Pilot Projects
Popular but Controversial Seattle Express Toll Lanes Face Possible Termination
The two-year-old I-405 express toll lanes are actually a trial. It's up to the legislature to decide whether they will be permanent. Two metrics were laid out: revenue and performance, but there's controversy there as well.
MBTA Pilot Makes the Case for All-Door Boarding
The MBTA pilot tested all-door boarding on two bus lines and found that the little-used best practice improved transit service.
Better Block Earns Rave Reviews in Akron
A Better Block installation took over the streets of Kenmoore in Akron, Ohio last weekend.
Austin's Capital Metro Makes Like Uber and Lets Users Hail Their Ride
Public transit is evolving to keep up with the conveniences offered by transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. The question is whether it will work for the long haul.
Driverless Van Tests Don't Pencil Out
While it might be easy to convince public officials to sell driverless technology as a flashy solution to mobility deficits—the math still doesn't justify the expense.
What Transport for London Learned While Tracking Users for a Month in 2016
Public transit agencies don't normally get the kind of fine-grained location and navigation data made possible by tracking phones. London got temporary access to that info at the end of 2016, however.
Applying the Tricks of Tactical Urbanism to Transit
The semi-legal world of quick, informal city improvements called tactical urbanism is finding a home inside transit departments.
San Francisco's Red Carpet Transit Lanes to Continue Through March Evaluation
San Francisco's red, transit-only lanes are a demonstration project. The lanes first appeared in 2013 and were supposed to last two years, with state and federal regulators to determine whether they would continue. The state evaluation began Dec. 6.
Over $14 Million Awarded to Eight Projects to Find Alternatives to Gas Taxes
The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding ways to transition from the gas tax to other user-based revenue mechanisms to fund transportation infrastructure. The federal gas tax hasn't keep pace with transportation expenditures since 2008.
Sweden to Test Overhead Power Lines for Heavy Transport
Electric roads (no, not solar powered pavement) will get a test run in Sweden.
U.S. DOT Announces First Year of Grant Funding for State VMT Fee Pilot Programs
$15 million in a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program is now available for states to implement pilot projects based on a "user-based alternative revenue mechanism," aka vehicle-miles-traveled fee.
Ambitious Goals for the 'Highway of the Future' in Georgia
In naming a highway after an green business pioneer, the state of Georgia took an initial step in what has become a growing effort to implement a new focus on the environment in the state's transportation system.
Indianapolis Puts Design Ideas to the Test With Pedestrian-Friendly Pilot Project
As it works to gather the $60 million necessary to implement permanent changes to Monument Circle, Indianapolis is testing ideas for how to make the location more pedestrian friendly.
Proposed Boulder Food Park Faces Zoning Challenges
The proposed Boulder Food Park repurposes a decrepit site into usable space for food truck patrons. Since the site is adjacent to a brick-and-mortar restaurant, a zoning exemption may be required.
Mileage Fee Worries in the Golden State
California's mileage fee pilot program legislation is now law. Dan Weikel of the Los Angeles Times raises two concerns drivers have regarding the switch to a mileage-based fee from a gas tax: privacy and fairness.
SFPark Releases Data on Two-Year Pilot Phase
The SFPark two-year pilot has concluded, and the city recently released comprehensive data that make a good case for its success in almost every possible metric of parking management. Now can the city expand the program?
Selling Change: Two Keys to a Successful Pilot Project
For communities or leaders reticent to buy into bold change, "selling change by the slice" through pilot projects can be a great way to get stakeholders on board with a larger vision. Otis White discusses two key components of pilot project success.
Portland's EcoDistricts
Launched in 2009 as an effort to choose five neighborhoods where sustainability measures could be quickly implemented and tested out, the city of Portland's EcoDistricts are entering their pilot phase.
Pilot Projects Are Nice, But Not As Nice As Permanence
Despite the quality of temporary public spaces being created in San Francisco, their use of funding sources and lack of permanence could hurt efforts to build permanent public spaces, according to this piece from the San Francisco Chronicle.
NYC Transportation Head Offers Advice to LA
This video from Streetfilms shows excerpts from a recent speech in Los Angeles by New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, who had some advice for the traffic-plagued California city.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
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
