These data visualizations of traffic deaths include several showing deaths involving pedestrians. One clear pattern: Pedestrian risk rises sharply around dusk
.
January 9, 2013
August 17, 2012
Great reason to green up vacant lots
Residents feel safer when living near a vacant lot that's been "greened," instead of glass-strewn dirt or concrete, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. And, reported crimes around such greened lots may be reduced.
Another sign that making an appealing streetscape isn't a frill; it's essential for quality of life.
Another sign that making an appealing streetscape isn't a frill; it's essential for quality of life.
June 6, 2012
People pay more for walkable communities
"Today, the most valuable real estate lies in walkable urban locations," according to this analysis in the New York Times. Values for commercial and residential real estate in the Washington, D.C. metro area
"increase as neighborhoods became more walkable, where everyday needs, including working, can be met by walking, transit or biking. There is a five-step “ladder” of walkability, from least to most walkable. On average, each step up the walkability ladder adds $9 per square foot to annual office rents, $7 per square foot to retail rents, more than $300 per month to apartment rents and nearly $82 per square foot to home values."
And this likely applies elsewhere, with examples such as Seattle, where a downtown neighborhood once priced the same as suburban Redmond is now valued almost 50% higher.
Those claiming to be free-market supporters of suburban sprawl argued against smart-growth zoning because they said Americans didn't want it. What's the argument now?
More details from Walk this Way: The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitcan Washington, D.C., Brookings Institute.
April 1, 2012
Framingham Planning Board: Stephanie Mercandetti
We've got an open seat on the Framingham Planning Board with two write-in candidates mounting serious campaigns. I'm supporting Stephanie Mercandetti. If you live in Framingham and care about creating a more livable community, I hope you'll write in Stephanie Mercandetti in this Tuesday's Framingham town election, too.
Stephanie says she supports the "Complete Streets" model of community planning. This takes a full view of design -- making sure people can move safely whether by motor vehicle, walking or bicycling. This type of planning would, say, look at a retail center and see if there's a way to design a streetscape that would encourage walking between, say, Shoppers World and the movie theater as well as making sure there is adequate traffic flow and parking, instead of designing a center where most people get in their cars and drive less than a quarter of a mile because it feels too dangerous to try to cross the streets.
She is former local affairs director for state Sen. Dave Magnani and is now economic development and grants officer for the Town of Walpole. "She favors better planning, a team approach to economic development, and a permitting process that is timely and transparent," noted the MetroWest Daily News in endorsing her.
Framingham would be well served to have another knowledgeable planning professional on the Board in Stephanie Mercandetti.
Stephanie says she supports the "Complete Streets" model of community planning. This takes a full view of design -- making sure people can move safely whether by motor vehicle, walking or bicycling. This type of planning would, say, look at a retail center and see if there's a way to design a streetscape that would encourage walking between, say, Shoppers World and the movie theater as well as making sure there is adequate traffic flow and parking, instead of designing a center where most people get in their cars and drive less than a quarter of a mile because it feels too dangerous to try to cross the streets.
She is former local affairs director for state Sen. Dave Magnani and is now economic development and grants officer for the Town of Walpole. "She favors better planning, a team approach to economic development, and a permitting process that is timely and transparent," noted the MetroWest Daily News in endorsing her.
Framingham would be well served to have another knowledgeable planning professional on the Board in Stephanie Mercandetti.
June 13, 2011
How to reduce our "epidemic of preventable pedestrian deaths"
In 15 of the country's largest metro areas, pedestrian deaths increased even as overall number of traffic deaths fell, according Transportation for America's new study, Dangerous by Design 2011.
Why? Walker safety simply isn't taken seriously by most governments. Pedestrian fatalities account for nearly 12% of total traffic deaths, but states only spend 1.5% of available federal funds for improving pedestrian safety, Transportation for America concludes. Many of these deaths occurred on roads "with little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs or on bicycles." You can see an interactive map of locations with reported pedestrian fatalities on the Transportation for America Web site.
In fact, walking is not an optional activity for many people, any more than driving is. Yet non-auto transportation simply doesn't come into consideration in so many places across the U.S., from roads designed for driving only to to snow removal for vehicles only (far from making sidewalks clear for walking, many communities actually worsen the pedestrian experience in winter by piling snow at corners where people usually walk).
I went to see a friend in Switzerland last month and the contrast was dramatic. In every city and small town we visited, there were walking areas that were safe and appealing. It was easy to get from a train station in one town to her apartment nearby in another town without a car, either by bus along a major road or a beautiful pedestrian path between the towns. In how many American suburbs is it easy to walk from a station in one town to home in another? In Framingham, it feels dangerous to walk from one shopping center to another, if that involves crossing Rte. 30 or Rte. 9.
Two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities in the US occurred on major roads that are eligible to receive federal funding, the study notes. Transportation for America suggests several changes to the next federal transportation spending bill that could help reduce the number of walker fatalities in America, such as demanding that streets be designed for safe use by pedestrians, cyclists, public transportation users and motorists alike.
Why? Walker safety simply isn't taken seriously by most governments. Pedestrian fatalities account for nearly 12% of total traffic deaths, but states only spend 1.5% of available federal funds for improving pedestrian safety, Transportation for America concludes. Many of these deaths occurred on roads "with little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs or on bicycles." You can see an interactive map of locations with reported pedestrian fatalities on the Transportation for America Web site.
In fact, walking is not an optional activity for many people, any more than driving is. Yet non-auto transportation simply doesn't come into consideration in so many places across the U.S., from roads designed for driving only to to snow removal for vehicles only (far from making sidewalks clear for walking, many communities actually worsen the pedestrian experience in winter by piling snow at corners where people usually walk).
I went to see a friend in Switzerland last month and the contrast was dramatic. In every city and small town we visited, there were walking areas that were safe and appealing. It was easy to get from a train station in one town to her apartment nearby in another town without a car, either by bus along a major road or a beautiful pedestrian path between the towns. In how many American suburbs is it easy to walk from a station in one town to home in another? In Framingham, it feels dangerous to walk from one shopping center to another, if that involves crossing Rte. 30 or Rte. 9.
Two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities in the US occurred on major roads that are eligible to receive federal funding, the study notes. Transportation for America suggests several changes to the next federal transportation spending bill that could help reduce the number of walker fatalities in America, such as demanding that streets be designed for safe use by pedestrians, cyclists, public transportation users and motorists alike.
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