Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Special Reports

The Garnett MARTA station in downtown Atlanta, surrounded by parking

A Fixation on Parking Threatens Transit Progress in Atlanta

By Yonah Freemark | Mar 2, 2017 | 5 Comments

Darin Givens is frustrated with how Atlanta is planning for the future. “We don’t feel like the city is building transit that fits needs, or places that fit transit,” says the founder of local advocacy site Thread ATL. “You see nodes of density nowhere near transit, located nowhere near a MARTA station or a regular MARTA bus. We’re not matching development and transit.”

In Atlanta, Transit Service Lags Behind a Booming Population

By Yonah Freemark | Feb 23, 2017 | 10 Comments

Since 2000, the Atlanta region has grown by more than 1.5 million people, or over 25 percent, but transit service is not keeping up. Both rail and bus ridership on MARTA, the major regional transit provider, have fallen dramatically in recent years.

Chicago's Loop Link. Photo: Metropolitan Planning Council

Introducing a New Streetsblog Series: Getting Transit Right

By Yonah Freemark | Feb 16, 2017 | 39 Comments

With more American cities raising impressive sums to expand transit, the question of how to invest effectively is increasingly essential. So far, few places have hit on a policy combination that makes transit more useful to more people. To help cities "get transit right," Streetsblog is launching a new series about which transit strategies are working and which are not.

If Not for Trump, Last Night Would Have Been Great for Transit

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 9, 2016 | 50 Comments

Last night had the makings of a historic election for transit. Voters in cities as varied as Raleigh, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles turned out to support ballot measures to dramatically expand bus and rail service. But the election of Donald Trump and the retention of GOP majorities in both houses of Congress cast a pall of uncertainty over transit agencies […]

Transit Vote 2016: What’s at Stake on Local Ballots and How to Track Results

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 8, 2016 | No Comments

With federal transportation policy stuck in DC gridlock, more cities and regions are taking it upon themselves to shape the future of their transit systems. Today there are 78 local ballot measures that will affect funding for transportation in some way, with $200 billion in transit investment at stake, according to the Center for Transportation Excellence. Since 2000, 71 […]

Transit Vote 2016: Raleigh’s Chance to Grow Smarter

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 1, 2016 | 2 Comments

We continue our overview of what’s at stake in the big transit ballot initiatives this November with a look at Wake County, North Carolina. Previous installments in this series examined Indianapolis, Seattle, Detroit, and Atlanta. Ask Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson how Raleigh’s transit system is currently functioning, and he doesn’t sugarcoat it. “I just really don’t think we’ve got […]

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