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2007-08-30
Alliance for Biking and Walking;
This spreadsheet contains data collected for Alliance's 2007 Benchmarking Report on bicycling and walking in the U.S. Tabs differentiate between data for the 50 states and the top 50 most-populous cities. Data collected here includes bicycling and walking modeshare, demographics, safety statistics, funding for bicycling and walking, policies at the state and local level, and more.
2007-10-17
Cato Institute;
California cities have the least affordable housing and the most congested traffic in the nation. California's housing crisis results directly from several little-known state institutions, including local agency formation commissions (LAFCos), which regulate annexations and the formation of new cities and service districts; the California Environmental Quality Act, which imposes high costs on new developments; and a 1971 state planning law that effectively entitles any resident in the state to a say in how property owners in the state use their land. Cities such as San Jose have manipulated these institutions and laws with the goal of maximizing their tax revenues.
Meanwhile, California's transportation planning has allowed transit agencies, such as San Jose's Valley Transportation Authority and Los Angeles' Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to hijack tax revenues that were originally dedicated to highways so they can build rail empires that will do little or nothing to relieve congestion. New highway construction in the 1990s cut San Jose congestion in half, but congestion is again worsening as funds once spent on highways are now diverted to expensive and little-used rail transit projects.
California should change its planning laws to forbid cities and counties from conspiring to drive up housing prices in order to maximize tax revenues. California and its urban areas should also fund transportation out of user fees instead of taxes, thus making transportation more responsive to the needs of users instead of politically powerful special interest groups. Other states should avoid passing laws that create similar conditions. These recommendations and eight others in this report will greatly improve the livability of San Jose and other California urban areas.
2013-08-28
Earth Policy Institute;
The United States is now home to 34 modern bike-sharing programs that allow riders to easily make short trips on two wheels without having to own a bicycle. With a number of new programs in the works and planned expansions of existing programs, the U.S. fleet is set to double again by the end of 2014, at which point nearly 37,000 publicly shared bicycles will roll the streets.
2013-08-13
Environmental and Energy Study Institute;
The United States' surface transportation infrastructure is funded through a combination of federal, state and local revenue. This revenue is primarily collected through transportation user fees, including state and federal taxes on fuel purchases. Federal fuel taxes on gasoline and diesel make up about 90 percent of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the primary fund for federal investment in surface transportation infrastructure. Federal fuel taxes, which are set per-gallon fees and not based on percentage of sales, have not been changed in 20 years. As construction and maintenance costs rise, the HTF has lost significant purchasing power. Compounding matters, fuel consumption trends have cut into fuel tax revenue. Congress has shown little appetite for increasing the per gallon user fees and has opted to dip into general funds to meet HTF obligations.
Infrastructure investment is no longer meeting the needs of the national transportation system, and current revenue from user fees is below investment levels. Transportation infrastructure is deteriorating as a result, putting a strain on the national economy. The nation's transit and roadway infrastructure received a grade of D in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card on America's Infrastructure; the report highlighted U.S. Department of Transportation studies indicating a $112B annual funding gap to bring roads, bridges and transit to a state of good repair over 20 years. An increasing number of states have taken action; recently Wyoming increased its per gallon fuel tax from 14 to 24 cents. So far, the federal government has not taken similar action.
2011-01-31
Pew Center on Global Climate Change;
Outlines the need to cut transportation emissions to limit climate change effects, mitigation options and technologies, policies to promote mitigation, and various scenarios for public attitudes, public policy, technological progress, and energy prices.
2013-05-14
Earth Policy Institute;
At the start of 2013, the United States was home to 22 modern public bike-sharing programs. By spring 2014, that number will likely double as a flurry of cities joins the more than 500 bike-sharing communities worldwide.
With the expansions of current programs and new openings in larger markets like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, the nationwide fleet of shared bikes is poised to quadruple in the next couple of years, from nearly 9,000 to above 36,000. And with a growing list of American communities exploring the possibility of setting up bike shares, this number is expected to continue to climb.
