Eliminate the Guesswork in Safe Street Design

Traffic calming interventions are best when they not only make the environment safer for everyone outside of a car, but when they do so in a way that reduces the mental load for drivers.

Why Does Someone Need To Die for a Street To Be Made Safer?

There’s no excuse: when members of a community see a dangerous street for what it is, it shouldn’t take a death (or several deaths) for the city to finally take action.

No One Should Be the Second Person To Die on a Dangerous Street

If a roof is leaking in a public building, we know to fix it asap. So why don’t our public officials move with the same urgency when dealing with a much more serious problem: the death of a person on our streets?

You Can Help End the Epidemic of Traffic Deaths in Your Community

Streets are some of the most hostile and dangerous places in our built environment, causing the deaths of over 40,000 people every year. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtJanuary 19, 2024Crash Analysis Studio, car crash, Street Design

How Many People Have To Die To Make a Street Safer?

This timeline of tragedy shows the many, many times city officials in Springfield, MA, should have addressed the unsafe conditions of State Street.

Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJanuary 11, 2024massachusetts, safe and productive streets, car crash, Street Design, stroad

Government Immunities vs. Life-Saving Infrastructure

When a deadly car crash occurs, our legal system does not encourage a responsive government—and in fact, in some cases, legal structures are likely incentivizing avoiding property damage claims over saving lives.

Top StoryAbi OlveraNovember 29, 2023safe and productive streets, car crash, Street Design

Sidewalks Should Be Designed for People, Not Cars

The reconstruction of this Toronto street highlights the problem with "standards."

Top StoryLloyd AlterNovember 28, 2023safe and productive streets, sidewalks, pedestrians, Street Design

How to Daylight Your City’s Intersections (and Why It Matters)

Daylighting means removing visual obstructions in approaching intersections, so that users can better see and more safely cross each other’s paths. Here are 5 ways to do it cheaply and creatively in your city or town.

Top StoryBen AbramsonNovember 24, 2023safe and productive streets, how to, Street Design

Is There Hope for University Drive in Huntsville, Alabama?

This Alabama stroad features a sidewalk with ADA-compliant features, but no one could call this a safe place to exist outside of a vehicle.

Top StoryAsia MieleszkoNovember 21, 2023safe and productive streets, Street Design, car crash, Crash Analysis Studio, alabama, stroad

Mind the Gap

Incrementalism and humility are key to avoiding a gap between what we think we’re accomplishing with the designs of our built environment versus what people actually experience when navigating it.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedNovember 21, 2023safe and productive streets, Street Design, stroad

Public Health Experts Say Narrow Lanes Should Be the Default on City Streets

A recent public health study out of Johns Hopkins has found that narrow lanes reduce crashes on streets, and recommends that lanes as narrow as 9 feet wide be the default.

The Hesitancy of Western Massachusetts to Address Traffic Deaths Is a Warning to All

Cities in Massachusetts are among the most walkable in the U.S., so why is progress for safer streets there so maddeningly slow?

Marohn, Trending, Top StoryCharles MarohnNovember 6, 2023safe and productive streets, california, massachusetts, safety, Street Design

Trick-or-Treat Is Worth Saving

The rise of trunk-or-treat is just another outcome of our streets becoming more dangerous, but it’s important we come together and save the tradition of trick-or-treating.

Ryan AllenOctober 30, 2023halloween, safe and productive streets, safety, Street Design, children

This City Is Not Waiting for a Crash To Happen Before Creating a Safer Street

When residents of Medicine Hat, AB, flagged a school crosswalk as dangerous, the city responded quickly with bollards and paint—showing that cities can (and should) implement street design changes before tragedy occurs.

Welcome to the New (Complete) Government Street

Tax revenues are up and traffic incidents are down—is Government Street a model for future development across Baton Rouge, LA?

Top StoryJake PolanskyOctober 16, 2023road diet, Complete Streets, louisiana, Street Design, safe and productive streets

A Safer Intersection in 80 Minutes

Armed with paint and traffic cones, this Local Conversation group in Portland, OR, made a dangerous intersection safer to cross…in only 80 minutes!

Suzanne Woo: For Safer Streets, Focus on What You Can Control

Who has the power to transform our streets, and where should cities be directing their focus when it comes to traffic safety? This and more from Suzanne Woo, an Ottawa traffic and transportation engineer specializing in road safety.