MIT project uses sensors to measure pedestrian appeal of urban space

The MIT Media Lab's Placelet project will "track how pedestrians move through a particular space," according to The Atlantic's CityLab. Researchers are developing "a network of sensors that will track the scale and speed of pedestrians, as well as vehicles, over long periods of time. The sensors, which they are currently testing in downtown Boston, will also track the 'sensory experience' by recording the noise level and air quality of that space."

5 reasons why this pedestrian trail really works: Ogunquit's Marginal Way

Along the Marginal Way

Yes, Ogunquit, Maine's Marginal Way has spectacular views of the ocean along the full 1.25-mile walking path, and that's certainly a key reason why so many people use it. Not every community is so fortunate to have such breathtaking scenery for a trail. However, there are many other towns with beautiful coastlines, but without the popularity of Ogunquit's. (One might argue at the height of summer that perhaps it's too popular, but that's a discussion for another time.) It's not only the views that make the Marginal Way such an appealing walking environment.

Here are 5 other reasons it works so well, which can be applied to other trails without gorgeous vistas:

* Appealing destinations at both ends. When you walk the Marginal Way, you're not only enjoying the views; you also end up someplace, well, worth ending up: walkable Ogunquit town center on one end; walkable Perkins Cove at the other. (And those who  don't want to make a roundtrip  can hop a trolley bus at either end.) Something to think about when designing railtrails.

* Easy entrance/exit at several points along the trail, not just each end. There are clear, well-marked and attractive ways to join the trail at several points besides the start and finish. So you know you're not trapped (or force to cut through places you're not necessarily meant to be) when you start out.

* Not cut off from town. When you think nature trail, you might think of paths that go through woods or other nature areas, far removed from the sights and sounds of a city. However, the Marginal Way works so well for pedestrians of all types and not simply nature hikers, precisely because it's not cut off from the community. While nature is on one side, the town is very much on the other. And the homes and yards looking out at the trail help give it a feeling of safety. It's the same reason why having windows of homes or businesses close to a sidewalk in a city center makes for a much more appealing walking environment than a garage door or blank wall.

Bench along the Martinal Way

* Benches along the way. Those benches allow people who may not want to walk the full length at once not to be intimidated by the trail; and having a lot of people relaxing along the way also makes for a nicer environment for those out for a stroll.

* Great upkeep. Trash is picked up, plants are well trimmed, weeds are kept at bay. A well maintained trail also feels safer and more appealing than one with litter and out-of-control plants invading the walking area.

Better streetscapes lead to more walking

Add Scientific American to the list of those saying we need aesthetically pleasing streetscapes to encourage more walking.

Says a recent podcast:

"According to Andrew Furman of Ryerson University in Toronto [http://bit.ly/dr76ot] . . .  in many places in North America it’s just not that nice to walk. But if cities and suburbs put more effort into building better pedestrian routes, he says more people might leave their SUVs at home."

And as I mentioned and Brett commented on a recent post, European cities and towns make much more of an effort at this -- not only with effective transit systems, but with communities designed with walking in mind, not simply driving.

"With its older cities, Europe is more amenable to meandering. Think cobblestone streets and hidden gardens. But North American cities and suburbs are more modern and car-centric, which generally forces pedestrians and cyclists to always take the same, boring path from A to B," Scientific American agrees.

Attractive pedestrian paths aren't a frill. They're vital to get people out of cars and walking from place to place.

Residents, officials urge state to improve Rte. 9 pedestrian environment

The Commonwealth plans to do some sidewalk improvements along Route 9 as part of a Stimulus-funded resurfacing project in Natick and Framingham. However, the plans also call for eliminating some existing grassy strips between blacktop sidewalks and the roadway, instead relying on painted lines to mark walkways, Department of Transportation officials said at a public hearing tonight in Framingham.

Fortunately, several town officials objected to this idea, suggesting instead either a change of material -- such as concrete -- or even raised sidewalks, to "restore not the privilege but the right of walking on the right of way," as Planning Board Chairman Carol Spack said. (That whole painted line idea didn't work very well when it was tried next to BJ's.)

