Walking
Streetsblog LA
A Message from Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism
At
a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American
policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable
urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global
greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to the magic of live webcasts, I can
relay a few highlights for Streetsblog readers.
December 9, 2009
More at Stake in City’s Measure R Debate than Just Bike/Ped. Issues
In the summer of 2008, when Streetsblog first announced its "1% for bikes, 1% for peds. campaign" in what would later be known as Measure R, we never thought that a year and a half later we would still be fighting that fight nor that we would be close to a partial victory.
November 17, 2009
Feds Propose to Expand Opportunities for Biking and Walking to Transit
When it comes to infrastructure improvements that encourage more people
to walk or bicycle to transit stations, how long will commuters be
willing to travel? The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has
officially answered that question, proposing a significant expansion of
the rules governing how close bike-ped projects should be to transit in
order to receive government funding.
November 16, 2009
Dangerous by Design: L.A. Metro Lags Behind Nation on Funds to Fix Unsafe Streets
A new report on pedestrian safety contains some bad, but not unexpected news for Angelenos and our neighbors in Southern California. Our streets are amongst the most dangerous ones in the country for pedestrians, yet our governments aren't taking the issue seriously enough to adequately fund safety improvements.
November 9, 2009
Newest Way to Procrastinate on the Internet: Walk Score Adds Transit
Earlier today, Walk Score, the website that ranks areas based on how easy it is to lead a car-lite lifestyle, has taken a big step towards improving its metrics by adding transit data. As long as a city has google transit, which thankfully Los Angeles now does, you can get a much clearer picture of how easy it would be to ditch your car after moving to a new neighborhood.
November 5, 2009
How Do Angelenos Travel?
The passage of Metro's Long Range Transportation Plan last week has helped heat up a national conversation about Los Angeles, how it grows, how it moves and the future of our Metropolis. Of course, Diane Meyer's "World Without a Car" exhibit has people locally thinking outside the auto; but others are picking up the conversation such as the Transport Politic and Think Progress' Matt Yglessias. However, that debate shows us one critical missing link in our transportation planning.
October 26, 2009
Disability Activists Sue Caltrans for Negelcting Crosswalks and Sidewalks
A coalition of activists for seniors and the disabled went to federal court to try and force Caltrans to meet federal safety standards for sidewalk, intersection and other pedestrian amenities. The group charges that when doing road construction, our state DOT is ignoring the federally mandated fixes and upgrades that are required by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
September 17, 2009
Senate R’s Attempts to Strip Bike/Ped Requirment Dies on Senate Floor
Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) attempt
to curb federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian paths, as well as
other "transportation enhancements," was defeated on the Senate floor
today -- but it managed to pick up two unlikely Democratic supporters
in the process.
September 16, 2009
Pasadena Thinking of Taking a Car-Lane for Bikes and Peds. at Rose Bowl
A couple of years ago, the City of Pasadena considered banning bicycles from what they're now calling the "Rose Bowl Recreation Loop" because of the conflict being created between cyclists and car drivers. At the time the city sided with the drivers citing their "commutes" as more important than the cyclists and pedestrians using the loop as a public space. Pasadena's plan was hotly debated, but eventually shelved.
July 27, 2009
Metro’s New LRTP Boosts Bike/Ped Funding from 2008 Draft Levels
In the winter of 2008, Metro released the Draft Long Range Transportation Plan, outlining the agency's funding priorities for the next twenty years. The plan divided every funding category into two amounts, "constrained" and "strategic." The Metro Board, hoping to get more funds through Measure R, put off passing the plan until after last fall's election, hoping that Measure R would pass. They wanted to pass a "strategic," i.e. well funded, plan instead of a "constrained" one.
July 1, 2009