Transportation: Page 31

  • Seattle Washington aerial view from Queen Anne neighborhood toward Space Needle and downtown
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    Which zoning changes best alleviate the housing crisis? Seattle-area cities have a new way to find out.

    An interactive online tool from the Urban Institute estimates the impact on housing development of four different zoning changes around transit construction in the Puget Sound area.

    By Kalena Thomhave • June 22, 2023
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Pedestrian deaths in 2022 hit their highest level since 1981

    Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.After risi...

    By Andy Castillo • June 22, 2023
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Autonomous vehicle transit pilot in rural Minnesota to expand with $9.3M federal grant

    Autonomous vehicle transit pilot in rural Minnesota to expand with $9.3M federal grant

    By Andy Castillo • June 21, 2023
  • Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and President Joe Biden speak with officials in Philadelphia about over the weekend.
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    Retrieved from Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania.
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    Collapsed I-95 overpass will be repaired, reopened in next 2 weeks

    President Joe Biden called the federal government’s $3 million in quick-release funding "a down payment" after he took an aerial tour of the site.

    By Colin Campbell • June 20, 2023
  • A snowplow on a large service truck pushes multiple inches of snow toward the viewer. The plow is on a suburban street while snow continues to fall.
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    Transportation jobs are hard to fill. Here’s what works for Oregon’s DOT.

    One outreach campaign doubled subscriptions to the department’s email newsletters and resulted in an uptick of job applicants, an ODOT content strategist said in a recent webinar.

    By Adina Solomon • June 20, 2023
  • A fleet of white eVTOL aircraft with four rotors, one parked with landing gear on concrete surface in front of glass terminal building and others in midflight.
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    Air taxis are coming soon. Zoning and regulatory authorities are not ready.

    Air taxis, also known as eVTOL aircraft, could come to major cities as soon as 2025, but few local governments have policies for new vertiports, says a Mineta Transportation Institute report. 

    By • June 20, 2023
  • An overhead map of Culver City indicating phase 1 of the Move Culver City project with a green and red line where bus lanes and bike lanes were being tested.
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    Retrieved from Move Culver City on June 13, 2023
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    Cars will get more space after residents clash over complete streets pilot in Los Angeles area

    Bike, bus, scooter and pedestrian activity increased during the MOVE Culver City pilot, and traffic impact was minimal, but residents’ traffic concerns led the city to scale back the effort.

    By Gaby Galvin • June 13, 2023
  • A red sedan, passenger side elevated, lying across a sidewalk in New York. A smashed, burned front end and other damage indicate it was in a crash. Firefighters are standing near it.
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    Drew Angerer via Getty Images
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    Getting to zero traffic fatalities will take more than infrastructure funds, experts say

    Traffic violence is a preventable public health crisis, experts said during a Mineta Transportation Institute webinar. Federal funding for local communities will help, but cities need to cultivate a “culture of safety,” one mayor said.

    By Maylin Tu • June 13, 2023
  • Cars and trucks lined up bumper to bumper on a three-lane highway.
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    Win McNamee/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    When climate disasters strike, how can cities evacuate people who don’t have cars?

    "There's not a place in this country” where everyone has a car, said the deputy director of the new federally funded Center for Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities, and emergency planners must meet carless residents’ needs.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • June 12, 2023
  • Bumper-to-bumper cars driving away from the camera spewing gray exhaust gases.
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    Get old cars off the road to protect vulnerable California communities, report urges

    “The state must commit to retiring the dirtiest vehicles on the road,” said one of the report’s authors.

    By • June 9, 2023
  • City skyline from above over highways.
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    Dallas in the homestretch of ransomware attack recovery

    Security operations and tools are also getting a refresh as city officials rebuild impacted systems and make upgrades across multiple departments.

    By Matt Kapko • June 8, 2023
  • Many people exit and enter a silver New York City subway trains at a Manhattan underground station.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    To reduce subway crime, NYC transit agency eyes platform doors, other options

    Many people have long argued for installing platform screen doors at subway stations, but limitations exist, “so we do have to look at other things that we can implement more effectively and quickly,” an MTA spokesperson said.