Several officials including Selectmen Chair Ginger Esty urged the state to work on the Rte. 9 median, making a more visually pleasing separator such as has been done in Shrewsbury. Alas, due to the $12.5 million budget limit, it sounded unlikely there will be any improvements on the median for this project. However State Sen. Karen Spilka said that separately, the Metropolitan Area Planning Councilis working on a longer term Route 9 corridor study that will hopefully deal with issues such as this. "That is taking place now in a much more thorough way" than the resurfacing project, which is in design now with hopes to advertise for bids next month and start construction in April.

The project includes plans to fill in some gaps where there are no sidewalks at all, although Sue Bernstein's query about adding sidewalks to the south side of Rte. 9 across from the reservoir near several apartment complexes, allowing people to walk to Temple Street, received a negative response (it's not included and there are no plans to do so). It's still unclear whether there will be a sidewalk in front of the State Police barracks, as apparently there are some security concerns.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much of tonight's comment time was spent talking about pedestrian needs -- adequate and safe sidewalks and crossing areas. One resident of a condo complex along Rte. 9 who came primarily to find out about noise issues during the roadwork, also complained how difficult it was to walk on Rte. 9. In fact, she said one night she tried to walk and ended up calling a taxi because it was so scary. Walking right next to zooming traffic doesn't feel good. Which is why removing grassy barriers is absolutely the wrong way to go.

I added to that plea for better sidewalks, building on those comments to zero in on one of my favorite themes: Sidewalks need to be aesthetically pleasing, and streetscapes need to be walker-friendly, if people are going to use them. Simply installing concrete (or even worse, painting lines on asphalt) will not get people out on foot.

William Hanson, chair of the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, outlined several steps that could make Rte. 9 safer for cyclists, including striping a bicycle lane near traffic on ramps to give motorists a heads up that there may be bicycles on the road. He also asked state transportation officials to make sure they maintain pedestrian access during construction and ensure "the sidewalks is not a free staging area for materials."

I also submitted written testimony to the Mass. Dept. of Transportation. If you'd like to, you can send it to Frank A. Tramontozzi, P.E., Chief Engineer, MassDOT - Highway Division, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA  02116-3973 and reference Project File No. 604991.

Aesthetics, sidewalks matter: My testimony to the state Dept. of Transportation

I delivered this written testimony to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation at a public hearing tonight on a federally funded Route 9 road resurfacing project:

Lessen traffic congestion, improve aesthetics, create a more successful retail corridor and make for happier residents. The Route 9 corridor project can achieve all this at once by keeping one goal in mind: Design for "park once, walk to multiple places."

People who come to the Framingham/Natick retail corridor should be encouraged by the environment to leave their vehicles in one place and then go to several destinations by foot.

It dumps unnecessary traffic in an already congested area, when people feel they must get in their cars to travel half a mile or less. But that's the case now along Route 9. Shoppers feel uneasy or unsafe trying to cross Rte. 9 on foot - or even walk on one side. There are ugly, unappealing sidewalks that are constantly broken by huge floods of traffic spilling onto Rte. 9. And extremely inadequate pedestrian crossings.

I urge you to include in this project:

• Adequate crossings that are more than lines painted on a road. We need permanent physical markers such as a raised or brick crossing -- not only for crossing Rte. 9 but also the roads that intersect it.


• Traffic signal timings that don’t make pedestrians sprint across the street.


• If possible, an attractive separator between east and westbound traffic that would allow pedestrians a safe place to pause.


• Aesthetically pleasing sidewalks. The mere existence of sidewalks is not enough. If they are unpleasant, they will not be used, even if it is theoretically "possible" to walk on them.

Research has shown that most walkers need an environment with a feeling of "architectural enclosure"  making people feel "held within a space." As the book Suburban Nation demonstrates, without that feeling of enclosure, streets don’t attract pedestrian life. City Hall Plaza in Boston is a prime example.

I know this project can't move buildings closer to the sidewalk to compensate for a wide traffic channel. But trees and other landscaping can help separate the sidewalk from the major traffic artery nearby and encourage walking, by creating a more compelling space. This kind of landscape architecture is not a frill that can be cut to save money. It is critical if the corridor is ever to evolve from inefficient sprawl to encouraging a reasonable amount of foot traffic for trips under a mile.

