Arizona People Mover

07/04/2026

With around 1.4 million inhabitants, the Helsinki metropolitan area has achieved an unquestionable milestone in road safety. What can other EU capitals and big cities learn from its success story?

06/26/2026

Why are we still paying states to build more road capacity when so many roads and bridges already need repair?

The federal transportation system helped build a national highway network, and that mission was largely accomplished. But the incentives never really changed.

Today, states and local governments are still rewarded for expanding infrastructure, even as they struggle to maintain what they already have. New lanes and interchanges often receive support while the basic work of maintaining existing roads and bridges falls behind.

A better approach would be much narrower: use the Highway Trust Fund for maintenance.

Gas taxes could still be returned to the states, but with a clear purpose: maintaining the existing transportation system. The federal government could set basic data and maintenance standards so the highways continue to function as one national network, while states decide how best to care for what they have.

The highway system did what it was built to do. The next challenge is not building more of it; it's taking responsibility for what already exists.

06/24/2026

06/03/2026

Before and After in Paris

05/17/2026

Your regular reminder that the world's most famous cycling city could have gone a very different way. Post-war Amsterdam prioritized more cars and new freeways, following the same playbook as many North American cities. By the 1970s cycling modal share was just a fraction of daily trips. The lesson isn't that some cities are naturally just "better suited" to cycling, it's that change is possible, and doesn't happen by accident.

Photo source: Brent Toderian

04/01/2026

If only the United States had a functioning high-speed railroad: https://gothamist.visitlink.me/vvC3gE