Local and regional transportation planners responded skeptically to data from the Texas Department of Transportation showing Texans driving less.
"According to Texas DOT’s data, the average Texan is driving less every day, and Dallas, Tarrant, and Harris counties saw a decline in total driving mileage, even though they added millions of people," according to an article by Jay Blazek Crossley to summarize revelations made in earlier coverage.
The current article digs deeper into the implications of the data for growth in Texas. First, however, Crossley considers the question of whether the data can even be trusted. Count Alan Clark, transportation planning director of the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), among those who believes TxDOT's data to be erroneous.
Clark believes that TXDOT traffic data does not accurately reflect how much people are driving in his region, and he’s worried that TXDOT will use this possibly flawed data to shortchange Houston out of several billion dollars in transportation funds that will be spent elsewhere in the state.
According to Crossley, Clark is not alone in his reluctance to accept the idea that Texas residents have drastically changed their travel habits. Meanwhile, how the state plans for its future, with new funding enabled by Prop 7, as approved by Texas voters in November 2015.
FULL STORY: Is Something Wrong With TXDOT’s Data on Driving?
Rising Costs Threaten TxDOT’s $85 Billion Highway-Building Plans
Texas Transportation Commissioners must have a hangover—backing off its highway building ambitions just a few months after approving the $85 billion Unified Transportation Plan in August 2022.
TxDOT Approves I-45 Widening Despite Local Opposition
Despite every manner of local opposition, the Texas Department of Transportation is pushing forward with a plan to widen Interstate 45 north of the city of Houston, demolishing and displacing thousands of homes, businesses, and community facilities.
Austin’s Vision for I-35 Cap Parks Takes Final Shape
The city’s plan includes parks, entertainment pavilions, commercial space, sports fields, and other facilities over 30 acres of deck parks spanning a sunken Interstate 35.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service