A Tale of Two Walks: Part 2

Our walk together continues on Fairfax Boulevard, where we encounter a much different (i.e., less friendly) pedestrian experience.

Roads and Streets, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StoryAddison Del MastroJuly 7, 2021walkability, Addison Del Mastro, pedestrians, car culture, Virginia

A Tale of Two Walks: Part 1

Let’s take a walk together down two different streets, and observe what car-oriented places are like from the viewpoint of a pedestrian.

Roads and Streets, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StoryAddison Del MastroJuly 6, 2021walkability, fine-grained, Addison Del Mastro, pedestrians, car culture, Virginia

Shade in the City

Why do some cities make it so hard to find shade…or create your own?

Urban Design, Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Design, Pattison, Race, Roads and Streets, Top StoryJohn PattisonJuly 2, 2021climate, Heat Islands, Los Angeles, street trees, trees, Oregon, Portland OR, redlining, California

How Dutch Cities Restored the “Freedom to Roam”

Five decades ago, Delft made some urban planning decisions that granted children the freedom to freely and safely wander the streets of their city.

Bikeability, Infrastructure, Roads and Streets, Success Story, Transportation, Urban Design, Walkability, #SlowtheCars, Top StoryMelissa Bruntlett & Chris BruntlettJune 29, 2021Netherlands, Delft, bikeability, bike infrastructure, history, #SlowTheCars

To Bypass or Not to Bypass

A question we often hear concerns highway bypasses around small towns. Are they good? Bad? Let's find out by looking at a case study: Starke, Florida, and U.S. 301.

#NoNewRoads, Herriges, Roads and Streets, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 17, 2021Florida, STROADS, freeways, Small Towns

What Comes Next, When the Freeways Are Gone?

The federal government has proposed $20 billion to be allocated toward targeted freeway removal, but will that be enough to fix America’s cities?

Podcast, Upzoned, Transportation, Infrastructure, Roads and Streets, Top StoryStrong TownsJune 16, 2021Podcast, Upzoned, freeways, freeway removal, Infrastructure

Who Pays for Growth in Collier County, Florida: Part 4

New suburban development creates budget-devouring road liabilities. And the way developers are asked to mitigate their traffic impacts is only making the problem worse.

Herriges, Infrastructure, Roads and Streets, Rural, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 27, 2021collier county series, Florida, roads, Development, transportation, series, traffic engineering

A New Direction for Car-Dependent Orlando?

Orlando (and the surrounding state of Florida) has long been reliant on cars. But the city’s new director of transportation hopes to change that.

Podcast, Upzoned, Transportation, Roads and Streets, Infrastructure, #NoNewRoads, Top StoryStrong TownsMay 19, 2021Podcast, Upzoned, Florida, car dependency, transportation, Disney

5 Reasons Why Walking Your City (Most Likely) Sucks

Although many of us agree that walkability makes sense for countless reasons, few of us actually walk the cities where we live. Why? Because it sucks.

#SlowtheCars, Walkability, Transportation, Roads and Streets, Member Post, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedMay 18, 2021walkability, sidewalks, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrians

Not Just Bikes: "The stroads to hell are paved with good intentions"

The “futon of transportation” is dangerous, unproductive, and ubiquitous across North America. A program in the Netherlands might provide lessons on how to fix the “stroad.”

Roads and Streets, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 27, 2021Not Just Bikes, STROADS

The Subtle Relationship Between Traffic Deaths and Congestion

What officials and engineers need to understand before sinking more resources into infrastructure investment.

#SlowtheCars, Transportation, Roads and Streets, Top StorySteffen BerrApril 5, 2021Steffen Berr, transportation, traffic congestion, #SlowTheCars, roads, streets, traffic engineering

The Mailbox: Can traffic cameras make our streets safer?

Our streets are “dangerous by design.” We answer a listener’s question about the role of automated enforcement in making them safer.

#SlowtheCars, Marohn, Roads and Streets, Strategies, Tactical Urbanism, Top StoryCharles MarohnApril 5, 2021Safety, #SlowTheCars, tactical urbanism, speed, traffic engineering

Federal Transportation Reform Starts With Damage Control

What could it look like to have a USDOT committed to reversing course from the mistakes of the freeway era?

Herriges, Infrastructure, Roads and Streets, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 31, 2021USDOT, freeways, urban freeways, fhwa, Houston, Texas, Pete Buttigieg, car culture, Top-down Tools series

Strong Towns on CNN: Going "Big" on Road Projects Won't Fix American Cities

The new infrastructure bill will have big goals. But big new road projects won’t actually help us meet those goals.

Infrastructure, Marohn, Quednau, Success Story, Roads and Streets, Top StoryRachel QuednauMarch 23, 2021CNN, media feature, Pete Buttigieg, urban freeways, Austin, Shreveport, South Bend, infrastructure bill, success stories

Beth Osborne: America's Roads are "Dangerous by Design"

With so much money and lip service (“Safety is our top priority”) paid to safety, why are pedestrian deaths higher than ever?

Transportation, Roads and Streets, #SlowtheCars, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 22, 2021#SlowTheCars, Transportation For America, Street Design

Pedestrian Deaths Are Up 45% in the Last Decade. When Is Enough Enough?

America is in the midst of an unrelenting crisis. And it’s happening on our roadways.

#SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Top Story 2, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 12, 2021Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, Florida, Smart Growth America, #SlowTheCars, STROADS

The Fundamental, Global Law of Road Congestion

It goes by many names — the Jevons Paradox, Braess Paradox, Marchetti’s Constant or Downs’ Triple Convergence — but the science is clear: expanding freeway capacity makes traffic worse.

City Observatory, Transportation, Roads and Streets, Top StoryJoe CortrightMarch 4, 2021congestion, toll roads, highways, City Observatory, Joe Cortright

You Can't Achieve Jane Jacobs Ends with Robert Moses Means—But What If You Don't Have a Choice?

For example: Is it right to use Robert Moses means to undo the very harms created by Robert Moses?

Jane Jacobs, Roads and Streets, Urban Design, Urban Renewal, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 3, 2021Robert Moses, Jane Jacobs, urban freeways, top-down, bottom-up, Top-down Tools series

The Most Important Pedestrian Safety Document You've Never Heard Of

Engineers and transportation departments defer to it all the time, but “the Manual” isn’t actually making our streets safer.

Roads and Streets, #SlowtheCars, Top StoryAngie Schmitt & Mike McGinnFebruary 25, 2021pedestrian safety, pedestrians, MUTCD, Street Design, America Walks, Mike McGinn, Angie Schmitt, #SlowTheCars

Trying to help small businesses? Stop worrying about congestion.

We have to give up on on the delusion that we can have a place that is both great for business, and great at moving cars quickly. To be successful, we need to go all-in on one or the other.

Roads and Streets, Economic Development, Top Story 2Michel Durand-WoodFebruary 19, 2021Winnipeg, STROADS, local business

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