Two thousand nineteen was a year in which Not in My Back Yard groups fought vital transportation projects tooth and nail — often taking to the courts to stop them. Yet even so, the city’s Department of Transportation inaugurated some sterling additions to the urban landscape that will make New York safer, cleaner and faster-moving. Here’s a review of the most exciting transit projects of the year: The 14th Street Busway: At some points this year, the busway appeared mired in court as NIMBY lawyer Arthur Schwartz and his band of wealthy-neighborhood associations plotted to foil the rollout of a transit project that benefits thousands of daily riders by brandishing specious claims about the ne

The first thing you need to know is a too-long acronym, one that sits—almost literally—in the center of every US street: MUTCD. It stands for the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, which is the guiding light for the nation’s transportation engineers. Why are stop signs always red octagons? MUTCD. Why do traffic lights use the same colors; and highway signs use the same font (Highway Gothic); and “Do Not Pass” signs come in the same size on all single lane roads (24 inches by 30 inches)? MUTCD. The manual is a set of standards issued and maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), part of the US Department of Transportation. It is updated infreque

Bike-sharing has revolutionized urban transport over the last decade, and some studies are predicting that electric bicycles, which are easy to use in hilly cities, will become the go-to mobility solution, with forecasts of more than 130 million units set to be sold globally between 2020 and 2023. The number of bike-sharing options in cities around the world has doubled since 2014, and the number of bicycles in operation has increased twenty-fold. Cities like Seville and Paris have deployed ambitious bicycle-based mobility programs, while in others, like New York, it has become the best and fastest option for getting around. Obviously, bicycles aren’t for everyone, but it can, with the right

SEPTA is planning to make riders’ phones an alternative to its SEPTA Key fare system by adding Apple Pay and Google Pay as fare payment options at both its turnstiles and kiosks in 2020, writes Michael Tanenbaum for the Philly Voice. The transportation authority is adjusting its contract with Conduent, which manages the SEPTA Key fare system, to install Apple Pay and Google Pay-compatible hardware to fare boxes and turnstiles. As part of this upgrade, all 4,226 SEPTA Key validators across all modes of transportation will be replaced. The enhanced system will allow for future secure use of student or university IDs as well as the switch to mag stripe Quick Trips with printed QR codes. Accordi

Gridlock Sam to Mayor de Blasio: Your busway really is working. Bus ridership along 14th Street is way up, bus speeds are way up, use of bicycles in the area is way up and car drivers are being inconvenienced in virtually no appreciable way as a result of auto restrictions along the crosstown street between Third and Ninth avenues, City Hall said on Wednesday, trumpeting the first official analysis of the transit-priority project by Sam Schwartz Engineering. And all the positives have been achieved “with minimal effect on area traffic,” City Hall added in a statement.“We are getting New Yorkers moving and saving them time for the things that matter,” Hizzoner said in a statement. “The early

The next decade is going to be defined by a revolution of battery-powered transportation, and the vehicle that will lead the charge won’t be the Tesla Model 3 or even the wildly polarizing Cybertruck. And it definitely won’t be an electric scooter. It will be an electric bike. For years, electric bikes were relegated to niche status in most countries. Between 2006 and 2012, e-bikes represented less than 1 percent of all annual bike sales. In 2013, only 1.8 million e-bikes were solid in all of Europe, while customers in the US bought a measly 185,000. But things started to shift, thanks to improvements in lithium-ion battery technology, pricing, power, as well a growing movement in cities to

It's that time of year again, where we simultaneously look back at the year slipping away behind us and towards the shiny new year full of promise just ahead. There was a lot to celebrate in transportation in 2019. It was a big year for cities to buy electric transit buses and ban diesel cars from city centers (at least in Europe). Meanwhile, automakers such as Ford launched ever more enticing electric car models such as its new Mustang Mach-E. And e-scooter riding, which can replace car trips and reduce congestion, saw unprecedented growth. At the same, charging infrastructure emerged as the No. 1 issue holding back vehicle and heavy-duty fleet electrification this year. And transportation-

The new bike fix-it stations that are going to be installed along Schuylkill River Trail will make the lives of many riders traveling along the path a lot easier, writes Gina Tomaine for the Philadelphia Magazine. The first of the planned seven stations became available at the trail’s Walnut Street Trailhead in Philadelphia for regular use on Dec. 12. It features a bike rack, an air pump, and a full set of tools for minor bike repair. The remaining stations will be installed along the 75 miles of the trail in East Falls, Phoenixville, Spring City, Pottstown, Union Township, and Birdsboro. The first station was installed by the Schuylkill River Development Corporation and funded by Schuylkill

The City Avenue Special Services District has received a $1.7 million Commonwealth Financing Authority grant from the Multimodal Transportation Fund to reconnect Presidential Boulevard to Monument Road in Bala Cynwyd. Currently, the Target complex in Bala Cynwyd is not accessible from presidential Boulevard which means all traffic has to enter and exit from Monument Road. This has resulted in heavy congestion and numerous car accidents on Monument Road. The project funded by the grant will improve traffic flow and safety in the area. It will also add lighting along Presidential Boulevard, provide drainage improvements, and bus stop construction. A new pedestrian and bicycle path will be crea

