traffic

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Pedestrians Drive Cars From Times Square

New York begins experiment with car-free intersection

(Newser) - Times Square was transformed yesterday from a crush of traffic into a pedestrian mall, as New York began a months-long experiment at the city's busiest intersection. Cars have been banned along Broadway from 42nd to 47th streets, as well as in Herald Square to the south. Tourists and locals were...

400K Churn Through DC Transit
 400K Churn Through DC Transit 
Jan 20, 2009 10:19 AM CST

400K Churn Through DC Transit

Woman hits tracks

(Newser) - Passengers swarmed Washington’s subway and bus system today, with Metro reporting more than 409,000 entries into the system as of 9am, pushing the public transit system to its limits, the Washington Post reports. At one point, service on the Red Line was disrupted when a 68-year-old woman fell...

Frisco Debates Downtown Traffic Fee
Frisco Debates Downtown Traffic Fee
Dec 30, 2008 4:27 AM CST

Frisco Debates Downtown Traffic Fee

Motorists balk at prospect of paying up to $5 to drive to city center

(Newser) - A plan to charge motorists for driving downtown in peak hours could be a step too far even for famously green San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reports. City officials say the plan, which would be the first of its kind in the nation if it passes, would reduce traffic...

Public Transit Returns to Baghdad

Commuter train has run for a month, mayor proposes subway system

(Newser) - After years of destabilizing violence, Baghdad has a commuter train again, the LA Times reports. For about a month, the “Baghdad Metro,” as employees call it, has made two complete trips around the city in the morning and afternoon for the benefit of working Iraqis who have to...

Kate Busted Driving While Yakking

Nabbed chatting on cell on country road

(Newser) - Royal and apparently naughty girlfriend Kate Middleton was snapped by a photographer happily chatting on her cell phone while driving, in defiance of Britain's strict ban on using the devices behind the wheel, reports the Sun. Prince William's 26-year-old gal pal was deep in conversation as she tooled along a...

Accidents Drop After Town Pulls Traffic Lights

Germans fare better without crosswalks, curbs, and rules

(Newser) - Would life be better without stop lights? The people of Bohmte, Germany think so. The little town has not only removed traffic lights from its busy main drag, but curbs and crosswalks as well. All that’s left is one simple rule: Yield to the person on your right. It’...

US Slow to Hop On Global Biking Boom

Countries that encourage self-propelled commuting see benefits instantly

(Newser) - The US remains uninspired by nations that have prodded people to save money by biking to work, the Washington Post reports. Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands installed infrastructure years ago to benefit bikers and discourage cars, but America—along with Canada, Australia, and Britain—have not. "It is very...

Bike Sharing Debuts in DC
 Bike Sharing Debuts in DC 
Aug 15, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Bike Sharing Debuts in DC

$40 a year gives locals access to cycles parked citywide

(Newser) - With its residents battling high fuel prices and heavy traffic, Washington, DC, has instituted a bike-sharing program: pay $40 a year, and you can borrow wheels from one of 10 stands across the city. Inspired by similar schemes abroad, SmartBike DC is using technology keep the system running smoothly, keeping...

Cash Tolls Race Toward Extinction

'Open-road' payment systems catch on nationwide

(Newser) - Cash toll booths are going the way of the Model T as "open-road tolling"—which lets drivers pay electronically without having to slow for booths or gates—gains traction, reports USA Today. Supporters say killing the cash-based system cuts down on everything from congestion to pollution to the...

Beijing Forces Half of Drivers Off the Road

Move to clear noxious air in countdown to Olympics

(Newser) - Half of Beijing's drivers left their cars at home today and took public transportation on the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear the city's notoriously polluted skies before the Olympics. Under the plan that kicked in yesterday, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed...

San Francisco Pioneers Smart Parking Spots

Wireless sensor network will alert drivers to open spaces

(Newser) - The streets of San Francisco will be getting smarter this fall, reports the New York Times. The city is pioneering a program to add sensors to thousands of parking spaces; drivers will be alerted to empty spaces through displays on street signs or via their smartphones. City officials hope the...