For a model, I urge you to look at the busy Beacon Street corridor in Brookline, which has a vibrant pedestrian life in addition to a heavy flow of vehicle traffic. It's no accident that there is also physical separation between the sidewalk and the traffic, in some cases by brick design and in many cases by on-street parking.

Closer locally, an aesthetically pleasing pedestrian walkway along the side of the new Lowe's on Rte. 30 has encouraged a few more people to be out on foot. Much to my surprise, on the big Black Friday shopping day last month, I was not the only person walking from Lowe's across Rte. 30 to Kohl's and Shoppers World -- I saw a number of people out doing the same, even though it was raining. You'll see many more people trying to walk from place to place along Route 9 if there are sidewalks that provide a more visually compelling streetscape. That means more than a strip of cement inches away from 8 or 10 lanes of traffic whizzing by.

As the Department of Transportation's own Web site says: "Walking is key to a successful multimodal transportation system, contributes to community quality of life, and enhances personal wellbeing." That's true not only for Brookline, Cambridge and Boston but for Framingham and Natick as well.

I urge the state to design Route 9 through the Framingham/Natick retail corridor to encourage - not just enable, but promote -- walking between nearby destinations.

Thank you.

Also see my write-up of tonight's public hearing.

Here's our chance to have a say on Rte. 9 walkability

The state plans to resurface about 8 miles of Rte. 9 in Framingham and Natick. As part of the project, Mass. Dept. of Transportation will hold a public hearing aimed at "fully acquainting" us with the plans, but the public will be able to offer comments as well.

Part of the project includes "sidewalk and wheelchair ramp upgrades" as well as "new pavement markings and signs." Dare we hope there might be some consideration for walkability? For creating an appealing walking environment, not just installing sidewalks within inches of 10 lanes of traffic whizzing by that no one would want to use? For usable crossing areas that feel safe to traverse?

I hope to be there to find out (and report). The hearing is on Wednesday, December 23 in the Memorial Building (Framingham Town Hall) Ablondi Room, beginning at 7 pm.

Black Friday ... on foot

I find sitting in holiday shopping traffic about as appealing as fingernails on a blackboard, which is why I decided to try a bit of local Black Friday shopping as a pedestrian. Instead of driving over to Kohl's, across from Shoppers World and all its traffic, I left my car at Stop & Shop and walked.

How did it go? Thanks to the pedestrian path alongside of Lowe's (back to back with Stop & Shop), the walk from my car to Rte. 30 was actually pleasant. Thumbs up to the new sidewalk that's actually designed to make walking attractive as well as safe -- as opposed to the ludicrous yellow stripes painted on the busy street that was supposed to pass for pedestrian access between BJs and Target across the way.

Crossing Rte. 30 is always a dicey proposition, and trying to cross an intersection on foot with 5+ lanes of traffic and no pedestrian-friendly separator is even more so. However, at least there are clearly painted crosswalks (although I'd prefer something like the brick crossing at Elm Street & Potter Road), as well as traffic signals that stop traffic all ways.

It's still a bit scary crossing Rte. 30 on foot, even with the light, since most drivers don't expect pedestrians at that intersection; if they're looking to make a right on red, they may be checking for oncoming vehicles to their left and not walkers to their right. Plus, you've got to use a pretty brisk pace to make it across the multiple lanes of traffic in the short amount of time you're given to cross a rather wide multi-lane road.

However, it all worked out fine. It only took me 7 or so minutes each way -- really not much longer than driving through traffic-choked roadways. And much to my surprise, I saw other people out walking between Target, Shoppers World and/or Kohl's, despite the light rain. I'm not the only one who's discovered that even in an area not well designed for pedestrians, it can be less hassle to walk from place to place than take your auto.

Bonus: When I got back to my car, I was well positioned to pop into the grocery store and pick up some post-Thanksgiving, non-turkey-related weekend dinner ingredients, without having to make multiple stops.

As I've said in earlier posts, it's unlikely many of us who need to travel to work each day can realistically live car-free in a suburb like Framingham. Existing development patterns tend not to support meaningful public transit, especially in areas of town with lower population densities. Instead, planners need to strive toward commercial and retail development that encourage parking once and walking to multiple destinations. How much traffic would be reduced if there were a safe and visually appealing way to walk between destinations like the Natick Mall, Shoppers World, Target, Kohl's, the Logan Express Bus and nearby offices on Speen Street, Route 9 and Old Connecticut Path?

