In a Strong Town, a street is a safe place for people to spend time and build relationships; and a perfect place to put a wealth-generating home or business.
But many of us drive on dangerous stroads that drain our town's economic vitality.

Core Insights

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Most cities treat streets like assets on a balance sheet. They assume that once a street is built, it adds value to the city. But in reality, a street is a liability. It costs money to build, maintain, repair, plow, light, and police. And unless the adjacent properties generate enough wealth to cover those long-term costs, the city is actually losing money on that street.

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The design of a street is the single most important factor in whether people drive safely or not. It’s not about how many signs you put up, how many tickets the police write, or how many public service announcements you run. If a street is designed to feel like a highway, people will drive it like a highway, even if the speed limit says 25.

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Most of our streets have been designed like roads. They’re optimized for moving cars quickly and efficiently, which often makes them dangerous and unpleasant for everyone else. When we flip the priority and design streets for people first, we get places that are safer, more inviting, and more economically productive. Slower speeds, narrower lanes, more crossings, better lighting, and active frontages all contribute to a street that supports human life and interaction. And ironically, when you do that, even drivers benefit—because the street becomes more predictable and less chaotic.

The notorious Park Avenue in Minneapolis is finally getting some immediate safety improvements, thanks to the efforts of local advocates and county officials willing to step up.

Volunteers in Spokane, Washington, sent a message to city hall last month by building, decorating, and installing 29 bus benches throughout the city.
Buffalo neighbors built benches for bus stops, proving that small, bottom-up projects can have a big impact on daily life.
Advocates in Cedar Park, Texas, used publicly available crash data to drive major safety improvements near their schools.

The Crash Analysis Studio is a new model for cities to use when responding to crashes.
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