Here’s Why We Respond in Force to One Amtrak Crash While Ignoring Thousands of Daily Car Crashes

A top-down approach to addressing accidents fails to make streets safer. A local approach could change that.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJuly 5, 2022car crash, Crash Analysis Studio, safety, cars, transportation, top-down, bottom-up, streets, Street Design, engineers, traffic engineering, roads, transit, safe and productive streets

Seven Stroads That Have Been Converted to Streets

There are thousands of stroad sections in the US. Transforming a good number of them is important to to the goal of improving quality of life and mobility in cities and towns.

Top StoryRobert SteutevilleJune 30, 2022road diet, streets, Street Design, streetscape, roads, safety, success stories, transportation, stroad, safe and productive streets

Road Diet Seven Years in the Making—Was It Worth Every Minute?

This would-be simple road diet project faced an unexpected amount of pushback, and ended up taking seven years and a lot of money to complete. Was it worth the hassle?

Top StoryJay StangeJune 22, 2022road diet, Street Design, streets, Connecticut, success stories, public engagement, community engagement, stroad, safe and productive streets

Streets Are for Building Community Wealth. Here’s Why That’s So Important.

Streets can be about many things, but unless they are building wealth for the community, they won’t survive. Period.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJune 20, 2022finance, public finance, municipal finance, economic growth, economics, Economy, streets, local economy

We're Advocating for Safe and Productive Streets

It’s high time that we start building streets that prioritize safety and community over throughput of traffic.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJune 6, 2022streets, Street Design, design, safety, safe and productive streets, member week

Grids Are Good

These observations from a morning detour demonstrate why small neighborhood side streets are better than big, wide highways, even when it comes to moving traffic.

Top StorySeth ZerenMay 12, 2022traffic congestion, streets, highways, grid, traffic engineering, congestion, Street Design

How to Calm a Street, Starting with Your Own Anger

Frustrated by cars speeding down your neighborhood street at 40 mph? Don’t blame the people driving the cars.

Top StoryJay StangeMay 5, 2022tactical urbanism, roads, streets, safety, taking action, Street Design, speeding, traffic engineering, pedestrians, washington, stroad, safe and productive streets

A 3-D Approach to Public Investment

What can these 3-D crosswalks teach us about investing in our communities’ needs?

Top StoryCam GallantMay 2, 2022pedestrians, Crosswalk, streets, safety, tactical urbanism, public investment, walkability, safe and productive streets

NTSB Chair After Car Crash: “There’s a Problem With That Road Design”

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, recently survived a car crash. And she’s not blaming it on reckless driving.

Top StoryRachel QuednauApril 6, 2022car crash, cars, traffic engineering, streets, Street Design, safe and productive streets, safety

How Traffic Engineers Can Finally Tame Stroads

This engineer offers a strategy for slowing down cars that could be a bridge between what communities want and what engineers want.

Top StoryMike BrownFebruary 15, 2022traffic engineering, engineers, streets, Street Design, pedestrians, minnesota, stroad, safe and productive streets

Texas DOT Doubles Down on Urban Highway Expansions

San Antonio residents were working on a downtown road diet and neighborhood redevelopment…until TxDOT decided to completely ignore the will of 78% of local voters.

Top StoryJay StangeFebruary 8, 2022DOT, road diet, roads, streets, texas, stroad, end highway expansion, safe and productive streets

A Community Forced to Play the Infrastructure Squid Game

Residents of this Houston neighborhood thought they were winning the lottery with a government-sponsored infrastructure project. Instead, they endured a seven-month-long nightmare.

Top StoryJuan Antonio SortoNovember 30, 2021streets, neighborhood change, infrastructure maintenance, race, texas, hurricanes, infrastructure, neighborhoods

Traffic Deaths Aren't "Meant to Be"

Our broken transportation system wasn’t pre-ordained; it was built out of the choices we’ve made. And we need to start making better ones if we want to fix it.

Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodOctober 4, 2021Street Design, streets, canada, transportation, pedestrians, stroad, safe and productive streets, safety

Engineers Should Not Design Streets: A Programmer's Take

Software engineers don’t design user interface, so why do we let civil engineers design streets?

Top StoryAndrew PriceSeptember 28, 2021design, urban design, architecture, aesthetics, engineers, roads, streets, streetscape, Street Design, traditional development pattern

The Environment Question

Where does the Strong Towns approach intersect with environmentalism?

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 16, 2021environment, strong towns approach, Electric Vehicles, walkability, streets

Let's Talk Great Streets

Abby and Chuck deviate from the norm a little on this week’s Upzoned by talking not about an article from the internet, but about one chapter of a particular book (hint: it’s Confessions).

Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 8, 2021Street Design, streets, upzoned, confessions of a recovering engineer