Residents rally for safer crossings after pedestrian struck, killed in Denver

After two pedestrians were struck - one fatally - in a Denver neighborhood, officials have responded to make the crossing less dangerous. The blog Evidence Soup reports:

"Although it took two years for a nearby block to convince the city to add a crosswalk, within 6 weeks our Public Works folks announced a plan to make this a 24-hour "Safety Zone" - by December they'll be adding signage, speed-monitoring equipment, crosswalks, double yellow lines. "

Blogger Tracy Allison Altman notes that others in the area had been asking the wrong questions and ignoring compelling evidence that neighborhood patterns were changing and more people were out walking. "It's not about cars. It's about pedestrians. . . . Sometimes it's best to draw attention to your evidence without discounting someone else's. Go around them, not at them."

As traffic around the Rte. 9/Rte. 30 retail area worsens this holiday shopping season, will more people try to get form place to place on foot, despite the dangers? I crossed Rte. 30 to Shopper's World on foot last weekend, and for the first time I can recall, I saw another pedestrian out crossing with me. It's time for us, too, to pay more attention to walkers, not only drivers, when designing traffic flow -- before we end up with a similar tragedy.

New pedestrian crossings in town

A look at two upgraded pedestrian crossings in Saxonville, at the McAuliffe branch library and Potter Road/Elm Street.

[gallery]

Better crosswalks

I'm pleased to see more visible crosswalks in a couple of key pedestrian crossing areas: the dangerous crossing from the parking lot to McAuliffe branch library, and the Potter Road/Elm Street intersection.

At Potter Road there's now a highly visible brick walkway, instead of the yellow lines on the street that seem to wear away after a few months. And there's a slight "raised" walkway now for the library crossing, along with a sidewalk that extends a bit into the walkway to make it visually clearer to drivers that something "unusual" is happening in this part of the street. Hopefully some drivers whipping around the corner from Water Street -- especially those yakking on their cell phones and not paying attention to the fact that people on foot are crossing to and from the library -- will realize they need to be watchful for walkers.

I've been meaning to snap photos of them both, hope to get to that soon.

Salem, NH mulls 'village center' for traffic-choked intersection

Salem officials are considering a plan to transform an area of typical suburban sprawl into a more pedestrian friendly, mixed-use environment.

A town committee has been tasked with redeveloping the Rte. 28/Main Street, which currently -- at least according to the satellite photo I saw on Google Map :-) -- has your typical U.S. post-War development pattern of buildings set back from the street and large parking lots fronting the road, a recipe for unappealing walking.

The redevelopment committee's goals "include mixed-use development — including retail, business office, and residential development — two- to four-story buildings, shared parking areas, shared driveways and access points, and design guidelines. All of these elements would go toward creating a "village center character" in the area of the intersection, [consultant Martin] Kennedy told the Planning Board," according to the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune.

Car-focused suburban sprawl is a mid-20th century philosophy that's increasingly out of vogue, as people look to recapture a sense of community and enjoy a more unique sense of place. There's a reason why it generally costs more to rent space per square foot in a desirable walkable neighborhood like Beacon Hill or Concord Center than an upscale exurb.

Separating traffic and sidewalk

It's so much more pleasant to walk on a sidewalk when that sidewalk is separated from traffic whizzing by. That separation can be as simple as on-street parking or as pleasant as an actual landscaping buffer.

That came to mind a couple of weeks ago when we were in Lenox in western Mass., and there was an extremely wide buffer between the sidewalk and traffic in an area of Main Street without on-street parking. This buffer and a pleasant streetscape makes for an enormously more appealing walking environment than just sticking a sidewalk right next to the street (as is done way too often in Framingham).

Don't let the lack of pedestrians in the photo fool you into thinking people don't walk here. I actually waited quite awhile to find a time where I could get a picture without a lot of people blocking the view!

Walkability: 2 local events tonight

There are two events of note this evening for those interested in livable, walkable communities.

