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The Origins of Holland’s “Stop Murdering Children” Street Safety Movement
Since the 1970s, the Netherlands and the United States have taken different paths when it comes to engineering streets. While the Dutch tackled traffic deaths and injuries by designing local streets where walking and biking are safe, convenient ways to get around, the prevalent approach in America was to apply highway design principles to local streets -- wider and straighter was thought to be safer. The superiority of the Dutch approach turned out to be dramatic: In 1975, the traffic death rate in the Netherlands was 20 percent higher than in America, but by 2008 it was 60 percent lower. About 22,000 fewer people would die on U.S. streets each year if the nation had achieved safety outcomes comparable to the Dutch, according to Gary Toth at Project for Public Spaces.
February 20, 2013
Portland, Mainers Don’t Miss Torn Down Road Infrastructure
Maine DOT is in the process of rebuilding Interstate 295 through downtown Portland, section by section, and a portion of the road that separates the city from the waterfront might be a prime candidate for a highway teardown.
February 19, 2013
Ray LaHood: “It’s Not Just About Emissions”
This is the third and final installment of our exit interview with departing U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. In the first, he talked about his proudest accomplishments, why he decided to leave, and why it’s important to fund bike/ped improvements with federal dollars – and he made it clear he’s still not giving us any answers about where to find more money for transportation. In the second, he talked about Republicans who get it, why TIGER was a game-changer – and he let slip some good news about the Chicago Riverwalk. Part three is more of a grab-bag -- I hadn’t expected to get almost 40 minutes one-on-one with the secretary!
February 18, 2013
Litmus Test for Transport Spending: Will It Benefit Our Kids?
Here's an important consideration in how we expend our public resources that doesn't find its way into your conventional cost-benefit analysis. Craig Benjamin at the Cascade Bicycle Club's Bike Blog writes that every transportation investment should be held to this one standard:
February 15, 2013
Fix-It-First Policy Must Tackle Road Expansions on Track for Federal Loans
On Tuesday, President Obama pledged during the State of the Union to adopt a "Fix it First" approach to infrastructure, which would focus on maintaining what's already built instead of building expensive, sprawl-inducing new roads.
February 14, 2013
How to Create an Unloved Public Space: Surround It With Parking
Why do some city spaces seem to exude joy while others seem so lonely?
February 12, 2013
Could You Give Up Your Car for Lent?
The season of Lent is coming up, and here's an idea we like a lot.
February 11, 2013
Aspen, Colorado, to Vote on “Idaho Stop”
Almost exactly 30 years ago, the state of Idaho enacted a traffic rule that would come to be known nationally as the "Idaho Stop," allowing cyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs. In three decades as the law of the land, the Idaho Stop has a fine safety record.
February 8, 2013
Explaining Public Transit to the Public
It's not something you hear often in transit-rich areas, but in cities and towns across the U.S., the specter of the "empty bus" looms large.
February 8, 2013
Why Is Charlotte’s Former Mayor Challenging Charlotte’s Transit Plans?
In 1998, the citizens of Charlotte, North Carolina, voted to raise their sales tax by a half cent in order to improve transit. They used that money to build the Lynx light-rail and to expand bus service, boosting ridership an impressive 100 percent.
February 6, 2013