Speed Traps Have No Long-Term Effect on Speeding

This Strong Towns member was skeptical of claims that a speed trap had successfully slowed the cars on a local street…so, he conducted a speed study. Here are his results.

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.

What Does $106 Million Get You in Maine? A Redundant Highway Expansion That Nobody Wants.

Maine residents want road maintenance. MaineDOT is giving them more roads.

McGilchrist Still Isn’t an Improvement, but Here’s the Math

We've said it'll take 39 years for Salem, OR, to recoup the money they're spending on the McGilchrist Street “Improvement” Project, and you've asked us to provide more proof for this assertion. So, let's do the math.

#DotheMath, #NoNewRoads, Marohn, Transportation, Top Story, Safe & Productive StreetsCharles MarohnNovember 2, 2022#DoTheMath, Safe and Productive Streets, Oregon, transportation, transportation spending, traffic engineering, projections, local finance, #NoNewRoads

Great Wee Roads: What Driving in Scotland Taught Me About Driving in America

Take a trip with our Community Builder, John Pattison, as he discovers why the design of Scottish roads makes them safe—and downright pleasant—to drive on, even for a foreigner!

#SlowtheCars, Pattison, Transportation, Top Story, End Highway Expansion, Safe & Productive StreetsJohn PattisonNovember 1, 2022Europe, transportation, roads, design, Street Design, Safe and Productive Streets, cars, traffic engineering, #SlowTheCars

This Seattle Highway Is Facing a $29 Million Financial Crisis

State Route 99 was a long-anticipated project in Seattle, WA, but this multimillion-dollar highway expansion hasn’t recouped nearly enough money to make up for its costs.

CDOT Leads the Way in Not Building Highways

Traffic headaches in Denver, CO, have caused the state to realize that widening highways just isn’t working, anymore. Instead, Colorado is making a huge shift in its transportation priorities.

#NoNewRoads, Infrastructure, Sheppard, Success Story, Transportation, Top Story, End Highway ExpansionSeairra SheppardOctober 25, 2022success, success stories, colorado, Denver, transportation, Infrastructure, infrastructure, local government, End Highway Expansion

The Highway Boondoggles Report

Frontier Group’s Tony Dutzik comes onto the podcast today to talk about their annual “Highway Boondoggles” report. In light of last year’s infrastructure bill, just how much funding is being wasted on highway expansion?

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.

Planes, Trains, and Buses

Stranded with a dying phone and no car, our Neighborhood Storyteller relies this week on public transit and the kindness of strangers to get where she needs to go.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Transportation, Public Transit, Top StoryKarla TheilenOctober 2, 2022neighborhood storyteller, bus, buses, public transit, public transportation, transportation, transit

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.

$4.7 Billion New Jersey Turnpike Expansion Ignores Local Leaders and Invites More Gridlock

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority plans to spend $4.7 billion updating and widening an eight-mile section of the turnpike, in the hopes of relieving congestion. Here’s why it’s not going to help.

E-Bikes: The Frankenstein's Monster of Transportation?

A recent Atlantic piece paints e-bikes as an awkward, doomed-to-fail mashup of the motorcycle and the bicycle. What’s the Strong Towns take?

Upzoned, Podcast, Top Story, Bikeability, TransportationStrong TownsSeptember 14, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, bikes, e-bikes, biking, bicycling, bikeability, transportation

Large Trucks Need Better Street Design

It's hard being the driver of a large truck, these days. You want your urban truck-driving experience to be better, but how? Answer: By supporting great pedestrian and cycling projects!

#SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Top Story, Safe & Productive StreetsNorman Van Eeden PetersmanSeptember 9, 2022Safe and Productive Streets, Safety, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, bicycling, protected bike lane, bike lanes, #SlowTheCars, car culture, transportation

Our Kids Shouldn’t Solve the School Bus Driver Shortage by Walking Through “Death Valley”

Just like last year, we’re facing a bus driver shortage. Some are asking why our kids can’t just walk, bike, or take public transit to school, but the answer isn’t that simple.

#SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Stange, Transportation, Top StoryJay StangeAugust 25, 2022Safety, Safe and Productive Streets, Safe Routes to Schools, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, children, schools, bus, buses, #PedestrianUnfriendly, #SlowTheCars, transportation

New York's New Experiment in Fighting Gridlock

America’s first experiment with charging a toll to enter a congested urban area is going to begin in New York City next year.

Upzoned, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 24, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, congestion, congestion pricing, traffic congestion, New York, toll roads, transportation, traffic engineering

What Causes Traffic Problems? Updating Your Mental Model

Part of why we can't agree on constructive solutions to traffic congestion is that our basic mental model of what causes traffic is wrong. But what if we made a slight update to that model?

Herriges, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 24, 2022traffic congestion, traffic engineering, transportation, congestion, density, Development, development

If You Want People to Use Public Transit, Connect the Places Where People Want to Walk

The Strong Towns team got together recently and used some of Minneapolis’s public transit. Here’s our reflections from that experience.

Public Transit, Transportation, Stange, Top StoryJay StangeAugust 23, 2022transit, public transit, public transportation, transportation, Not Just Bikes, CityNerd, Minnesota, Minneapolis

A Rough Beast Slouches Toward the Brent Spence Bridge

As local and regional politicians move forward on a $3 billion highway widening project, a local group of activists in Cincinnati are fighting for an alternative plan.

Infrastructure, #NoNewRoads, Transportation, Top StoryRyan CraneAugust 22, 2022highways, End Highway Expansion, freeway widening, Cincinnati, Ohio, race, Race, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, transportation, transportation spending, #NoNewRoads

Not Just Bikes and Strong Towns: What America Keeps Getting Wrong About Public Transit

Why is it that in the U.S. and Canada, we're always being told that we can't justify the ridership for transit projects? And why is it that when we do build transit, it struggles to gain riders?