How Freeways Came About from Cities Designed for Cars

Planning for Cars in Cities – Planners, Engineers, and Freeways in the 20th Century (18 page pdf, Jeffrey R. Brown, Eric A. Morris, and Brian D. Taylor, Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 75, No. 2, Spring 2009) Today’s review article describes the development of major roads in cities, how and why they evolved [...]

Why do People Drive to Work?

How and why do people commute by car? A mixed-methods investigation ( Abstract, A Goodman, J Panter, C Guell, D Ogilvie, J Epidemiol Community Health, Sep. 14, 2011) Today’s review is interesting because it looks at why people chose to drive a car to work. The results indicate that the decision is strongly influenced by [...]

How Stressful is Commuting by Public Transit?

Despite Toronto, Montreal gridlock, commuters reluctant to use transit (The Globe and Mail, Aug. 24, 2011) Today’s review article has a number of interesting statistics relating to Canadian commuters that help to explain why 4 out of 5 of them choose driving by car over public transit. The answer seems to be the additional stress [...]

The Pain of Commuting

IBM 2011 Global Commuter Pain Survey (9 page pdf, IBM, Sep. 8, 2011) In many cities, vehicle emissions is a major contributer to urban air pollution and the choices commuters make in their choice of transportation mode has a major impact on the resulting air quality. Today we review the 4th annual world survey of [...]

Which Transit Option is Optimal: Streetcars, Buses or Light Rail?

Image via Wikipedia Why a Streetcar Is Something to Be Desired – Rule 1 for sustainable communities: Restore the streetcar city (The Tyee, Sept. 16, 2010) The article reviewed today has an excerpt from Patrick Condon’s new book “Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities: Design Strategies for the Post Carbon World”. It contains a comparative cost [...]

The Canadian Case for Congestion Pricing

Image by Getty Images via @daylife Winning the battle with traffic congestion – The benefits of accurate transport pricing (15 page pdf, Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Policy Series No. 94, August 2010) Also discussed here: Congestion Pricing: The View from Canada (Human Transit, Aug. 11, 2010) Today’s report is one of a handful that [...]

Competing for Mobility with the Private Automobile

Under-appreciated and neglected urban transport policy opportunities (and reframing competition in urban transport) (34 slides, 2009) Also discussed here: Should we (can we?) make our cars dispensible? (Reinventing Urban Transport, Sep. 4, 2008) And here: “Metered Access” to Cars – could this become the norm? (Reinventing Urban Transport, Apr. 29, 2008) And here: Let’s give [...]

Transit, Road Pricing and Congestion

Image via Wikipedia What Does Transit Do About Traffic Congestion? (updated-Human Transit, July 30, 2010) Also discussed here: The Triple Convergence (Walkable Streets) And here: The anti-transit shell game (Cap’n Transit Rides Again, Dec.15, 2009) And here: The “Transit Isn’t Green Because It Runs Empty” Line (Human Transit, Dec. 15,2009) A thoughtful article today about [...]

The Carbon Footprint of a University

Image by Ken Lund via Flickr The Greenhouse Gas Inventory of Louisiana State University: A Case Study of the Energy Requirements of Public Higher Education in the United States (18 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2(7), 2117-2134, July 7, 2010) Today’s review article examined carbon fuels used to support a large university in the warm southeastern [...]

Safer and More Efficient Transportation

Image via Wikipedia Transportation in Contemporary Society: A Complex Systems Approach (1hr 5 min video, MIT World, Mar. 9, 2010) Also discussed here: Work Starts at 9AM? It’ll Cost You (6 min video, Big Think, Mar. 31, 2010) Prof. Sussman’s lecture on the changing approaches to transportation aided by improved technology and influenced by environmental [...]

Speed vs. Frequency- what counts most?

Applying Highway Concepts to Transit (Human Transit, Apr. 16, 2010) Also discussed here: Illusions of Travel Time in Transit Promotion (Human Transit, Mar. 28, 2010) Secondary reference:  AASHTO GREEN BOOK – A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 5th Edition When assessing options for transit , there is need to think differently than [...]

Car Free Schools – only in Canada, you say?

Milton school forces to students to walk (Spacing Toronto, Mar. 25, 2010) Also discussed here: A One of a Kind Walking, Biking School Opens in Canada (School Transportation News, Jan. 12, 2010) Associated reference: Children & Cities: Planning to Grow Together (24 page pdf, Vanier Institute of the Family,  Oct. 2009) Today’s article is not [...]