Why $8 Gas Would Be Awesome
Why $8 Gas Would Be Awesome
OPINION
Jul 11, 2008 11:17 AM CDT

Why $8 Gas Would Be Awesome

A call for a return to the days when driving was for rich jerks

(Newser) - Gas, as you may have heard, has topped $4 a gallon, and Joel Stein of the LA Times loves it. "Cheap gas is unfair," he argues, tongue mostly in cheek. Heck, why not make it $8 or even $10 a gallon, as in Europe, "where they have...

The Good in $4 Gas
 The Good in $4 Gas 
GLOSSIES
Jul 2, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

The Good in $4 Gas

Less obesity, traffic, and accidents, for starters

(Newser) - The rest of the world may have thought it would never happen, but energy prices are beginning to change Americans' behavior. Time notes some positive aspects:
  1. Jobs lost to globalization return, because energy costs make international shipping unattractive.
  2. Suburban sprawl is slowing as people choose to live closer to cities.
...

The New Generational Shift: Suburban Flight

After 50 years of sprawl, suburbanites gravitate toward cities

(Newser) - Changes in lifestyles, economic conditions, and demographics are leading to a reversal in urban flight, The Wall Street Journal reports. Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline and the subprime crisis have driven many to cities from suburbs, where commutes are longer and houses have lost the most value. Boomers are simplifying their lives with...

Waiting for Green Has Gas-Conscious Seeing Red

Needless idling in turn lanes irks Calif. drivers

(Newser) - Though their safety value in heavy traffic isn't disputed, some Californians are starting to see left-turn arrows as a drag on ever-pricier gas and an avoidable threat to the environment, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. The California Energy Commission estimates that idling for 2 minutes (often a needless waste of time,...

Surplus Signs Driving Motorists to Distraction
Surplus Signs Driving Motorists to Distraction
OPINION
Jun 11, 2008 2:27 AM CDT

Surplus Signs Driving Motorists to Distraction

Too much information along roads may be creating a hazard

(Newser) - Drivers in America are often confronted with a forest of signs reminding them of speed limits and traffic control measures—but the overwhelming information may be making roadways more dangerous, John Staddon writes in the Atlantic. The glut of reminders can take drivers' attention away from the road and dull...

More Is Less: High Gas Equals Quicker Drives in LA

Commuters, traffic reporters say famously congested freeways a bit less so

(Newser) - Sure, gas prices are unreasonable and the economy is hurting, but, the Los Angeles Times reports, at least now the infamous traffic isn't so bad. Hard data shows that traffic may be thinning out along LA’s freeways; accidents and commute times are also falling. Talking with local drivers, the...

Assembly Sinks NYC Congestion Pricing Measure

Tolls for high-traffic areas had been mayor's pet project

(Newser) - New York state legislators today killed a plan that would have brought congestion pricing—higher fees at peak traffic hours—to parts of Manhattan, a major defeat for Mike Bloomberg, the Times reports. The mayor and a coalition of environmental groups backed the idea, but legislators from the city's outer...

NYC Approves Congestion Toll
 NYC Approves Congestion Toll 
Apr 1, 2008 4:54 AM CDT

NYC Approves Congestion Toll

City passes $8 fee to drive into midtown Manhattan

(Newser) - New York City has moved a step closer to charging drivers $8 to enter midtown Manhattan. The City Council voted 30-20 in favor of the proposal, known as "congestion pricing," that has already been established in cities like London to reduce traffic. The next hurdle is approval from...

GPS Network Aims to Beat Traffic Jams

New unit pools data from cars to warn of congested roads

(Newser) - You may soon be able to evade a traffic jam with a little help from your fellow driver, the Washington Post reports. California start-up Dash Navigation is launching a GPS device that collects speed and location data from vehicles, then uses the information to figure out which roads are congested...

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