This week on foot

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This week we learn How Dogs Saved a Los Angeles Neighborhood, and that The Most Walkable Streets in San Francisco Aren’t Always the Ones You’d Think. We're told to Give the people what they want: A walkable city--or do they? Because also this week a 'Pedestrian place' decision postponed in Canada and Businesses Hope to Put Brakes on Proposed Pedestrian Plaza in New York due to concerns over (you guessed it) losing parking. At least outside the US they got the memo, as this week Bhutan introduces weekly 'pedestrian day'.  Although in Manila they don't seem to be quite as sympathetic, since they're telling citizens to Use footbridges and pedestrian lanes, or pay P200—MMDA

Meanwhile, the City's sidewalk situation is dire, public board tells Lansing City Council, and the Increasing road toll for elderly pedestrians provokes alarm. It shows why its so important to understand How walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods help seniors... and younger folks. Perhaps walkability have helped this situation where Pedestrian dies after being struck crossing Long Beach street, although some strongly believe that Distracted Pedestrians As Dangerous as Distracted Drivers

Elsewhere people we're wondering What is it with Canadian drivers and pedestrians? (And why can't Americans be the same way?), and Are the suburbs made for walking? Maybe An Atlas of Suburbanisms can help us figure it out. If not, we can always look to Brant Street in Burlington a Model for Walkable Streets for pointers.

More great walking webinars

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Health and Equity in Transportation: Promising Methods and Modes to Improve Health Outcomes

APHA will host a free webinar series on critical health and equity issues within the transportation sector. These three, 60-minute APHA webinars will explore the ties between public health and:

· Increased use of public transportation;

· Reduced injuries, particularly for children and young drivers;

· Reduced inequities from increased access to goods and services; and

· Other topics within transportation, such as updates on the federal surface transportation authorization.

We invite professionals in public health, transportation and other related sectors to participate in this new webinar series for 2012. Participants must register to join the webinar. NOTE: registration is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register here.

1: What Public Transit means for Public Health

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

2-3 pm EDT

Explore how public transit may impact health, via increased physical activity, improved air quality and reduced risk of injuries from crashes. Hear about health impact assessments (HIAs) that estimated how increased spending on public transportation and sustainable modes of transportation can both benefit health and reduce social inequities. Introductory remarks by APHA Associate Executive Director Susan Polan, and presentations by Tracy Buck, MS, RD, Nashville Metro Public Health and Brian Cole, DrPH, UCLA School of Public Health.

Making Pizza (and Pedestrians) Safer

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As I learned recently in this NPR story, Dominos pizza has taken a creative approach to improving the safety of its electric delivery scooters in the Netherlands. Concerned that the quiet vehicles might catch pedestrians unawares, with unfortunate results, the company added a quirky soundtrack to the motors. Annoying? Possibly, but at least they'll be hard for pedestrians to miss...

This Week on Foot

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This we everyone is talking about the latest research from the Brookings Institution showing what's Now Coveted: A Walkable, Convenient Place. In reaction there's this Op Ed on Walkability confirms the obvious and points to transportation expenses, this post on The economic value of walkability and transit, and this one about Urban walkability: the new driver in real estate values.

Meanwhile, the L.A. City Council wants no part of sidewalk repair cost proposed as part of AB 2231. Improvements to Oxnard street will come at a cost, and it's not just the price of repairs--but how much to we pay in health costs when we don't maintain walkable environments? We Can't Rely on Doctors Alone to Make the U.S. Healthier...

...or safer, and even though one person wonders Do pedestrians have a death wish? In Our take: Pedestrian safety matters. But does it matter to everyone? That's not so clear in Washington, D.C., where the Fate of Bike-Ped Compromise Still Unknown as House Reconvenes, or in California where Napa to Pedestrians: Drop Dead, or at Least Fall Down.

Fortunately in the Moreno Valley: Pedestrian safety campaign begins, and they're working on Reducing the risk of pedestrian death in Vancouver, while a 'Pedestrian hybrid beacon' lights up in Metropark and  Re-thinking traffic control for pedestrians in New Zealand.

Back here in my neighborhood, a Man gets life sentences for running over Woodland Hills pedestrian in 2009 chase, while further away Summertime Pedestrian Mall Heats Up Business In Little Italy and even further away Dubai residents get the boot into pedestrian footbridges.

Were you wondering How many people bicycle and walk in Missouri? The first definitive data EVER from MoDOT is available this week. And finally, for all you conspiracy theorists out there, an Opinion: Complete Streets conspiracy theorists should offer proof.

Upcoming Webinars

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June 5, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm EDT
Tools for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety and Exposure Analysis

Researchers at the UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research & Education Center (SafeTREC) will describe several tools that are available to evaluate pedestrian and bicycle safety.
            
David Ragland, Ph.D., will provide an overview of several initiatives to reduce pedestrian and bicycle crashes in California.  These efforts have produced tools and methodologies that have been used in California and could be applied in other communities outside of the state.
            
John Bigham, MPH, will discuss the Transportation Injury Mapping Tool (TIMS), an interactive website to query, map, and download collision data in California.  The presentation will include a live demonstration of TIMS to view maps of pedestrian and bicycle collision data and evaluate the benefit-cost of constructing different safety countermeasures.
            
Robert Schneider, Ph.D., will present the final topic, estimating exposure for pedestrian and bicycle crash risk analysis.  This will include an overview of the importance of exposure data, different methods of estimating pedestrian and bicycle volume data, and recent volume modeling efforts in Alamdea County and San Francisco, California.

Register here.

June 7, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
Federal Funding 201 - How Safe Routes to School Projects Actually Get Built: An Overview of Obligation and Obligation Authority/Limitations
        
Federal Funding 101 covered the basics of the complex federal funding process. On June 7, 2012, we will discuss the final phase of federal funding, obligation. Obligation is the final stage of the federal regulatory process; once a project or program is obligated, it is ready to begin, but not before. It can take a long time to get Safe Routes to School and Transportation Enhancements projects and programs to this point: learn how the process works, and what you can do to help your state program and local applicants to get through this complex process. And learn about obligation authority/limitations, or how and why some of the federal funds may not even be made available to communities in your state. Find out the answers to these and other questions, and ask your own!

Speakers:
Darren Flusche, policy director, League of American Bicyclists, Advocacy Advance program
Robert Ping, technical assistance director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Dawn Foster, SRTS coordinator, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans )

Register here.

June 14, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
Slowing Drivers down: Why It Matters and Two Communities' Solutions

Presenters: Scott Bricker, Executive Director, America Walks
Elizabeth Stampe, Director, Walk San Francisco
Mark Lear, Traffic Safety Programs, Portland Bureau of Transportation

Traffic safety, especially the speed of cars around schools, is one of the biggest barriers to walking and biking to school reported by parents. Reducing the speed of traffic around schools is a good step to make routes to school safer and encourage families to walk and bike. This webinar highlights strategies used by two communities to successfully slow vehicle speeds around schools.

Scott Bricker, Executive Director of America Walks, will review relevant research around speed and pedestrian and bicyclist safety and provide a general overview of steps your community can take to slow vehicle speeds around schools. Then, Elizabeth Stampe, from Walk San Francisco, will discuss how Walk San Francisco worked with the City’s transportation department to enforce an existing state law and helped to reduce speed limits around 181 schools. Finally, Mark Lear, from the Portland Bureau of Transportation, will describe the City’s development of a “neighborhood greenways” network with speed limits of 20 MPH. He’ll present some basic design elements of Portland’s greenways and discuss how they built a diverse community coalition to achieve their goals.

Register here.