City Planning, Transportation Policy, Sustainable Living
By Ian Sacs Technology is hijacking the mobility industry. In these “go fast and break things” times, it’s all MVP and no VMT. Mayors want an automated shuttle to claim theirs is a smart city. Private companies are rushing in with poorly conceived mobility solutions. Every consultant wants to […]
One of the first projects I was involved in as a transportation planner was an access management design for Reisterstown Road in Baltimore. It wasn’t a glamorous Complete Streets project with dedicated bus lanes or protected bike lanes. It was mostly the consolidation of driveways […]
Micromobility devices have poured into American cities over the past 3 years. Go to any major city and you’re likely to see rows of e-scooters or dockless bikes lined up on sidewalks. According to NACTO, there were 84 million trips taken on shared bikes and […]
Not long ago, Downtown Miami was an empty expanse of vacant lots, warehouses and nightclubs. While some of the nightclubs still remain, the area has come a long way in the past 5 years. Mixed use projects like Miami World Center and a privately funded […]
Transit systems have seen massive expansions in the past decade, yet ridership is down across the nation. LA Metro’s system is a great example of the problems plaguing many transit agenices. Despite billions in new light rail investment and adding about 40 rail miles to […]
The difference between roads and streets is often overlooked but important in creating livable cities. Listen to any Bruce Springsteen song and you’ll probably hear a reference to “the street”. This is often accompanied by stanzas about how he spent a summer building a ’72 Challenger […]
I’m currently living in Miami, but much of my formative hands-on planning education took place in Baltimore. Baltimore has an incredible array of assets, including historic neighborhoods, great architecture and a world famous waterfront. Urban renewal took its tool on the city, however, and the […]
The title of this post contradicts many articles citing improvements in traffic safety since the 1950s. Yes, fatalities per vehicle miles traveled has declined drastically since people drive more and cars have become safer for their occupants due to seat belts and airbags. Yes, total […]
I recently took the new Brightline (now Virgin Trains) service between Miami and West Palm Beach. Touted as America’s first privately funded high-speed rail service, the first phase of service currently serves downtown Miami, downtown Ft. Lauderdale and downtown West Palm Beach. Expansion plans for […]
Walk around the downtown of any major U.S. city and you’ll probably see signs indicating time-of-day restrictions for on street parking. Some streets have AM peak restrictions, while many have PM peak restrictions. The rationale behind these policies is to better accommodate peak hour traffic […]