Stephen Miller
In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation.
From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.
Recent Posts
Don’t Judge Transit By the Gridlock on Nearby Roads
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Transit can be a success without making car trips faster.
Public-Private Partnerships Will Not Save U.S. Infrastructure
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a panel of experts told Congress that, even with perfectly executed public-private partnerships, the federal government still needs to provide its own support -- especially for projects, like transit lines, that aren't guaranteed to generate toll revenue for profit-seeking investors.
Detroit’s Big Transit Success Story Isn’t Its New Streetcar — It’s the Buses
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Today is the grand opening for the QLine, Detroit's 3.3-mile, mixed-traffic streetcar on Woodward Avenue. It's getting tons of local press attention, but TransitCenter reports that the Motor City's true transit renaissance is not due to the streetcar, but the city's successful, under-the-radar turnaround of its bus system.
Traffic Safety PSAs Blame Jaywalkers, But Stats Tell a Different Story
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Chris Nelson used Edmonton's own motor vehicle collision data to make a chart showing who -- or, more often, what -- is on the receiving end when Edmonton motorists crash their cars. It quickly dispels any rationale for focusing on jaywalking.
Only Six Cities Are Worthy of Rail Funding, Manhattan Institute Scholar Decrees
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A new report from Manhattan Institute senior fellow Aaron Renn argues that the federal government should stop supporting new rail lines in cities across the country and instead focus on repair work in six "legacy cities." The problem is that, by ignoring the way many of those "legacy cities" got their rail systems in the first place, Renn's proposal would cut off transit's nose to spite its face, and needlessly condemn American cities to car dependence in the process.
AAA’s Latest Road Safety Report Ignores the Obvious: We Should Be Driving Less
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The number of annual traffic deaths in America is heading in the wrong direction, climbing back above the 40,000 mark. To reverse this trend, the AAA Foundation for Road Safety this week released a report that prioritizes six road design changes it says would do the most to reduce the death toll. There's just one problem: AAA's report doesn't consider the idea that, to save lives, we should be driving less.
House and Senate Decline Trump’s Request to Gut Transit Funding, For Now
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Yesterday, Congress came out with a funding package that keeps the government operating until the end of September. Officially, it's known as the omnibus appropriations package for fiscal year 2017. Unofficially, it's a Republican Congress ignoring the wishes of President Donald J. Trump, and for transit projects around the country, it's what amounts to good news these days.
As Nashville’s Mayor Pushes Light Rail to Win Referendum, What Will Happen to Buses?
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sustained Koch Brothers-funded attack. Since then, the city has elected a new mayor and decided on a new vision for transit. Yesterday, Mayor Megan Barry said a light rail line would be the first project funded under her plan, which is likely to go before voters next year. While that moves forward, there is a lot Nashville can do in the meantime to improve its lackluster bus network.
A Simple Change to Make the Walk to Transit Feel Within Reach
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Sometimes, high-quality transit is within a walkable distance, but people just aren't used to walking to the train. New signage in St. Paul, Minnesota, funded through a local challenge from a national foundation, aims to help people get over that mental block and walking to the nearest Green Line station.
It’s Hard to Overstate the Health Benefits of Biking to Work
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A massive new study of commuters in the United Kingdom reveals that people who bike to work tend to live longer and are at lower risk of heart disease and cancer. While the study establishes correlation but doesn't prove causation, the size of the sample and the magnitude of the effects strongly suggest that biking to work can yield major health benefits.