http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress Welcome Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:27:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In the past I have posted about the hidden cost of transportation when making a home purchase decision.  Building on the work from the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, they have launched Abogo which let’s you put in your current (or potential) address and see what ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=688 One of the challenges that will continue to influence transportation policy (and funding availability) will be the demographic shifts as the Baby Boomer Generation moves into retirement (assuming the economic environment does not limit their ability to retire).  GE put together this pretty cool Infographic where you can compare different ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=687 Bikes are great. They don’t pollute. They’re great exercise. They can travel short-medium distances relatively quickly, sometimes more quickly than driving and parking. But bikes aren’t always wonderful for long-distance trips (although I hope I’ve proven by example that long-distance bike commuting is neither impossible nor always undesirable!). That’s why ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=685 Really fascinating Migration Maps from an online tool put together by Forbes.com that shows the net migration patterns of any county in the United States in 2008.  The maps below show the amazing growth in local counties like Harris and Fort Bend.  Drawing people from all over who are  attracted to ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=679 In our own work with client we have found that improving the timing and synchronization of traffic signals along a corridor can reduce delay and emissions by 5-25% (obviously dependant on the starting point).  This is in line or above what has been shown through repeated studies.  One of the ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=668 I came across this in the Nudge Blog that Rickard Thaler and Cass Sunstein write, building on their book Nudge which you will probably enjoy if you like books along the lines on Gladwell or Freakonomics.  It shows how the City of Gainesville, FL is using signage to ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=667   Nice recent write up by Tom Vanderbilt, author of the book Traffic, in Slate magazine on designing a better stop sign.  It included this link to a great parody video on the development of a new stop sign.  It was not that long ago that stop ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=666 FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY! That’s right folks. Friday. If you’ve been reading my blog posts this year about bike commuting to work, and have been thinking “gosh, that guy sure is cool for riding 16 miles to work; I’ve got to try it sometime,” well, this Friday is your day. ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=665 The City of Houston planning department recently undertook the exciting and challenging task of  looking at improving parking requirements.  It is one of the things that frequently gets overlooked and has a big effect on transportation mode choices and development patterns.  Couple links that talk about the ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=662 Over this past weekend, the TEI Bike Team mounted our two-wheeled bike beasts and traversed over 150 miles and quite a few hills from Houston to Austin on the mega bike ride known as the MS150. I’m sure you’re familiar with the ride and its 13,000+ participants and noble goal ... http://www.trafficengineers.com/wordpress/?p=661