    By • June 8, 2023
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Boston’s commuter rail system is outdated and needs an overhaul, according to advocacy report

    Boston’s commuter rail system is outdated and needs an overhaul, according to advocacy report

    By Andy Castillo • June 7, 2023
  • An outside photo of the California State Capitol.
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    The image by Jim Bowen is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    California autonomous vehicle bill advances as legislators worry about heavy-duty truck safety

    If the proposed law passes, a human operator could need to be onboard heavy-duty, autonomous trucks in the Golden State until at least Jan. 1, 2029.

    By David Taube • June 7, 2023
  • A sleek Amtrak rain painted in two shades of blue accented by red and white is seen along a body of water with green trees in the background and a clear blue sky above.
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    Courtesy of Amtrak
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    Intercity passenger rail expansion sought by 90-plus cities and states, Amtrak CEO tells House committee

    Some lawmakers made the case for why Amtrak should add service to their regions, while others questioned the railroad’s commitment to passenger safety and security and its need for ongoing federal funding.

    By • June 7, 2023
  • Purple and silver commuter trains fill tracks at a large train station in Boston, as one approaches the camera leaving the station.
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    Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
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    Boston commuter rail lines need overhaul, advocates say, as transit agency tackles safety, financial issues

    Electric, regional rail would be “an absolute game changer,” says a rail expert, but even 2020 cost estimates top $40 billion, and the MBTA is still recovering from safety failures and revenue shortfalls.

    By • June 6, 2023
  • A motor vehicle crash.
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    State-owned roads blamed for traffic fatality uptick in Austin, Texas, in new report

    “Fatal crashes occurring on State-owned roadways increased substantially while those occurring on City-owned streets remained relatively flat,” the city says in a new report.

    By Michael Brady • June 5, 2023
  • Overhead view of highway with cars and trucks with lines drawn among them implying connected vehicles using intelligent transportation systems.
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    How Panasonic is working on connected-vehicle technology in three states

    The Panasonic Smart Mobility office's goal for these real-world projects is to demonstrate the use of vehicle-to-everything technologies at scale and help prepare cities and states for the rollout of connected vehicles.

    By • June 5, 2023
  • Trucks sat on the street for more than 48 hours during a snowstorm, leaving snow banks that prevented customers from parking, co-owner Jill Pavlak said.
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    Permission granted by Jill Pavlak
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    St. Paul, Minnesota, bans truck parking on city streets

    The ordinance followed complaints about commercial vehicles crowding roads and blocking a brewery.

    By Colin Campbell • June 2, 2023
  • U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are seated in armchairs in the Oval Office.
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    Drew Angerer via Getty Images
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    Debt ceiling deal leaves DOT mostly unscathed, but transportation, housing funds may still be at risk

    “We're still assessing the best ways to accommodate the caps and restraints that are part of this deal,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

    By • June 2, 2023
  • One of Serve Robotics' delivery robots.
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    Courtesy of Serve Robotics
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    Serve Robotics, Uber Eats will deploy up to 2K delivery robots

    Over 200 restaurants in the Los Angeles market already use Serve’s robots to complete deliveries, which the company claims can reduce air pollution.

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • June 1, 2023
  • A woman and child are about to enter a white self-driving, ride-hailing vehicle with large sensors on the roof in San Francisco.
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    Courtesy of Waymo
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    Robotaxi companies are expanding existing operations — and coming soon to new cities

    Despite pushback from the city of San Francisco, two companies received approval to operate driverless ride-hailing vehicles for paying passengers anywhere in the city at any time. 

    By • June 1, 2023
  • An overhead view of the six-lane Cross Bronx Expressway filled with bumper-to-bumper cars and large trucks.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    DOT’s Reconnecting Communities highway removal program lacks performance measures: GAO report

    The Government Accountability Office report comes as El Paso, Texas; New York City and Philadelphia are looking into decking over major highways that split communities. 

    By • May 31, 2023
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    Courtesy of Nuvve Corporation
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    $400M for low-emission school buses available from EPA grant program

    The zero- and low-emission school bus funding has a “particular focus on reducing air pollution in disadvantaged communities overburdened by dirty air," said David Cash, EPA New England regional administrator.

    By Stephen Singer • May 31, 2023
  • A person in a suit using a smartphone app to access a shared electric scooter.
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    Shared micromobility boosts job access when linked with public transit: report

    While other analyses often make cars falsely appear faster than other modes, this study may provide a more accurate assessment by accounting for factors such as traffic congestion and how people use micromobility, researchers said.

    By Michael Brady • May 30, 2023