2010-01-06
Earth Policy Institute;
America's century-old love affair with the automobile may be coming to an end. The U.S. fleet has apparently peaked and started to decline. In 2009, the 14 million cars scrapped exceeded the 10 million new cars sold, shrinking the U.S. fleet by 4 million, or nearly 2 percent in one year. While this is widely associated with the recession, it is in fact caused by several converging forces.
2010-01-28
Alliance for Biking and Walking;
Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2010 Benchmarking Report is an essential resource and tool for government officials, advocates, and those working to promote bicycling and walking. The Benchmarking Project is an on-going effort to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and the 51 largest U.S. cities. This second biennial report reveals data including: bicycling and walking levels and demographics; bicycle and pedestrian safety; bicycle and pedestrian policies and provisions; funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects; bicycle and pedestrian staffing levels; written policies on bicycling and walking; bicycle infrastructure including bike lanes, paths, signed bike routes, and bicycle parking; bike-transit integration including presence of bike racks on buses, bike parking at transit stops; bicycling and walking education and encouragement activities; and public health indicators including levels of obesity, physical activity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. The report is full of data tables and graphs so you can see how your state or city stacks up. Inside you will find unprecedented statistics to help support your case for increasing safe bicycling and walking in your community. Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2010 Benchmarking Report was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and made possible through the additional support of Bikes Belong and Planet Bike.
2014-06-01
National Institute for Transportation and Communities;
This report presents finding from research evaluating U.S. protected bicycle lanes (cycle tracks) in terms of their use, perception, benefits, and impacts. This research examines protected bicycle lanes in five cities: Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, D.C., using video, surveys of intercepted bicyclists and nearby residents, and count data. A total of 168 hours were analyzed in this report where 16,393 bicyclists and 19,724 turning and merging vehicles were observed. These data were analyzed to assess actual behavior of bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers to determine how well each user type understands the design of the facility and to identify potential conflicts between bicyclists, motor vehicles and pedestrians. City count data from before and after installation, along with counts from video observation, were used to analyze change in ridership. A resident survey (n=2,283 or 23% of those who received the survey in the mail) provided the perspective of people who live, drive, and walk near the new lanes, as well as residents who bike on the new lanes. A bicyclist intercept survey (n= 1,111; or 33% of those invited to participate) focused more on people's experiences riding in the protected lanes. A measured increase was observed in ridership on all facilities after the installation of the protected cycling facilities, ranging from +21% to +171%. Survey data indicates that 10% of current riders switched from other modes, and 24% shifted from other bicycle routes.
2008-10-07
Cato Institute;
Rising gas prices and concerns about greenhouse gases have stimulated calls to build more rail transit lines in urban areas, increase subsidies to Amtrak, and construct a large-scale intercity high-speed rail system. These megaprojects will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but they won't save energy or significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Although media reports suggest that many people are taking public transit instead of driving, actual numbers show that recent increases in transit ridership account for only 3 percent of the decline in urban driving. Also, contrary to popular belief, rail transit does not save energy. Many light-rail operations use more energy per passenger mile than the average sport utility vehicle, and almost none uses less than a fuel-efficient car such as a Toyota Prius. People who respond to high fuel prices by taking transit are not saving energy; they are merely imposing their energy costs on someone else.
Rail transportation is also much more heavily subsidized than other forms of travel. Where highway subsidies average less than a penny per passenger mile, and subsidies to flying are even lower, Amtrak costs taxpayers 22 cents per passenger mile and urban transit costs 61 cents per passenger mile.
Even if rail transport did save energy, spending more money on rail will get few people out of their cars. People who want to save energy should plan to buy more fuel-efficient cars and encourage cities to invest in traffic signal coordination, which can save far more energy at a tiny fraction of the cost of building new rail transport lines.
2010-04-30
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission;
Transportation security planning is essential for the Delaware Valley to prevent, prepare for, expedite response to, and aid in the recovery from major events. The all-hazards approach prepares for any of a range of major natural or manmade events. This report provides an overview of transportation security planning in the region to facilitate communication and coordination across disciplines. It is relevant for a wide range of professionals in transportation security, operations, and planning; emergency management; emergency response; land use planning and development, and other fields at a variety of geographic levels. This report focuses on how different disciplines can better cooperate, and on the role of DVRPC in this field. Appendices include a summary of grants available and reference list.
