This week we’re joined by Austin Gibble, currently of Stantec but formerly of the City of Indianapolis and IndyGo. We chat about the history of planning for BRT in Indy, the Cultural Trail bike network, transit and infrastructure costs, and the interpersonal relationships that can make or break projects. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram…

More than a decade ago, Kate Gallego had a seizure that temporarily cost her the ability to drive – and opened her eyes to the difficulty of getting around her city of Phoenix, Arizona without a car. Now, in her third term as Phoenix's mayor, she's pushed for some of the most aggressive multimodal transportaiton investments in the city's history, i…

This week we’re going back to 2021 to chat with Professor Andres Sevtsuk of MIT about his book Street Commerce: Creating Vibrant Urban Sidewalks. I really liked this discussion and he just had an MIT News profile out yesterday about his work so I thought it might be of interest to folks. We chat the importance of location in urban retail, the city …

This week we’re back at the Mpact conference in Philadelphia and joined by Ruth Miller of Jawnt. Ruth shares her superhero origin story and how employer transit pass programs like SEPTA’s Key Advantage Program work to support employees, agencies, and the region overall. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadw…

Across America, a new class of developers are building car-free neighborhoods from scratch — or at least, they're building places where residents don't need to drive quite as much as their suburban neighbors. But can these greenfield developments really serve as a model for communities across America, or will they always be a rare and coveted commo…

This week we’re at Mpact in Philadelphia chatting with King County Metro’s Rachel DeCordoba about her work educating the next generation of transit riders. She chats about transit education and curriculum and the importance of learning with peers. Also apologies for the audio difficulties 2/3rds of the way though. You can read the transcript of thi…

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we're Han Solo, but that doesn't stop us from sharing upcoming episodes of Talking Headways and news from the last month or so. We chat about greening concrete, a car free Congress Avenue, Hamburg's green space compact, and rainways in Vancouver BC. Links from the Show! Reimagining Congress Ave - KUT Greeni…

This week we’re joined by Ryan Kelley, Community development Manager for Hennepin County in Minnesota. Ryan chats with us about the county’s transit-oriented communities program and how they support commercial preservation and aid businesses. This episode was produced in partnership with Mpact. For more information, visit http://mpactmobility.org +…

Tirana, Albania has gained international recognition for putting kids first on the road — especially their award-winning "School Streets," where cars are either banned or significantly limited from driving near learning centers and play spaces for kids are built instead. As the Balkan city grows its bike network, though, its mayor says it's still r…

This week we’re joined by writer Rob Walker to talk about his book, City Tech: 20 Apps, Ideas, and Innovations Changing the Urban Landscape. We discuss data collection, misconceptions, impressive transportation technologies such as e-bikes, and how technology has progressed in the last decade. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, …

A Flashback! That’s right we’re flashing back again to Episode 308 of the Talking Headways podcast with Sara Hendren discussing her book What a Body Can Do. Sara chats with us about how we think and talk about disability, reframing independent living, and designing a humane world for everyone. This is one of my favorites and I’m glad we’re getting …

This week we’re joined by Dani Simons, currently of Alstom but formerly Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs at USDOT, to take a look back at how Biden Administration policies evolved from ideas to bills such as the IIJA and Inflation reduction act. We also discuss Buy America, the impacts of outside criticisms from different s…

Quelimane, Mozambique might not be the first city that comes to an American's mind when she thinks of an active transportation paradise. With 40 percent of trips taken on foot and 35 percent in the saddle, though, the east African city has already been ranked as the most walkable city on Earth — and now, it's setting its sights on becoming an inter…

John Simmerman of Active Towns joins the Mondays Show post election to talk about some of the transit wins. We also look ahead and wonder if LA really could go car free for the Olympics and whether Canada is ready for high speed rail. Below are the show notes and items we chatted about on the show with John. Voters pass Denver 7A - Colorado Sun Nas…

This week on Talking Headways we’re joined by Julie Huls, CEO of Waymaker Group. We chat about economic development strategies for mid-sized cities, the impacts of the pandemic on regional thinking, and what a future of Mega Regions means for cities trying to attract talent. +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverhea…

This week on Talking Headways we’re listening in on a 1 to 1 conversation between Julie Eaton Ernst, Climate Resilience Practice Leader at HNTB, and Dr. Cris Liban, Chief Sustainability Officer at LA Metro. They chat about the co-benefits of transportation, the evolution of the definition of transportation, and making change in small steps. This po…

We’re going back in time to Episode 144 to chat with Matthew Heins about his book The Globalization of American Infrastructure: The Shipping Container and Freight Transportation. We’ve done a lot of fun shows and I had forgotten about this one until I was looking back trying to think of a good oldie to share with you all. Matthew talks about how th…

Highways and other federal transportation investments have destroyed neighborhoods of color across America, even as the current presidential administration attempts to heal those wounds through grants like the Reconnecting Communities Program. But what is it like to actually be a local leader fighting to win that money — especially when the sheer v…

This week we’re joined by Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the Vision Zero Network. We chat about why it’s so hard to make change, the implicit biases around designing for automobiles and the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims coming up on November 17th. +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwir…

This week we’re joined by Gillian Gillett of CalITP and Dan Baker, of the Connecticut Department of Transportation to discuss how agencies can create simpler payment and travel experiences for transit riders. We chat about the Connecticut Integrated Mobility Project, building payment system capacity and merchant services for smaller transit agencie…