The RiverRail

"The Indiana Department of Transportation and Purdue University have announced plans to develop the world’s first contactless wireless-charging concrete pavement highway segment. The project will use innovative magnetizable concrete – developed by German startup Magment GmbH – enabling wireless charging of electric vehicles as they drive."

A proposal passed by the Indianapolis City-County Council last week amends parts of Indy Rezone, an overhaul of the city’s zoning ordinances. It introduces a new overlay district that applies to IndyGo’s rapid transit lines.

The summit featured short keynotes explaining important basic concepts, and three separate deep dives on promoting more equity in housing and land use, why strong Black and Brown businesses are key to neighborhood vitality, and how to right the wrongs of past damaging transportation decisions and promote restorative justice. 

"The importance of transportation was reflected in the priorities of my time in office, from Smart Streets to enhancing rail service to Chicago, from working with Transpo to supporting our airport’s successful pursuit of international status."

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says an infrastructure plan expected soon from President Joe Biden will offer a “once in a century” opportunity to remake transportation in the United States, with cars and highways no longer king.

Kansas City (Missouri) Street Car’s $351 million Main Street Extension Project is taking a major step forward.

A Federal Transit Administration grant will help a Pacific Northwest city study expansion of its streetcar network.

In the middle of the Sonoran desert, surrounded by five towering mountain ranges and amidst gangly Saguaro cacti lies a little heralded and ongoing transit story. Tucson, Arizona is certainly no transit desert.

"The transit-oriented development overlay recently approved by the city has the potential to be the most transformative decision for Indy since Unigov. The TOD overlay, which goes into effect at the end of the year, is an amendment to the city’s Consolidated Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance. In this case, TOD is much more than popular urban design lingo. And the benefits the overlay amendment can offer go far beyond specific transit vehicles, lanes or operations."

Cities want modern light rail trains and vintage-style streetcars. Most are built by foreign firms. Few know they also are manufactured by an American company with deep roots in Rust-Belt western Pennsylvania.

Members of the task force say this will not only help a lot of people get to where they need to go, but also strengthen the communities around The RiverRail.

The Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership has become one of the busiest developers of single-family houses in the city, using nearly $15 million in tax credits to build nearly 50 properties in central neighborhoods—with dozens more on the way.

Brookville Equipment Corp. has delivered the first new Liberty® NXT streetcars to Valley Metro Rail for the Tempe Streetcar system, slated to open later this year.

Riders and many others in Tucson would like to see the streetcar expand. Farley said the original design included other routes, like up Broadway Boulevard. He wants to continue those plans, including lines to the Tucson mall and airport.

New lines have opened, or are in development, in 21 cities across the country.

IndyGo received a major funding boost from the federal government to help advance its plans for Indianapolis' next bus rapid transit line.

Two centuries ago, before anyone had the idea of laying rails on the ground so wheels could run swiftly and smoothly over them, nobody could travel faster than they or a horse could walk, or a boat could sail. Then came trains and streetcars, and everybody’s world suddenly seemed smaller. 

Many historic streetcar, tram and trolley systems have offered limited accessibility, due to their high-floor rolling stock and stations/stops that were produced well over a century before the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. Adapting outdated transportation infrastructure is a time-consuming and costly process, and many cities have still not made their streetcars and subways fully accessible to disabled people.

‘When it comes to rail, why should Texas be inferior to China?’ transportation secretary asks amid Republican resistance

"My reaction to the idea of a streetcar coming back to the Uptown District is one of excitement." said Eddie Reynoso, who heads the Equality Business Alliance.

Since its launch in 2014, there has been more than $1 billion of private and public investment along the streetcar route.

In particular, investments in public transit in mature communities leads to urban revitalization and redevelopment — as is occurring in Kansas City along the recently-opened Streetcar alignment.