Commuters on Urban Highways

Changes in Transportation Infrastructure and Commuting Patterns in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, 1960-2000 (12 page pdf, American Economic Association Meetings, Atlanta, GA, 2010) Also discussed here: Freeways Responsible For Emptying Out Cities (World Streets, Mar. 25, 2010) This article examines the impact of urban highways in the USA on commuting patterns and the population density in [...]

How the Choice of School affects Air Quality

Vehicle Emissions during Children’s School Commuting: Impacts of Education Policy (7 page pdf, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2010, 44 (5), pp 1537–1543, January 28, 2010) Also discussed here: What is the best `school run` for the environment? (Science for Environment Policy – European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, Mar. 12, 2010) Not surprisingly, if one selects [...]

Parking Strategies and Traffic Congestion

U.S. Parking Policies: An Overview of Management Strategies (86 page pdf, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, February, 23 2010) Also discussed here: Free Parking? Breaking Our Addiction to the Parking Lot (OpenAlex, Mar. 1, 2010) And here: San Francisco’s quest for the perfect price for parking (The Operations Room, July 29, 2010) Key Quotes: [...]

Exposure of Commuters to Air Pollution

Commuters’ Exposure to Particulate Matter Air Pollution is Affected by Mode of Transport, Fuel Type and Route (35 page pdf, Environ Health Perspect, 25 February 2010) Key Quotes: “The aim of the study was to quantify differences in exposure to air pollutants in traffic compared to simultaneously measured urban background concentrations, and to examine the [...]

Why do you drive to work?

How Does Car Parking Availability and Public Transport Accessibility Influence Work-Related Travel Behaviors? (15 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2, 576-590, 12 February 2010) How to get people out of their cars for the daily commute and into public transit is a challenge for many cities in North America. This article looks at the factors that [...]

Orienting Development to Transit

Transit-oriented development requires more than transit and development (from blog by Kaid Benfield, Director, Smart Growth Program, NDRC) Given that efficient public transit is part of the solution to reduce private vehicle commuting and emissions and make a city pollution free, this article looks at transit oriented development and ways to make the development part [...]

Free Parking and Downtown Pollution

The New Colonist blog examines the need and consequences of municipal zoning laws calling for the provision of parking space for residences and businesses in this post “Fifty Years of Stupid Parking Tricks….” and refers to an earlier book review  Pave paradise? No, ditch the parking lot (written by Donald C. Shoup)from the New Urban [...]

“the degree to which the businesses are acting against their own self-interests”

Gary Mason,  a leading journalist from Canada’s greenest and 3rd largest city,  writes today on “Bring on taxes – if they spur transit“.  He explains how higher downtown parking rates help to reduce traffic and pollution downtown, as well as provide funds for a much more efficient and comfortable  alternative, rapid transit ( “the Canada [...]

Congestion Charging Around the World

Shaping urban traffic patterns through congestion charging: What factors drive success or failure? (27 page pdf, Research Institute of Applied Economics 2008) Key Quotes: “the costs derived from congestion for U.S. urban areas. .. less than 15 billion of dollars in 1982, and today represents almost 80 billion ..each dollar spent in highways only reduces [...]

“No Road Pays for Itself”

At CNU, Representative of Texas Legislature says “No Road Pays for Itself” (LA Streets Blog) Some great quotes from elected officials on the issue of who should pay for the roads, particularly for roads mainly used by commuters from suburban areas (but there’s no mention of road pricing) “The reason there’s not a new transportation [...]

Tips to Cities about Cycling

A well attended meeting was held recently in Ottawa to hear, Suzanne Lareau,  the head of  Vélo Québec, a well organized advocate for cycling in Montreal for over 40 years. One of the most signficant developments in that city is the free bike scheme, Bixi- Montreal, which offers close to 4,000 bikes from a network [...]

Congestion Pricing Works

Paradox, Schmaradox. Congestion Pricing Works (Streetsblog New York City) This blog posting discusses the City of London‘s congestion charge system and the trade offs between reduced traffic because of the toll and induced traffic that is attracted by less congestion – which was the issue discussed in a Wall Street Journal oped by Charles Owen, [...]

Who owns the road in Montreal?

Who owns the road in Montreal? (Montreal Gazette) Key quotes: “With 560 kilometres of designated bike lanes built or under construction on the island, Montreal is ahead of the pack among North American cities” Note- Ottawa currently (2008) has 541 km of bike paths, including 258 km off-road paths and is planning on over 2,500 [...]