Road Safety

Low view of bike lane on New York City street with bike share station next to curb.

Safe Streets Grants: What to Know

This year’s round of Safe Streets for All grant criteria come with some changes.

April 22, 2025 - Transportation for America

Calvary Street bridge over freeway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path

Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

April 20, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Two people on bikes in red painted bike lane with bus in traffic lane next to them.

Understanding Road Diets

An explainer from Momentum highlights the advantages of reducing vehicle lanes in favor of more bike, transit, and pedestrian infrastructure.

April 17, 2025 - Momentum Magazine

Bright car headlights with glare at night.

Blinded by the Light: When Brighter Headlights Decrease Safety

Bright LED headlights can create glare and reduce visibility for other drivers and pedestrians.

April 17, 2025 - Vox

Coronavirus Driver

Study Links Covid and Poor Driving

The effects of the virus, including ‘brain fog,’ can make driving more difficult and dangerous.

April 17, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Small red car driving on forested road passing "Welcome to Virginia" sign.

Virginia Law Allows Judges to Mandate Speed Limiters

The law could set a new precedent for speed limiting tech on U.S. vehicles.

April 14, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Close-up of white sign with black text; line drawing of bike and 'BIKE LANE'

Houston Mayor Promises Dedicated Austin Street Bike Lane After Public Backlash

Although the one-way bike lane won’t be protected by physical barriers, the proposal is an improvement over the mayor’s initial plan to only include sharrows on the Austin Street project.

April 9, 2025 - Houston Chronicle

Blurred cars driving down road with European road signs visible.

Inferior US Vehicle Standard Threaten European Safety

EU vehicles are much safer than U.S. vehicles due to better standards. The U.S. wants its standard to be considered ‘equivalent’ for import purposes. A European Transport Safety Council report examines the conflict.

April 9, 2025 - Briefing on Risks to the EU Vehicle Market and Road Safety of Recognising US-market Vehicles as ‘Equivalent’

Two white garbage trucks stopped on New York City street.

How the ‘Direct Vision’ Design Approach Saves Lives

Designing large trucks to ensure better visibility for drivers can reduce fatal crashes and improve workplace safety.

April 8, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Low view of separated bike lanes in middle of Pennsylvania Avenue with U.S. Capitol dome visible at end of street at night.

Safe Streets Funding in Jeopardy

The Trump administration is specifically targeting bike infrastructure and other road safety projects in its funding cuts.

April 4, 2025 - Grist

Family wearing helmets rides down separated bike trail in city.

Proposed Bill Would Direct Funds to Road Safety

The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act was spurred by the death of a U.S. diplomat who was killed on her bicycle.

April 2, 2025 - Bethesda Magazine

Black SUV viewed from rear in traffic.

Study: Larger Vehicles Lead to More Congestion

New research links large SUVs to lower traffic throughput.

March 26, 2025 - Bloomberg CityLab

Close-up on 45 mph speed limit sign with part of Golden Gate Bridge visible in background, San Francisco, California.

San Francisco Turns On California’s First Speed Cameras

The city is the first in the state to use automated traffic enforcement to reduce speeding and traffic deaths.

March 25, 2025 - KQED

Close-up on pedestrian crosswalk light in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin with historic building with steeple visible in background.

Milwaukee Announces 60 Traffic Calming Projects for 2025

The city has successfully reduced traffic deaths and aims to eliminate them completely within the next decade.

March 23, 2025 - Urban Milwaukee

Orange "Bike Lane Closed Ahead" sign on a-frame in roadway.

USDOT Could Pull Green Infrastructure Grants

A new department memo requires a review of projects with the goal of removing bike, pedestrian, and electric vehicle infrastructure.

March 18, 2025 - Transportation for America

Row of concrete Jersey barriers running down the middle of a multi-lane road.

‘Colorado Barrier’ Repurposes Old Tires for Road Safety

The recycled rubber barrier can protect pedestrians and people in cars on lower-speed streets.

March 12, 2025 - Equipment World

Close-up of speed camera against blue sky.

Data Shows Chicago Speed Cameras Reduce Speeding, Crashes

Countering claims made by the Chicago Tribune that automated enforcement doesn’t improve safety, Streetsblog Chicago lays out the data showing how traffic safety fared in camera zones.

March 11, 2025 - Streetsblog Chicago

The Capitol dome in Washington, D.C. viewed from middle of Pennsylvania Avenue protected bike lanes.

Planning Trends for 2025: Creative Housing Solutions, Ongoing Transit Woes, and the Ever-Creeping Tentacles of AI

Urban planners have no shortage of urgent issues to delve into, from a deepening housing crisis to an increasingly unpredictable climate to a new federal administration bent on slashing key funding for everything from electric cars to housing assistance.

March 7, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

People walking on San Francisco street with 'Slow Streets' signs.

San Francisco Slow Streets Bucks Citywide Trend, Reducing Injuries by 61 Percent

Low-cost interventions aimed at slowing traffic are making a major impact on road safety.

March 4, 2025 - KQED

Orange sign and traffic cones indicating work zone on road.

Old Versus New Traffic Safety Paradigms

Current U.S. traffic safety programs are failing to reduce crash rates. A new traffic safety paradigm expands the scope of strategies that can be used to reduce crashes, which increases effectiveness and total benefits.

March 2, 2025 - Todd Litman

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.