Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Light Rail

How Ambitious Will Seattle Get With Its Transit Expansion Plan?

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 8, 2015 | 30 Comments

Next November, voters in the Seattle region will be asked to approve a new tax to fund a major expansion of the region’s light rail system. The $15 billion plan to expand transit, known as ST3, would be funded by a mix of sales taxes, property taxes, and car registration fees collected for 15 years. The big question is which projects […]

Vote to Decide the Best Urban Street Transformation of 2014

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 17, 2014 | 72 Comments

If you’re searching for reasons to feel positive about the future, the street transformations pictured below are a good start. Earlier this month we asked readers to send in their nominations for the best American street redesigns of 2014. These five are the finalists selected by Streetsblog staff. They include new car-free zones, substantial sidewalk […]

Raleigh’s Election Night Transit Sweep Likely to Clear the Way for Light Rail

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 6, 2014 | No Comments

Since 1995, leaders in the Raleigh-Durham region of North Carolina have dreamed about connecting its major centers via light rail. The results of Tuesday night’s election might finally make it happen. The light rail plan calls for links between the three downtowns of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Getting three separate areas, and three separate […]

Phoenix Light Rail Beats Projections, and the Mayor Wants More

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 14, 2014 | 6 Comments

Can Phoenix become a transit city? It’s looking like more and more of a possibility lately. Phoenix’s Metro light rail system is less than six years old but has already surpassed ridership projections for 2020. The system is carrying 48,000 passengers a day, or 22,000 more than initially projected, according to the Arizona Republic. Extensions of the system, […]

Talking Headways Podcast: Rondo Revisited

By Tanya Snyder | Jun 20, 2014 | 1 Comment

Finally, there is a light rail line connecting the Twin Cities. The Green Line, running 11 miles from Union Depot in downtown St. Paul to Target Field in downtown Minneapolis, cost $957 million and took decades to build. The process of choosing stations was contentious but eventually incorporated the proposals of low-income communities that wanted […]

Indiana Transit Bill Moves Forward With Only Some of Its Worst Provisions

By Tanya Snyder | Feb 13, 2014 | 2 Comments

Opponents had a field day inserting “poison pills” into the bill to allow transit expansion in the Indianapolis area. But so far, they haven’t been able to slow down the bill’s progress. It passed the Indiana House Transportation Committee yesterday, 11-1. The bill would allow Marion County — where Indianapolis sits — and six surrounding […]

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