Why is it that traffic engineers seem to value the flow of cars over human lives and safety? Are they just sociopaths?

Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodSeptember 17, 2021traffic engineering, engineering ethics, engineers, safety, pedestrians, parklet, safe and productive streets, confessions of a recovering engineer 10 Comments

"Improvements"

So many engineering projects are formally called "improvements." The subtle bias of this language provides a glimpse at the values embedded within the profession.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 9, 2021engineering ethics, traffic engineering, pedestrians, safe and productive streets, engineers, confessions of a recovering engineer 4 Comments

Not Just Bikes: The Wrong Way to Set Speed Limits (New Video)

Not Just Bikes has put together another brilliant video, this time explaining why we cannot manage the speeds on our roads separately from the design of our roads.

Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 7, 2021Not Just Bikes, Street Design, speed, traffic engineering, speeding, europe 2 Comments

All Traffic Models Are Wrong

Traffic engineers use projections of future traffic to make recommendations and decisions on transportation investments… The problem is, those projections are all wrong.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 7, 2021traffic projections, traffic engineering, engineers, confessions of a recovering engineer, infrastructure 3 Comments

We Need a New Conventional Wisdom About Streets

We're at a tipping point in how we design and think about our public streets. And things can tip the right way, once we confront the bankrupt ideology guiding our transportation system.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 7, 2021engineers, traffic engineering, stroad, safe and productive streets, urban planning, confessions of a recovering engineer 2 Comments

The Hidden Values Behind Our Unsafe Streets

Chuck Marohn reads an excerpt from the first chapter of Confessions of a Recovering Engineer.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 6, 2021traffic engineering, engineering ethics, pedestrians, safe and productive streets, engineers, confessions of a recovering engineer, safety, podcast Be the First to Comment

Just Another Pedestrian Killed

This one’s on you, engineering profession. Society is done tolerating this level of indifference, incompetence, and incoherence. What are you going to do?

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 2, 2021safety, engineering ethics, traffic engineering, pedestrians, engineers 9 Comments

"Does Induced Demand Apply to Bike Lanes?" and Other Questions

And what this tells us about what the common buzzword really means.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 25, 2021induced demand, traffic congestion, roads, highways, transit, transportation, bike lanes, traffic engineering 51 Comments

The Projections Fallacy

We spend billions every year on our transportation network, large percentages of it based on traffic projections—despite the fact that we don’t accurately project traffic.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 16, 2021traffic projections, traffic congestion, engineers, transportation, traffic engineering

The Key to Slowing Traffic is Street Design, Not Speed Limits

Two simple photos show the difference between a street simply designated as 20 mph, and one actually designed to be safe. We can't regulate our way to safety.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 5, 2021speed, traffic engineering, engineers, transportation 14 Comments

Kansas City Residents Demand Safer Streets

The 85th percentile rule makes it hard to ensure safe streets, so residents of northeast Kansas City took matters into their own hands.

Top StorySarah DavisJuly 21, 2021public safety, bottom-up, streets, taking action, success stories, tactical urbanism, traffic engineering, pedestrians, safe and productive streets, safety, missouri, neighborhoods Be the First to Comment

Who Pays for Growth in Collier County, Florida: Part 4

New suburban development creates budget-devouring road liabilities. And the way developers are asked to mitigate their traffic impacts is only making the problem worse.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 27, 2021collier county series, roads, transportation, series, traffic engineering, development, florida Be the First to Comment

Engineers Should Not Design Streets

Engineers are great at building roads, but we should never ask them to build our streets.

Marohn, Top Story, Engineering ReformCharles MarohnMay 6, 2021roads, traffic engineering, engineers, streets 5 Comments

The Subtle Relationship Between Traffic Deaths and Congestion

What officials and engineers need to understand before sinking more resources into infrastructure investment.

Top StorySteffen BerrApril 5, 2021transportation, traffic congestion, roads, streets, traffic engineering, safe and productive streets 13 Comments

The Mailbox: Can traffic cameras make our streets safer?

Our streets are “dangerous by design.” We answer a listener’s question about the role of automated enforcement in making them safer.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnApril 5, 2021tactical urbanism, speed, traffic engineering, safe and productive streets, safety 10 Comments

Transportation Engineers Are Legally Obligated to Protect the Public. It's Time to Demand They Do So.

Transportation engineering profession is at a crossroads. The industry has not honored its ethical obligations. That must change.

Top StorySteffen BerrFebruary 18, 2021Street Design, traffic engineering, engineering ethics, engineers, vision zero 6 Comments

This Will Change How You Hear Traffic Reports

The grim truths hidden in the daily traffic reports.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesFebruary 10, 2021traffic engineering, pedestrians, stroad 2 Comments

Now Is the Time to End Traffic Fatalities. Here's a Simple Plan to Do It.

We’ve engineered our streets for high performance when we should be engineering them for safety. Now’s the time to unwind the mess. Here’s how to do it.

Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 24, 2020vision zero, traffic engineering, pedestrians, safe and productive streets 9 Comments