Fueling the crisis: New report finds more money leads to more emissions
Transportation for America’s latest report highlights the need for fiscal responsibility to meet the country’s transportation goals.
Author: Abigail Araya
Three principles to guide federal transportation spending
It’s time for transportation investments that achieve results for all Americans. For future investments in U.S. infrastructure, Congress should follow three key principles: fix it first, prioritize safety over speed, and invest in the rest.
So your community has too much parking. What can you do about it?
More often than not, communities take their parking for granted. When parking is discussed at all, the general assumption tends to be that more parking is needed, not less. But as we’ve covered before, American cities and towns often have more parking than they need, thanks to archaic parking requirements that fail to respond to the needs of the day. Adjusting these requirements can have numerous benefits, if decision-makers know where to begin.
The climate cost of free parking
Large parking lots and excess parking spaces put a strain on our environment, and we’re already experiencing the short- and long-term effects.
Your community’s free parking is costing you money
Everyone pays for free parking, whether or not they use it.
Media alert: Local artists invite Atlantans to envision more ways to travel at free, public workshops
On Sunday, August 18, and Saturday, August 31, Atlanta artists Emma Chammah and Eddie Farr will host interactive workshops exploring the need for an improved public transportation network in Atlanta. During the free workshops, all are invited to engage with the artists’ project, Traffic Cams, which creates a real-time augmented reality experience to show what Atlanta could look like with expanded transportation options. The project is supported by Smart Growth America’s Healing Our Highways grant program.
Completing Rural Highways: Challenges and strategies for state agencies
From November 2022 to May 2023, Smart Growth America worked with the State Smart Transportation Initiative, a project of SGA and the High Road Strategy Center, to host a series of four virtual workshops for staff at state departments of transportation (DOTs) to discuss challenges and strategies for implementing Complete Streets on state-owned rural roads. The goals of these workshops were to 1) provide space for small teams from state DOTs to engage in peer-to-peer conversations, idea exchange, and problem-solving and 2) identify and uplift the approaches that are working for state DOTs at the national level. There were roughly 30 participants from nine states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
Dangerous by Design 2024
A historic increase in pedestrian deaths from 2020 to 2021 shocked many, but this epidemic continues to get worse. In 2022, the most recent year with complete federal data, the number of people who were struck and killed while walking grew to 7,522, marking a 40-year high. This represents an astonishing 75 percent increase in … Continued
Benefits of Complete Streets: Goleta, CA
The City of Goleta is testing out new solutions to improve accessibility and safety for people traveling by foot, on a bike, on wheels or using transit in their community. One such project is an “interim” street restriping in their historic business district, Old Town. To test out how this project would benefit Goleta residents, … Continued
Strategies to Minimize Displacement: Weatherization
Introduction Brownfields—or properties with environmental contamination or potentially contaminated land—are disproportionately located in or near communities of color and low-income communities. Residents near these properties may face heightened health hazards and economic disinvestment until the site undergoes assessment and cleanup, which can be costly and lengthy. Safely reusing a brownfield site is an opportunity to … Continued