Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Traffic

Scared by Dangerous Traffic? Take a Xanax

By Stephen Miller | Feb 6, 2013 | 11 Comments

Once in a while, a story comes along that perfectly encapsulates how dangerous traffic forces people to re-orient their lives. This example, relayed to us by a reader, comes from a recent lecture at the psychiatry department of a major Manhattan hospital about anxiety disorders in the elderly. The lecturer brought up the case of an […]

As Baby Boomers Age, They Take Their Foot Off the Gas

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 13, 2012 | No Comments

They may be remembered as the driving-est generation. Baby Boomers, who came of age in the heyday of suburbia, have always driven more than any other generation. At the height of their driving years, boomers averaged 51 miles per day. They continue to drive 17 percent more than all other age groups, according to a […]

It’s Not the Economy, Stupid: Americans Really Are Driving Less

By Stephen Miller | Nov 5, 2012 | No Comments

Since 2005, Americans have been driving fewer miles each year. While the shift predated the onset of the Great Recession, the question of whether the decline in driving marked a sea change in the way we get around or simply reflected a drop in economic activity has been a matter of considerable debate. Enter economist Joe Cortright, who […]

2011 DOT Scorecard: More Jobs, More Subway Riders, Traffic Stays Flat

By Stephen Miller | Aug 21, 2012 | 9 Comments

While the number of employed New Yorkers has recovered from the lows of the recession, motor vehicle traffic in the city remained flat last year, with increased demand for travel being met by the city’s increasingly stretched subways, according to NYC DOT’s annual Sustainable Streets Index update. The report, released Monday, collects data from a […]

Wild, Wild West Side Has Its Own Vigilante Traffic Cop

By Noah Kazis | Jul 30, 2012 | 4 Comments

You’ve got to already be a little bit crazy to choose to drive into Midtown for work each day (as the record-breaking ridership numbers on the PATH train attest). Sitting in traffic, dodging the even crazier driver next to you — perhaps the only thing worse than driving near the Lincoln Tunnel is trying to […]

The Traffic Projections Fallacy

By Charles Marohn | Jul 23, 2012 | No Comments

Cross-posted from Strongtowns. We spend billions every year in this country on our transportation network, large percentages of it based on traffic projections. This despite the fact that we have a long record of not being able to accurately project traffic. The answer isn’t better projections but a better transportation system, one that is robust […]

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