The (bleak) Future of Personal Transportation

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The combination of reading this post from NYC Streetsblog about how pedestrian crashes are the top danger for kids in the Big Apple and this report on the future of personal transportation in the world's mega-cities (hint, the authors don't predict more foot travel) got me riled up for the umpteenth time about the dangers of pedestrian travel, particularly in the developing world. I've copied one of the report's tables that I find particularly distressing:

Likely changes in personal transportation in metropolitan areas by 2025

See all those little "++"s under road fatalities in Latin American and Asian countries? Those represent people dying, folks. And by "people," I mostly mean poor people, because that's the demographic that gets hit hardest--so to speak--by this trend. On top of it all, children, the elderly, and other particularly vulnerable road users are sure to be overrepresented in those statistics, since they are the ones most likely to be killed or injured in vehicle crashes.

All the more reason that the work of pedestrian advocacy groups like the Right To Walk Foundation in India and ABRASPE in Brazil is so important. Now if only we could get something started in Shanghai...

Perils of the Pedestrian Push Button

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about pedestrian push buttons. Okay, full disclosure? I’ve been thinking about pedestrian push buttons because a few weeks ago a police officer yelled at me for crossing against the “don’t walk” sign.

Yes, yes, I know this is bad behavior for a pedestrian advocate. But here’s the thing: I arrived at the intersection a mere second before the traffic light changed to green. Just as I reached for the button— *click* green light—and there I was stuck waiting through a full signal cycle, even though there was more than enough time for me to safely cross.

I feel there are other walkers out there who can empathize with this situation. They might even be asking, like me, “Why? WHY? must I push the crosswalk button every time or be stuck languishing at the edge of the sidewalk while the vehicles next to me whisk gleefully through the intersection?”

This Week on Foot

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This week a new study provides yet more proof that driving too much is a pain in the butt: IBM Global Commuter Pain Study Reveals Traffic Crisis in Key International Cities. But the real pain? Unsuspecting pedestrians who keep getting hit by vehicles in unsuspected places. I suppose I can understand a Pedestrian struck by SUV, in critical condition, but when a Pedestrian in fair condition after hit-and-run in parking lot or a Car hits pedestrian on sidewalk--sheesh, is there nowhere safe for us walkers?

I guess it explains why Lagos Enforces Use Of Pedestrian Bridge--although if you read the description of bridge conditions, you understand why pedestrians are so reluctant to use it...

Well, at least there are More pedestrians in downtown Portland. Guess we can always count on Oregonians to do the right thing by walkers.

And there's at least one other positive bit of news on the walkability front. In the Atlantic's article Charting the Housing Collapse, we learn that homes in walkable neighborhoods have maintained their value better than those in areas where walking is not so easy.

Cool Ped Stuff # 7: Photovoice

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I love this project, sponsored by Safe Kids Worldwide, that handed cameras to kids in seven differnt countries and asked them to document the pedestrian environment in their neighborhood. Many of the problems that children identified in Photovoice: Children's Perspectives on Road Traffic Safety were addressed in subsequent roadway improvement projects, leading to safer walking for kids worldwide. What a great lesson for children about the power of pedestrian advocacy.

This week on Foot

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What is going on with the trains this week? An Amtrak train kills female pedestrian in Wash., a Train hits, kills pedestrian in Indy, a Second person fatally hit by Southern California train--yikes! No wonder the folks in south Los Angeles were concered after the Expo Line gets OK for street-level crossing next to Dorsey High.

Maybe we should all head over to Chicago, where an NU forum targets pedestrian-train accidents. Or perhaps we could learn something from the folks across the Atlantic, where trains and walkers are both more prevalent. Of course, the Europeans have their own troubles. In Paris, the NY Times forecasts a Watery Future for the City of Light. A battle is brewing over the expressways bordering the River Seine, and it's not clear yet if the future belongs to cars or to pedestrians and bicycles.

Things are looking a little better for walkers in the UK, where London trials Pedestrian Countdown technology. And back on this side of the ocean, the folks who brought you WalkScore ponder the idea of Measuring neighborhood diversity and liveliness with ‘JaneScore’ (named for planner extraordinaire Jane Jacobs). Hmm. My neighborhood has a high WalkScore, but I'm not so sure it would do as well by Jane's standards...