Psychology applied to traffic engineering
Although traffic engineering is in the realm of the exact sciences, understanding human behaviour and applying psychological principles can be useful to increase safety and compliant behaviour by road users. This is illustrated by an experiment conducted in the US, which was designed to increase the number of drivers stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks. According […]
Growing driverless car fleet in the US
Waymo, the company created to commercialise Google’s self-driving car research, was launched last December and is moving fast forward to set its position in the autonomous vehicles sector. The company used 100 self-driving vehicles to conduct public tests in Arizona; in comparison, Uber had 43 active self-driving vehicles being tested in March 2017. Now, Waymo […]
Curb extension to increase walkability
Los Angeles civic centre, one of the most walkable, transit and bike-friendly areas of the city, became more pedestrian-friendly with the added improvements at the intersection of First and Main streets. Similarly to what we reported on our recent post Design interventions for safer streets, the city Department of Transportation new treatments aims to make […]
From car to transit-centred city
Almost half of commuters choose public transport to reach downtown Seattle.
Residential Car Sharing
Developers are always thinking of different ways to promote new mobility concepts for their projects, adapting designs and features to new technologies and social behaviours. Some of those initiatives have been reported in the Wayfinding Forum Blog, as the car-free office building and the bike apartments. Adding to those examples is a new residential building […]
The Social Inequality of Parking Requirements
Parking minimum requirements can generate an oversupply of parking spaces and encourage the use of private cars even in transit-rich areas. Donald Shoup, in an article for ACCESS Magazine, raised another issue on this matter: parking minimum requirements contribute to inequality. The logic is that the cost of building parking spaces to achieve compliance with […]
Car Sharing in Campuses
The University of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) continues to research the impacts of car sharing. In August we posted about the positive impacts of car sharing in five cities in the USA and Canada, considering data from 9,500 Car2Go members. The new study focuses on car sharing in North American college and […]
Adoption of Pay-by-Phone Systems
An analysis of pay-by-phone systems in the USA shows the potential in on-street parking. According to Smarking, the adoption of mobile parking payment apps can vary due to location and demographics. However, public policies can be developed to ensure the success of pay-by-phone systems in unfavourable scenarios. The location can impact usage. Areas near hospitals, […]
Car Sharing Positive Impacts
The first independent research regarding the impact of car sharing was conducted by the Berkeley University of California. The researchers analysed car2go, the largest North America car sharing company, during three years gathering information from 9,500 members in Canada and in the United States. To verify car2go impact, the researchers conducted surveys and analysed car2go […]
Cycling uptake, safety and social equality
Last week, the USA’s National Association of City Transport Officials (NACTO) released a study showing the correlation between protected bicycle lanes, bike share increase and safety. NACTO compared data from 2006 to 2013 of seven American cities regarding the number of bike lanes miles (excluding signed paths with no other enhancements), the number of cyclists […]
Beach front parking lot
The idea of being able to park your car in front of a beautiful beach and stay there quietly watching the sun going down sounds great, right? This was one of the Herring Cove Beach attractions until the damage started. Due to climate change, the continued rise in sea level caused the erosion of the […]
Maven – GM’s car sharing start-up
In January, General Motors started its car sharing pilot program in the USA. In partnership with Lyft the company launched Maven in Manhattan and Michigan. Today the service is already available in Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC as reported by The Verge. The difference between Maven and other car sharing services is that there is […]
What’s the impact of reducing parking spaces?
Conventional wisdom would say that when there is a decrease in the number of parking spaces, the occupancy rates of remaining lots and garages should increase. Another common and related argument is that a reduction in parking adversely affects retailers, causing them to lose customers; after all “no parking, no business”. It isn’t that simple,…...
NYC’s World Trade Center Transportation Hub receives mixed reviews
Nearly 15 years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and US$4 billion later, the World Trade Center (WTC) Transportation Hub has now partially opened to the public, according to businessinsider.com.au. The Hub serves as a connection between New Jersey’s PATH trains and NYC subways. The design for the hub was first revealed in 2004. It was […]
V2V and V2I new transport technology in NYC
Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication is fast becoming one of the biggest sea changes in transportation technology, following right behind the foot steps of self-driving vehicles. The core essence of this technology allows cars, signs and traffic to communicate with one another over Wi-Fi-like airways, according to theverge.com. As such, drivers will have access to more […]
The woman behind 640km of bike lanes in NYC
Janette Sadik-Khan, NYC’s recent transportation commissioner, was instrumental in the introduction of over 640 km of bike lanes to the NYC cityscape. She was the driving force behind the impressive makeover of NYC’s Department of Transportation (DOT) from 2007 to 2013 with bikes, cycle paths and a new way of mobility top of mind. As […]
Robotic car parks – how successful are they?
