Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
Ben Fried
Recent Posts
Sprawlsville Steps Back From the Edge
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A section of Tysons Corner slated for infill development. Image: Fairfax County/PB PlaceMaking [PDF] Last week the Federal Transit Administration finally approved the Silver Line, a long-awaited addition to the capital region’s transit system that will extend to suburbs in northern Virginia. There are still a few hoops to jump through to secure the necessary […]
Cartoon Tuesday: Priority
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Click through for the conclusion to this week’s toon, which comes to us from Rick Smith of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Smith’s strip, Yehuda Moon, is a serialized saga with daily entries going back to January. I’m still making my way through the storyline, but having biked the greenways of Lorain County, I had a soft […]
“Stuck in That Congestion? I Got One Suggestion: Use a Bike Rack”
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Watch this instructional video from the Transit Authority of River City (that’s Louisville, Kentucky), and trust me, you won’t be able to dislodge the chorus from your head for days. I never thought of bus-mounted bike racks as the stuff of infectious music videos, but I was wrong — egregiously wrong. Active Living by Design […]
Streetfilms: Boulder Goes Platinum
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Clarence Eckerson rounds out Streetfilms’ series on Boulder, Colorado with this long-form opus. Boulder was recently awarded a rare platinum rating from the League of American Bicyclists, and here we get a flavor for the city’s bike network and the story behind it. I like this telling detail: When it snows, Boulder’s bike paths get […]
How to Build a Better Infrastructure Plan
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Economists and lawmakers are batting around increasingly large figures for the Obama admin’s upcoming stimulus package — 300 billion dollars, 500 billion, a trillion? Whatever the final sum, a big cut will get plowed into transpo projects. The question is whether all that money will perpetuate an outdated system or lead toward a future where […]
Trains Under Baghdad
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Via Transport Politic, some encouraging transit news from Iraq, where the mayor of Baghdad recently announced plans to move ahead with the city’s first subway lines. The Guardian reports: One of the new proposed subway lines would run 11 miles from Shia-dominated Sadr City in the east to Adhamiya in north Baghdad. The other would […]
While We’re At It, Let’s Reinvent the Wheel
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Watch this vid touting a contraption called the "SpeedFit," then get your punchlines ready. We like this one from the YouTube peanut gallery:
Two Oil Guzzling Albatrosses for the Price of One?
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Detroit’s customer incentives have had an air of desperation for a while. With Big Three bankruptcy looking more likely every day, some dealers — like this one in Pembroke Pines, Florida — are venturing into liquidation sale territory (and then some). You read that right: Two Dodge Rams for the price of one. Tow the […]
Study Finds Cyclists Need Safer Streets
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(Editor’s Note: A lot of what’s in this post, available at Streetsblog, but its findings certainly apply to Los Angeles as well.-DN) A Hunter College study on cyclist behavior is making the rounds today, getting a long post on City Room. The data measure the extent to which cyclists take safety precautions and follow traffic […]
Rave Review for Cleveland’s BRT Debut
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Cleveland bus riders at one of the Health Line’s new stations. Cleveland’s first venture into Bus Rapid Transit — a 10-mile route called the Health Line — was turning heads before it fully launched, attracting planners from other cities looking to boost transit ridership. Now that the ribbons have been cut, the Plain Dealer’s Steven […]
Wiki Wednesday: Bike Bus
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Today’s Streetswiki entry comes from Josh, a Livable Streets member based in San Francisco, who writes: A Bike Bus is a group of cyclists riding together to a specific destination on a schedule with an experienced leader. Bike Buses are often formed by commuters who ride together to work. However, a Bike Bus can be […]
Shocker: Speed Limits Are Useless Without Enforcement
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If drivers don’t acknowledge the risk of speeding, street designs and enforcement practices have to do it for them. New research from Purdue University highlights the futility of controlling drivers’ speed with signs. The Times’ health blog has the story: When it comes to speeding, many American motorists don’t worry about safety. They just worry […]