Friday, April 29, 2011

This week on foot

It has been such a busy week for pedestrians, I hardly know where to begin. Let's start with bridges: In New York, the Mother Of All Pedestrian Bridges To Connect Brooklyn Parks, while down south Old pedestrian bridge to be removed in Louisiana and up north Foxborough Selectmen Support Pedestrian Bridge.

Closer to home (for me, anyway) Glendale clears path for pedalers and pedestrians, while in Northern California folks consider  Oakland's pedestrian dangers. As we know, one of those dangers is distracted driving, which is why it's encouraging to hear that Motorists who text or talk on hand-held phones face stiffer penalties under Senate measure.

And the California Senate isn't the only group thinking about pedestrian safety this week. Under Pressure, AASHTO Withdraws Objection to Stronger Bike-Ped Rules , while in Baltimore Citizen fights Fells Point pedestrian changes.


Academics are also taking a look at  Signal Timing and Pedestrian Safety: A Case Study From Baltimore, as are officials across the world in New Delhi, where Pedestrians to get 15 seconds per 2 mins to cross roads. And that's not all that's happening on the international pedestrian front. Also in India, there's a 'Pedestrian' touch for Charminar, while in Cyprus they're urging Pedestrians: know your rights. In Canada New Glasgow wins recognition for making community more walkable, and UK
Businesses urged to get in line and clearly mark out their sites to clearly distinguish between the pedestrian and vehicle arenas.

And that's important, because sometimes that line blurs, as in the deeply ironic tale about how a Pedestrian killed on sidewalk was walking for his health. But not every pedestrian crash ends badly. In Washington state, a Monroe pedestrian struck by SUV but protects little granddaughter.

As important as it is to protect our children, we should also think about protecting our money, since What the Feds Giveth, the States Taketh Away — From Bike/Ped Programs . Of course, some pedestrian safety programs aren't always applauded, as in New York's recent "Don't Be A Jerk" campaign. Still, some pedestrians say  Don’t Dismiss “Don’t Be a Jerk”.

One thing we can dismiss is the suburbs, as we learn in an article this week from the Atlantic explaining How History Killed the Suburb. Could it be because suburban developers didn't understand the basics: walking distance to transit? And while we're asking questions about walkability, Does UA’s ‘Walkability’ breed accessibility or isolation? I don't know the answer to that one, but it's not going to stop me from Looking for ways to get city people on foot.

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