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — SEPTA is making changes to its regional rail schedules to improve on-time service and reliability for riders. SEPTA says for most lines, select trains will be departing stations earlier or later than previously scheduled. The updates will impact the Airport, Chestnut Hill East, Chestnut Hill West, Fox Chase, Glenside Combined, Lansdale/Doylestown, Manayunk/Norristown, Media/Elwyn, Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton, Warminster, West Trenton, and Wilmington/Newark lines. There will be midday schedule adjustments on the Manayunk/Norristown, Media/Elwyn, and Wilmington/Newark lines to allow for work on overhead wires as well as track repairs. Certain peak period trains on the Paoli/T

Have you ever dreamed of the day where your car could drive for itself freeing you to do other things, such as reading, catching up on emails, watching a movie, or sleeping rather than focus on the road while in the car? Automotive manufacturers and transportation technology vendors are rapidly progressing us to that goal. Indeed, we discuss that “Autonomous Everything” is one of the four key parts of our AI-Enabled Vision of the Future. The power of AI and Machine Learning combined with extremely detailed city and road mapping, lane-keeping, collision avoidance, and self-parking is leading to automobiles and trucks that can take us to our destinations without us having to keep our feet on t

Could offering free fares boost ridership on U.S. transit systems? Kansas City is about to find out. This week, Kansas City, Missouri’s City Council voted unanimously to make the city’s bus system fare-free. The plan was a priority of recently elected Mayor Quinton Lucas, whose “Zero Fare Transit” proposal was touted to increase transportation equity in the region, and endorsed by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, which services multiple cities in Kansas and Missouri. Bus fares are currently $1.50 per ride or $50 for a monthly pass. Kansas City’s very successful streetcar, which opened in 2016, is already free. Many U.S. cities offer free travel on certain transit lines or withi

The U.S. 422 Corridor continues to be one of the most congested roadways in Montgomery County with over 100,000 vehicles traveling it per day. Between 2015-2045, our population is expected to grow by 13.9 percent in Montgomery County, along with its employment increasing by 14.1 percent. With an increasing population, we need to look at our commuting options and make better choices for our quality of life. The 422 My Way campaign can help improve your journey today. 422 My Way promotes transportation alternatives that avoid driving alone such as carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, biking, walking, or working from home. The key is to give people choices! By using these alternatives, you c

Anyone on the road or rails is familiar with the litany of Pennsylvania's "crumbling roads, failing bridges, aging rail cars and buses along with hours of time wasted on congested highways and inner-city gridlock." But while those may be the all-too-common complaints of everyday drivers and passengers, the same litany makes up the assessment of a Pennsylvania House task force that forecasts a looming crisis in our transportation infrastructure. Its report, titled "Build to Lead" and released in November, found that the re-structuring of the gasoline tax and hiking of license and vehicle registration fees meant to increase funding for transportation infrastructure have proven inadequate to th

Amazon, DHL and UPS will test cargo bikes in New York City as alternatives to traditional delivery vans in a pilot project city officials hope will result in reduced congestion, improved air quality and a safer environment for pedestrians. Amazon will begin by using 90 bikes to help deliver groceries out of three Whole Foods locations. DHL will start with three bikes making deliveries out of its Manhattan service center. UPS said it would use "a few cargo bikes" during the pilot. All three said they planned to scale up their use over time. The Department of Transportation (DOT) pilot will last for six months and could be extended depending on the results, the city said in a press release. Th

The District Department of Transportation has cut the number of scooter operators in the District in half for next year, granting permits to just four dockless scooter companies: Jump, Lyft, Skip, and Spin. That means that four scooter operators that currently have thousands of vehicles on D.C. streets will no longer be able to operate in the District next year. Say goodbye to Bird, Lime, Razor, and Bolt scooters (the latter are part of Usain Bolt’s mobility company). DDOT announced its decision on Tuesday. It’s in line with the new permit applications the agency released for public comment back in October and confirmed the following month: up to 10,000 scooters would be permitted for 2020,

Approximately 32% of the 30,000 or so students and employees who show up at Oregon State University each weekday do so in single-occupancy vehicles. How big a problem is this? Well, if the university is unable to persuade folks to use other transportation modes the future looks kind of bleak. Even with the flat to modest enrollment growth the university has seen in recent years the no-change model looks like this: More than 1,600 new parking spaces needed at a cost of between $16 million (surface lots) and $100 million (a garage). • A 22% increase in carbon dioxide emissions. • Open space losses to parking from 1.6 acres to as many as 16 acres. That’s why the university has embarked on a tra

As Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation secretary, Leslie Richards, prepares to take over as general manager of SEPTA in January 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf has announced PennDOT executive deputy secretary Yassmin Gramian as her replacement, effective Dec. 6. “Yassmin Gramian has proven herself a capable leader and knowledgeable infrastructure planner in her more than 30 years of experience as a project engineer,” Wolf said in a press release. “Her experience working in PennDOT will allow for a seamless transition of leadership over a department that affects the daily life of millions of Pennsylvanians.” Gramian is an engineer who has spent more than three decades in the transportation and in

Presidential candidates, state governments, and utilities are promoting “net zero” emissions targets to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and preserve a safe climate future by helping to limit global warming to well below 2°C. But few of them are exploring exactly how the U.S. could achieve the ambitious goal of remaking its energy economy. Energy Innovation previously modeled a scenario to achieve the U.S. Paris Agreement pledge using the peer-reviewed, free, and open-source Energy Policy Simulator (EPS); it now uses the EPS to explore an illustrative policy package to achieve net zero U.S. emissions. By 2050, the net zero pathway abates more than 6 Gt of emissions a year and sa