Automatic robotic parking garages have been popping up around the world from Miami to Denmark for many years. Whilst they represent a sign of the times in terms of the development of technology and smart cities, their design and implementation can sometimes be problematic. Take for instance what is considered the perfect car park in […]
The hidden beauty of America’s car parks
For Baltimore based photographer Ben Marcin, there is more to car parks than grey concrete and cars. Ben aims to identify the hidden beauty and colour of a standard ‘parking garage’, according to citylab.com To what is often considered as just a ‘space’ to park one’s car, Ben is able to see the structure, the […]
Salt Lake City: less cars and more bikes = a boost to retail profitability
Salt Lake City leads by example. Retailers are renown for hitting the panic button when there are plans to remove on-street parking and add extra space for bicycles. However, according to Streetsblog.org, a growing body of evidence suggests that the introduction of additional bikes and bike lanes, can lead to a calmer streetscape […]
Fast cars and freeways come to an end in Los Angeles
Los Angeles City Council takes a leap of faith and approves a new transportation plan, (Mobility Plan 2035), that would remodel the LA streetscape over the next 20 years. The new plan could see the “sacrificing of car lanes to make way for bikes and buses”, according to the NY Times. The plan aims to […]
Uber Blamed for Traffic Congestion in NYC
Is penalising Uber the way to limit congestion on NY’s streets? According to the NY Times, traffic congestion in Manhattan is getting worse, rather than improving. The average daytime speed of cars in Manhattan’s business districts “has fallen to just under 8 miles (12.9 km) per hour this year, from about 9.15 miles (14.8 km) per […]
Interactive Map Helps DC Manage Road Safety
The Swedish initiative of Vision Zero is gaining momentum in the USA. Washington DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, has taken a strong lead on Vision Zero as a direct response to the US Department of Transportation’s Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets. The aim for Vision Zero is to ultimately improve pedestrian and bicycle […]
Dump The Pump Day – celebrating 10 years
A community initiative developed by the The American Public Transportation Association celebrated the 10th annual National Dump The Pump Day last week. Dump The Pump aims to raise social consciousness on how to save money (and the planet) by forgoing a visit to the bowser. APTA are encouraging people to take public transport and consider the potential to […]
The hidden cost of parking
Have you ever budgeted for the privilege of a car parking space in your apartment block? Probably not, because this cost is usually well hidden into the price of housing, land, construction, and maintenance. Over time this can certainly add up to a large proportion of your rental cheque or purchase price. According to Reinventing […]
BMW unveils “predictive parking”
Take the frustration out of finding that elusive parking spot with BMW’s new “predictive parking” feature (iPark), unveiled during the recent Detroit car show. According to Fortune in the US, “drivers waste an average of 55 hours a year looking for parking, costing consumers and local economies nearly $600 million in wasted time and fuel”. Not […]
US Report Card on State cycling
A pro-active and leading authority on bike riding in the US, the League of American Bicyclists, has released its 2015 State Rankings, highlighting which states are doing the most – and the least – to make bicycling a safe and convenient way to get around. Washington must be doing something right as they top the […]
Transport planning for “Millennials”
A recent US survey, presented by Progressive Railroading, found a majority of forward thinking citizens with an environmentally-friendly vision for the future, want access to public transportation options so they don’t have to rely so much on owning and driving a car. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), they have defined this […]
Hospital Cycling Initiative Reduces Carbon Emissions
Forward thinking, planning and initiative paved the way for the Seattle Children’s Hospital to develop a comprehensive Transportation Plan. According to a well-known American blog – Streetsblog USA, The Seattle Children’s Hospital is leading the way in “Sustainable Healthcare Architecture”. Launched in 2008, “the new target was to reduce the share of commuters who arrive […]
New York: Parking Grand Central style
So you’re spending a lazy Sunday in New York browsing through the options for an apartment upgrade and you come across 443 Greenwich in Tribeca, New York offering (among the “amenities”) a car park inspired by Grand Central Station complete with valet parking, convenient bike racks and a dedicated entry ramp for cyclists. The following […]
Turning New York City’s parking lots into affordable housing
Photo Credit: Stefan Georgi/Flickr With New York City facing increasing pressure on housing affordability, the NYC based Institute for Public Architecture called for creative ideas and solutions for affordable housing. One of the most intriguing ideas came from fellows of the Institute Sagi Golan, Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich, which targets the abundance of parking […]