This Week on Foot

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This week we're reminded why all this pedestrian safety stuff is so important by two incidents across the world from one another. First, in Canada, a Teenage pedestrian's death 'needless', while in South Africa a Pupil (7) Killed on Way to School. It's sad when a young person can't even get an education without risking their life.

Fortunately, this week is also full of news of worldwide efforts to address this issue. Oregon believes Enforcement can reduce pedestrian deaths-- but the fact that Portland begins construction on South Waterfront pedestrian bridge over I-5 can't hurt either. In New York a New Traffic Signal is Cause for Celebration, while in New Jersey a pedestrian is pleased that the New audible alert law benefits blind pedestrians.  Meanwhile, Colorado invites us to check out the new "hybrid pedestrian beacon", and in the UK Volvo's pedestrian detection system wins safety award.

With so much good stuff happening out there, it's no wonder that one Seattle pedestrian complains that Street Paint Is Really Expensive, Apparently. Why else wouldn't the city finish crosswalk markings at one of the area's most heavily used crossings?

Meanwhile, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase community voices pedestrian concerns, while here in LA Streetsblog points out a Pedestrian Friendly Ralphs Needed for Pasadena .
Perhaps better zoning regulations could encourage that Ralphs to get in line. Pasadena could look to Florida, where City of Miami Receives National APA Award for Pioneering Zoning Reform . Pennsylvannia certainly is, where York City Council, residents discuss proposed zoning revision. Let's hope they're successful in their efforts!

Worldwide Walking: Signs

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To end on a lighter note, I wanted to share a few pedestrian-oriented signs from Austria--but only after first posing the question: can any one explain why pedestrian crossing signs in Europe are blue instead of yellow or green? It strikes me as an odd color choice, as I can't imagine blue signs standing out very well at night.

I find this bright yellow "Children at Play" sign much more striking, especially with snow as the background. Of course, we know that while signs like these are charming to look at, they don't do much to slow traffic.

This sign, on the other hand. Well, it's pretty hard to miss...

Mission Beach Walk - January 15

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For those of you in the San Diego area:

WalkSanDiego Community Walks

Saturday, January 15, 2011, 8:30 a.m.

Mission Beach Walk – Meet at the North Shore Cafe, 3125 Ocean Front Walk, San Diego, CA 92109 (Next to the Wave House)

Join us to walk the Boardwalk and Mission Beach community and hear about the history of the development of this area by John Sprekels, the old trolley line and trivia from the past. A modest paced, three-mile walk on flat terrain.

Reservations not needed

The walks are open to everyone; they are free to WalkSanDiego members, with a suggested $5 donation for non-members. For further information, contact Dave Schumacher.

Worldwide Walking: Munich

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So does Munich really deserve the moniker of most walkable in the world?

Like Vienna, Munich is rife with pedestrian zones:

Pedestrian-only plazas:

And toucan crossings:

But like I said in my last post, I'm not as impressed by the walkability of cities that developed when the only real form of transportation was walking. Not to say they aren't great--just that it's a lot harder to create a walkable city after the fact, and cities that manage to do so deserve extra credit.

So while I appreciated everything that Munich had to offer in the way of walkability, I wasn't quite ready to call it the best in the world...until I discovered this:

Worldwide Walking: Vienna

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Freshly back from two weeks in some of the world's most walkable cities, I'd like to share some observations and pictures about walkability done right.

First, Vienna. As you can see in this shot of the center of town, pedestrian zones abound throughout the city--but that isn't necessarily saying much in a city that developed pre-automobile. Does it represent forward, pedestrian-oriented thinking on the part of city leadership, or just a lack of funding to "modernize" the city? To answer that question, we need to look outside the city center:

This is one of the main arterials that rings the central part of the city. As you can see, there's quite a bit of pavement devoted to travel here--but unlike what you might find here in LA, most of is not given over to vehicles. In fact, when you add in the wide sidewalk and bike path on the opposite side of the street (not visible here), the majority of right-of-way is granted to non-motorized modes. I think this says a lot about the value placed on walking and biking in Vienna.

Finally, from the same location, one last note on crosswalk design. Here you can see a midblock crossing stretching across the frontage road. While I'm impressed by the attention to pedestrian safety (even though this is a narrow, low-volume road, engineers have still added extra safety measures including signs and an advance stop bar), what I like the most is the placement of the crossing.
See that low wall to the left? That's an entrance to the subway system. Even though it's located only about 100 feet from the main intersection, Vienna officials put a midblock crossing right at the entrance because they understood that pedestrians wouldn't walk 100 feet out of their way to cross at the intersection. I suspect that you would never see a similar set-up here in the US, because roadway designers would much rather make a pedestrian walk out of her way to cross a street than to deal with the challenges of midblock crossings. And if they did "jaywalk" and take the most direct route? Well in downtown LA that would be a $200 ticket...

Tomorrow: does Munich deserve to be called one of the world's most walkable cities?