In Framingham, there's a Cochituate Rail Trail workshop if you'd like to find out more about trail plans and offer comments of your own.  The design will be ready for preview starting at 6:30 pm, with a formal presentation beginning at 7 followed by comments and Q&A. That's in the Memorial Building (town hall) Blumer Room, 150 Concord St.

Or, attend a talk on "Mode Shift:  moving from driving to transit, biking, and walking" hosted by LivableStreets Alliance in Central Square (100 Sidney St.) from 7-9 pm in Cambridge. Jason Schrieber discusses what factors get people out of their cars. Better mass transit, bike lanes and sidewalks? Financial incentives such as gas tax and parking prices? Better land use patterns?

Rte. 126 Corridor Study in the Works

A Route 126 Corridor Transportation Improvement Study will soon be underway in Framingham, Ashland, Holliston, Medway and Bellingham. The goal is to improve access to commercial, retail, educational and services.

The study, under the aegis of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, will recommend design, traffic and other changes to the corridor. There will be "special emphasis on the effective and safe accommodation of pedestrians and bicyclists," according to a statement issued by state Rep. Pam Richardson. "Bus service improvement recommendations may also be developed."

Rte. 126 in Framingham is one of the roadways desperately needing a better pedestrian environment, especially when it comes to crossing intersections on foot. If you check out a map I created a couple of years ago of accidents in Framingham where pedestrians were injured (2003-2005), you'll see a huge cluster of pins along the Rte. 126 corridor. Improved walker safety in this area is clearly needed.

Aesthetic improvements are also needed, as well as better walkways: Many sidewalks are narrow with no buffer between walkers and traffic, and some almost impassable in spots due to poorly situated utility poles and other obstacles.

The project will start with "formation of an advisory task force that includes town officials, affected residents, members of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Massachusetts Highway Department, and the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, as well as local Senators and Representatives," Rep. Richardson's statement says. The task force is supposed to meet in mid-June and then again "within 12 months."

Good news: Local officials get serious about mall-area walkability

I was heartened to see a piece in today's Globe West focusing on attempts by Framingham and Natick officials "to make the retail sprawl of Route 9 more pedestrian friendly with better sidewalks, benches, and other amenities."

Great news! ... especially for those of us who work within walking distance of the stores, but who can't actually walk to the mall because it's so dangerous and unpleasant to cross major intersections in the way.

It's all but pointless to promote a retail district like "the Golden Triangle" without offering an attractive, appealing way to walk within it. After all, if you've got to get in your car and battle traffic congestion to get from one place to another, it no longer matters much whether you're going half a mile, a mile or a couple of miles; the synergy of a retail district is lost. Without a walkable "park once, walk to multiple destinations" retail center, you lose the advantage of serendipity -- stumbling upon a destination you didn't know would interest you until you saw it. This is the philosophy behind any well-designed individual store -- put related attractive products close together -- or shopping mall (not to mention Web site). But you can't browse or window shop while you're in a moving vehicle. Nor do you want to in the current hideous walking environment within Golden Triangle destinations.

Walkability means more than the presence of barely usable, ugly sidewalks that make it theoretically possible to get from one place to another on foot. Most people will not walk between retail destinations unless there is a pathway that feels safe and comfortable, and is at least moderately aesthetically pleasing. A sidewalk with 8 lanes of traffic on one side and acres of asphalt on the other, with no buffer or greenery on either side, will not be used by any but the hardiest of pedestrians. To encourage widespread walking will require more than adding a few benches and pretty lights; we need appealing streetscapes that offer buffers between walkers and vehicles and sizeable medians (think Beacon Street in Brookline) for pedestrian crossings. Based on today's article, I'm cautiously optimistic that some of our planning officials support the need for true walkability.

In Pictures: Transforming an ugly parking lot into a walkable shopping area

Too many of the strip mall/big box parking lots along Rte. 9, Rte. 30 and elsewhere are not only visually unpleasant, but they make it all but impossible to walk from place to place -- even between retail destinations that are only a few hundred feet away. But those design patterns can change! Check out this development vision for a town in Illinois. This 5-picture slideshow starts out with an ugly ocean of asphalt in front of a chain restaurant, and ends with an attractive "walkable design [that] would allow residents to shop with their feet instead of their cars. The revamped shopping center would keep all the same amenities in place and add a sense of community character."

