Bell Street Park is the City of Seattle’s first shared street project, establishing a new typology for streets as parks and open space. Initiated by Belltown neighborhood residents, Bell Street demonstrates how a bold vision for transformation can be realized through inclusive design and strong city/community collaboration. Proven as a successful shared street project, its…
Participating Agencies METRO Schedule Planning & Community Process: 2013 – 2014METRO Board approval: Feb 11, 2015Opened for service: August 16, 2015 Goals In August 16, 2015, Houston’s Metro transit system implemented one of the largest bus network changes in U.S. history. All local routes, including routes that had not been rethought since the 1920s, were redesigned and integrated…
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) uses in-lane stops to improve transit and bike safety and operations. During a scheduled resurfacing project of 1.5 miles of Dexter Avenue between Westlake Avenue North and Mercer Street—a segment with frequent bus service—SDOT seized an opportunity to reallocate space to transit by removing an existing center two-way left…
In June 2015, the City of Toronto completed the reconstruction of Queens Quay Boulevard, transforming an underused waterfront street in downtown Toronto into a hallmark destination. The reconstruction of Queens Quay converted a wide two-way, four-lane car-centric street with center-running streetcars into an asymmetrical two-way street with a side-running transitway and dramatically expanded bicycle and…
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) installs bus bulbs on priority transit corridors to improve operating efficiency. Though Washington state law requires car drivers to yield to a merging bus, drivers often fail to do so, causing delays that accumulate over the length of a bus route to substantially increase travel times. Bus bulbs allow…
BEFORE A low-volume, 1-block stretch of Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn served as a popular corridor for pedestrians between Brooklyn’s civic center and main shopping district. INTERIM This segment was closed to vehicle traffic using temporary planters, seating, and bollards in 2006. AFTER Following a full capital construction process, Willoughby Plaza was made permanent and…
The New York City Plaza Program is a capital program of the New York City Department of Transportation that converts underutilized roadway space into neighborhood amenities through partnerships with local non-profit organizations and communities. The program, launched in 2008, has accepted six rounds of applications and has realized 22 new public spaces for New Yorkers.…
Cleveland’s HealthLine bus rapid transit system connects the downtown central business district with University Circle, a cluster of medical facilities and cultural amenities, via dedicated median bus lanes along Euclid Avenue. Completed in 2008, the 6.8 mile bus rapid transit corridor transports 16,000 bus riders a day, up from 9,000 daily prior to the redesign.…
Los Angeles’ CicLAvia initiative opens city streets to bicyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, and rollerbladers, temporarily transforming the city’s largest public space, its streets, into major active transportation corridors. Initially conceived by a group of volunteers in 2008, CicLAvia will soon hold its 7th annual event. Routes have ranged between 6.3 and 15 miles, with the most…
Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue comprise a pair of parallel one-way streets running north and south through Minneapolis’s downtown. Together, these streets carry high volumes of vehicle and bus traffic, especially during peak hours. In an effort to improve transportation in the busy downtown district, the City of Minneapolis completely reconstructed the two streets to…