some of the (rightfully) angry reactions they got.

That's Not an Improvement

Engineers who work on municipal infrastructure need to stop ubiquitously describing their projects as “improvements”—especially when the project is actually harmful, not helpful.

The One Ring

Traffic engineers in Canada wear an iron pinky ring as a reminder of their responsibility to public safety. So why, then, do they routinely make street design choices that kill people every day?

Springfield Delays Redesign of Deadly Street To Prioritize Traffic Flow

Springfield took a step forward in fixing this deadly stroad…but Department of Public Works officials are forcing the city to take two steps back again.

Engineers: Will You Be Someone, or Will You *Do* Something?

All truth passes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. We’re at the second stage in the case of engineering reform.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Top Story, Transparent Accounting, Safe & Productive StreetsPatrick QuigleySeptember 1, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics, engineers

Strong Towns Will Defend Engineers’ Right to Free Speech From the Minnesota Licensing Board

Charles Marohn was fined, censured, and reprimanded for speaking up for change as an engineer. We’re fighting to have this state board’s decision overturned, so they know they can’t use their power to intimidate those who call for reform.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Top StoryAndrew BurlesonAugust 29, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics, engineers

Here’s Why We Respond in Force to One Amtrak Crash While Ignoring Thousands of Daily Car Crashes

A top-down approach to addressing accidents fails to make streets safer. A local approach could change that.

Ryan Crane: Malpractice and Accountability in Engineering—A Surgeon's Take

When a patient dies, doctors review if and how their own actions led to that patient’s death. Shouldn’t engineers be doing the same, when people die in car crashes?

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 25, 2022Podcast, podcast, engineers, engineering profession, traffic engineering, Safety, safety, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, public safety, Public Safety, car crash

Ignoring Induced Demand is Engineering Malpractice

In 2022, denying how highway expansions induce people to drive more should be considered professional malpractice.

#NoNewRoads, Engineering Profession, Marohn, Transportation, Top StoryCharles MarohnApril 4, 2022transportation, transportation spending, highways, freeways, Virginia, engineers, engineering ethics, engineering profession, traffic engineering, traffic projections, induced demand, #NoNewRoads

What’s Wrong with Engineering Values? (New Video Series)

This video series shows why engineers have such different priorities from the rest of us. As Planetizen puts it, “If you’re not yet outraged, prepare to be.”

Confessions Book, Transportation, Video, Top StoryRachel QuednauMarch 25, 2022transportation, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, engineers, engineering profession, traffic engineering

Red Light, Green Light, No Insight

When we hand our whole transportation system to engineers, we shouldn’t be surprised that the values of their profession override the values of the public. It’s time for a new paradigm.

#SlowtheCars, Member Post, Transportation, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 4, 2022transportation, public transportation, engineers, engineering profession, traffic engineering, canada, Canada, Winnipeg, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, #SlowTheCars

How Traffic Engineers Can Finally Tame Stroads

This engineer offers a strategy for slowing down cars that could be a bridge between what communities want and what engineers want.

#SlowtheCars, Engineering Profession, Roads and Streets, Strategies, Transportation, Top StoryMike BrownFebruary 15, 2022traffic engineering, engineers, engineering profession, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, STROADS, streets, Street Design, Brainerd MN, #SlowTheCars

Why Do We Have to Handle 30,000 Trips per Day?

When engineers say a street must accommodate a high volume of traffic, what they really mean is, "The design of this street must prioritize the convenience of commuters over all else."

Driving Went Down. Fatalities Went Up. Here's Why.

Americans drove less during the early months of pandemic, yet traffic fatalities increased—and have yet to go back down. And the “official” explanations for it are completely wrong.

#SlowtheCars, Coronavirus, Engineering Profession, Marohn, Roads and Streets, Transportation, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 10, 2022traffic congestion, traffic engineering, engineers, Safety, transportation, car crash, coronavirus, Coronavirus, #SlowTheCars

An Update on Our Lawsuit Against the Minnesota Board of Engineering Licensure

The most frequent request we’re getting these days is for a status update on our lawsuit with the Minnesota board of licensure. Here are the answers we can give you, for now.