Another scenario from Memphis shows how a few design changes can transform a residential neighborhood with an unappealing pedestrian streetscape into one where pedestrians would love to stroll.

Which version would you rather live, work and shop in? These attractive neighborhoods become possible when developers and town officials keep walkable streetscapes in mind.

(Thanks to my colleague Mitch Betts for the links.)

Sprawl and quality of life

When post-World War II suburbs were designed, the idea was to improve quality of life -- give people more space to breathe at affordable prices, compared to cities (viewed as too congested and noisy), while still giving them reasonably easy access to things like shopping.

But half a century later, we discovering that suburban sprawl isn't all it was cracked up to be. Post-1970s development took the original idea and expanded on it, giving people so much "room" that development patterns often made it difficult to do anything without a car or even walk around the neighborhood and get to know your neighbors.

When there's no care given to shared public space, when what greets the streetscape is a huge garage door and not a home's windows and entryways, when front yards are never for living or being in but 100% of activity occurs in private spaces where no neighbor-to-neighbor interaction is possible, well, your sense of community changes. And when you can't do anything -- anything -- without getting in your car, when your kids can't even go visit a friend without being chauffered, well, even those who love automobiles can start growing weary of how many hours they need to spend in their vehicles.

Add an increase in traffic jams and ever longer commutes, and older patterns of development start looking more appealing. Imagine being able to walk to the store to pick up a few things for dinner on a nice early autumn afternoon. I grew up going out for milk and bread for my mom, and she still often walks to the grocery store, hair salon, or to pick up a morning paper.

It immeasurably adds to your community to have lots of your neighbors out and about. I saw it on primary day, when I walked to my polling place and ran into several neighbors who were doing the same; we stopped and chatted about this and that. Those are the kinds of interactions that help stitch together a community, that don't happen unless people are out in shared public space. But we can't be out and about that way unless such space exists; and we can't and won't be out walking unless there's an appealing streetscape to draw us out. Useful destinations we not only can walk to but want to because of an attractive pedestrian environment truly add to our quality of life.

Natick meeting: State transportation office seeks citizen input

Have experiences getting to work, school or elsewhere that you'd like to share with state officials? The Executive Office of Transportation says it's "kicking off a civic outreach effort to talk to Massachusetts residents about their experiences using the transportation system."

The second workshop is Monday, September 22, 6 pm at the Morse Institute Library in Natick (the first workshop is Sept. 17 3 pm at the main library in Boston). You can see the full workshop schedule  here.

"Tell us what you observe every day as you move around on the roads, rails, and trails of our state," the You Move Massachusetts Web site invites.

Alas, 6 pm is a tough time for most of us who work a full-time day job ( unless they're planning to feed us dinner there). Nevertheless, I'm hoping to get down to the workshop to share my experiences trying to, say, cross Rte. 30 without getting killed; or my inability to walk to Shoppers World or the Natick Mall from my office nearby because no thought was given to pedestrian needs.

Google Maps walking directions: Good idea that could stand improvement

Google Maps now offers the option of getting walking as well as driving directions, one of my Computerworld colleagues notes in his blog. It's a great idea in theory, but the algorithm is a bit lame at times.

I'm guessing that Google is considering things like shortest distance and ability to go the "wrong way" on one-way streets when giving its walking suggestions, but not other important things such as crossability of intersections on foot, appealing streetscape, or even presence of sidewalks.

The system correctly changed its route for going on Speen Street to North End Treats on Rte. 30, routing a car down Leggat McCall connector but a pedestrian down Speen Street (it would be impossible to walk on Rte. 30 the first way, because of the traffic pouring off the Turnpike in between). However, Google Maps suggests pedestrians walk to Shoppers World from the Leggat McCall connector (see below) by crossing Rte. 30 and continuing straight on a road with no sidewalk and multiple lanes of fast-moving traffic -- an extremely dangerous route on foot.

[caption id="attachment_715" align="aligncenter" width="239" caption="This is the route Google Maps suggests for walking to Shoppers World from the Leggat McCall Connector."][/caption]