New Data from the National Household Travel Survey

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For all the data geeks out there, the final 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) Data is now officially available for download from the NHTS website. The 2009 NHTS includes data on the travel of 150,000 households in the US, representing about around 1 million trips using all modes of travel, all times of day, and all purposes. It's a great source for understanding overall travel patterns in the US (and is the only nationwide source of walking data for non-work trips).

Unfortunately, NHTS data can't be disaggregated to understand the travel of specific states, regions, or cities, because it's only available for the country as a whole. Not only does this make it difficult to apply NHTS to specific areas, there is always the possibility of things being thrown off by the New York Factor (because of its vast population, high density, and unique transportation system, New York City tends to skew nationwide travel data).

Nonetheless, the latest round of data has some interesting info for us ped-heads:

• About 11 percent of all trips in the US are made on foot (compared to about 82 percent by private vehicle, 1 percent by bike, and --this is why I generally favor pedestrian investment over transit spending--4 percent by public transit).
• Relatively few people walk to work (about 6 percent of work trips), but nearly a quarter of all family/personal business and social/recreational trips are walking trips. This is why I feel it's very important to invest in neighborhood walkability: Americans might not be able to walk to the office, but they make up for it by walking a lot on their off time.
• Compared to social and personal trips, school/daycare walking trips are relatively low; only about 10 percent of people walk to school/daycare/religious activities. Yet another argument for the importance of the Safe Routes to School program

This Week on Foot

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This week began with a pedestrian-oriented complaint from the Natural Resources Defence Council on its Switchboard Blog.  Writer Kain Benfield laments, "I wish AIA didn’t define ‘green’ so narrowly." He notes that the recently announced top 10 green projects for 2010 might be environmentally friendly on the inside, but since many of them are located in unwalkable communities, it's a bit misleading to call them "green."

I guess someone was listening, because just a few days later LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System Launches as Benchmark for Green Neighborhood Design. The new rating system gives points for factors such as walkable design and "transportation efficiency."

New Yorkers were reminded just how important those factors are this week, when there was an Increase Call for Pedestrian Safety After Transportation Advocated Killed by Cab. The death of neighborhood activist Harry Wieder led others in the community to call on the NYPD to provide better access to data on pedestrian safety and traffic management in the city.

Perhaps pedestrians in Illinois will have an easier time than New Yorkers, where in that state a New law requires stopping for pedestrians, not yielding.

Or we could all just move to Europe, where Garmin takes a pedestrian-friendly phone overseas. Here in the US Garmin products focus on providing users driving directions, but in Europe and Asia users "tend to rely more on mass transit" (understatement) so a ped-friendly wayfinder is more marketable.

Award-winning Walkability

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Waiting an extra hour for my presentation at last week's Ventura County Board of Supervisor's hearing was pretty horrid on my nerves, but at least the delay was caused by something interesting: the 2010 Climate Change Action Awards.

An especially happy distraction was Naval Base Ventura County's award for the new Catalina Heights military housing project in Camarillo. Formerly described as "bomb shelter chic," the newly remodeled complex includes about 30 single family homes and 230 townhouses. Shopping, restaurants, the local elementary school and a community center with preschool and daycare services are incorporated into the community design so residents can meet many of their daily needs by walking instead of biking.

As this picture (courtesy of the Ventura County Star) shows, the development has many key walkable design elements: sidewalks, on-street parking, a landscaped parkway, front doors (not garages) oriented towards the street...if only Ventura Blvd could be so lovely. It almost makes me want to join the Navy.

Walking Events in May

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This month promises a bundle of walking excitement for pedestrian-oriented Angelenos. I hope to be able to make it down from my perch in Ventura to be able to attend a few of these events.

May 1 and 2 - Jane's Walk
I posted earlier about Jane's Walk USA, an annual series of neighborhood walks that teach people about urban planning and introduce them to their community (especially the parts that they might not notice while gazing out of their windshields). This year there are two walks planned for the LA area, one in the MacArthur Park neighborhood and one in downtown Los Angeles. You can find more info on the Jane's Walk website here.

May 4 - Safe Routes to School Southern California Conference Call
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is holding its first SRTS Southern California Network conference call on May 4. The key purpose of the call is to start bringing people, resources and knowledge together to improve walking and bicycling for children and families in Southern California. Everyone is welcome to join in the discussion.

The call will take place May 4 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. The Conference Call Conference Dial-in Number is (218) 862-1001 and Participant Access Code is 1009315# (*6 mutes/unmutes the call).

May 12 - Metro 2010 Pedestrian Symposium: Walking into the Future City
This event will explore strategies to increase travel options and create sustainable, healthy, livable communities. Participants will learn the latest information on critical pedestrian planning issues and engage in an essential and pertinent dialogue about the future of our communities.

The symposium is scheduled from 8:30am – 3:30pm and will be located in the Board Room at Metro Headquarter, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. To learn more and RSVP to the symposium, visit the webpage here.

This Week on Foot

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This weekend the World’s First Double Helix Pedestrian Bridge Opens in Singapore, providing pedestrians with the final link in a 3.5 path around the Marina Bay development--and the opportunity to hang out in some pretty cool architecture. Maybe Singapore can share some of its expertise with Israel, where Tel Aviv Requests Public’s Help in Boardwalk Redesign.

Of course, it takes more than walking paths to make a community pedestrian friendly. As we learned this week from Switchboard, For walkability and community, put the building on the street and the parking in back. Turns out people like looking in the windows of shops as they walk down the street more than they like looking in the windows of cars.

Think policies that require parking to be located behind buildings aren't important? If you live in an unwalkable community, Your Neighborhood Could Be Making You Sick. According to several studies cited in Psycology Today, people who live in walkable neighborhoods are "thinner and healthier" than people in pedestrian unfriendly areas.

A report out of New York City this week explains one other reason that walkability is important: the economy. Yes, Carless New Yorkers save, help city economy. Perhaps that's why in Ithica, New York a Seniors' group to survey intersections for pedestrian safety. Every little bit helps...