Streetsblog Texas – Page 54 – Connecting people to information about how to improve walking, biking, and transit

Talking Headways Podcast: Can All Cities Be Great?

By Jeff Wood | Feb 17, 2017 | No Comments

The guest this episode is Alexander Garvin, author of the recently released book What Makes a Great City. We chat about why people are an important factor in building cities and taking pictures; Houston’s Post Oak Boulevard is going to show up Chicago, San Francisco, and New York’s best streets; and Alexander’s heroes, from Edmund Bacon to Haussmann to Robert Moses.

Today’s Headlines

By Jay Blazek Crossley | Feb 17, 2017 | No Comments

Traffic Fatalities in Texas Again Led Nation in 2016: 3,757 Deaths, Up From 3,531 in 2015 (Insurance Journal)
Transportation Advocacy Group – Houston Encourages #TXLege to Develop Multimodal Corridors (Impact)
Houston’s Downtown Protected Bike Lane Will Soon Directly Connect to Buffalo Bayou Trail (HPM)
Austin City Council Goes Forward With Limiting a TOD and Some Funding for Cap Metro (Monitor)
Let the Games Begin: Austin City Council Will Have First CodeNEXT Briefing on Feb 22

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

America’s Traffic Death Toll Is a National Disgrace

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 16, 2017 | No Comments

More than 40,000 Americans were killed in traffic last year, according to new estimates from the National Safety Council, the worst toll in a decade. The U.S. transportation system claims far more lives each year than peer countries. If America achieved the same fatality rate as the UK, more than 30,000 lives would be saved each year.

Introducing a New Streetsblog Series: Getting Transit Right

By Yonah Freemark | Feb 16, 2017 | No Comments

With more American cities raising impressive sums to expand transit, the question of how to invest effectively is increasingly essential. So far, few places have hit on a policy combination that makes transit more useful to more people. To help cities "get transit right," Streetsblog is launching a new series about which transit strategies are working and which are not.

Today’s Headlines

By Jay Blazek Crossley | Feb 16, 2017 | No Comments

Traffic Deaths Are on the Rise on U.S. Roads (NYT)
Austin Residents Unsatisfied With How the City Plans for Growth and Traffic (Monitor)
TXDOT‘s $15B Budget Request Includes Only $100M for Transit (0.6%) and $61M for Safety (0.4%)
Another Person in El Paso Was Killed by a Driver While Walking at This Intersection (KVIA)
Houston Matters Today at Noon to Talk About the Houston Bike Plan (Houston Public Media)
There’s a Connection Between Unsafe Streets and Chronic Disease (National Complete Streets Coalition)
Austin Transportation Department Holding Walk + Bike Talks Feb 25 – Apr 1
Kinder Institute’s Urban Data Platform Is — Almost — Live With a Bunch of Data on Houston Region

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Today’s Headlines

By Jay Blazek Crossley | Feb 15, 2017 | No Comments

Valerie Swanson Files HB 1792 to Shame Low-Income Housing and Further Segregation (Houston Chron)
Mixed-Use, Transit-Oriented-Development Adding Place-to-Hang-Out at UT-Dallas (Morning News)
Reason Anti-High Speed Rail “Report” Argues Texas Needs Density, Transit, Fewer Cars (BizJournals)
City of Austin Seeks to Further Prioritize Looking at Capitol Over Urbanism, Affordability (Statesman)
DFW Airport Covering $25M for Their Station on $500M Commuter Rail Line (Morning News)
Two People Killed, Four Injured in Crash Last Night on Loop 410 in San Antonio (KSAT)
Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta Does Not Understand Traffic, Induced Demand (Houston Chron)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

Q&A With Dongho Chang, a Traffic Engineer Who Stresses Safety Over Speed

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 14, 2017 | No Comments

Dongho Chang belongs to a new generation of transportation engineers who see their job as more than moving cars. His work with Seattle DOT has established the city as a national leader on designing multi-modal streets. We recently spoke to Chang about his work in Seattle and how the profession is changing.

Today’s Headlines

By Jay Blazek Crossley | Feb 14, 2017 | No Comments

Watson, Israel File Bills to Allow Cap Metro Rail Transit Extension Without Referendum (Monitor)
Driver Injures Pedestrian at Mesa and Champions in El Paso 3 Days After Crash at Same Location (KVIA)
TXDOT Houston Does Not Feel Need to Correct People Calling It Highway Department (Houston Chron)
…Happy Valentines Day (TXDOT)
Houston Cyclist Deaths Prompt Safety Messages, Calls for Council Action (NextCity)
Austin Transportation Department Vision Zero Program Releases “How You Can Help” Brochure
H-GAC Announces Public Comment Period on Adding TXDOT Project to TIP, Doesn’t Say What Project Is
City of New Orleans Agrees to Make 2,200 Bus Stops ADA Compliant to Settle Lawsuit (WDSU)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via $Austin Contrarian$

A CodeNEXT Explainer, Part 1

By Chris Bradford | Feb 13, 2017 | No Comments

I have not become a CodeNEXT expert in two weeks. But after spending more time than I’ll admit reading the code, both alone and in groups, I think I can shed light on some of the regulations. In this part, I will take a stab at explaining CodeNEXT’s transect zones.

Today’s Headlines

By Jay Blazek Crossley | Feb 13, 2017 | No Comments

Arturo Huerta: What Will It Take for Legislators to Seriously Address Drunk Driving? (El Paso Times)
Dallas Council Transportation Committee to Discuss Subway Alignment & Streetcar Today (Morning News)
March 4: Mobility Solutions Workshop for Central Texans (Project Connect)
Dallas by Drone Documents How I-30 Destroyed the Historic Cedars Neighborhood (Observer)
Traveling by Car in Bad Traffic Significantly Increases Domestic Violence (Rivard)
Black Girls Do Bike Hosting Black History in San Antonio Bike Ride, Saturday, February 18
El Paso Police Need Help Identifying Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed a Pedestrian Here (KFox14)
Hit-and-Run Driver Caused SUV Carrying 9 People Including Children to Flip Off Freeway (Morning News)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

via $Austin Contrarian$

Let’s leave setbacks alone, too.

By Chris Bradford | Feb 10, 2017 | No Comments

As with the minimum lot-size changes, CodeNEXT will upend standard setback regulations that have governed SF-3 housing for decades. Current SF-3 regulations require side setbacks of 5' (15' for a street side yard), and a rear yard setback of 10'....

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It’s On: Legislators Call for Safe Neighborhood Streets

By Jay Blazek Crossley | Feb 10, 2017 | 1 Comment

Yesterday Texas State Representative Celia Israel called for passage of the Safe Neighborhood Streets Bill (HB 1368). She was joined by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Fort Worth Council Member Ann Zadeh, and Houston Public Works and Engineering Department Deputy Director Jeff Weatherford, as well as Representative Helen Giddings, who said that she would be the first co-sponsor of the bill.

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