March 16, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 27, 20223 yr Author This just in: traffic is a natural condition of cities, especially successful ones. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 27, 20223 yr ^ It should go without saying that the more effective option would be to add concrete bump-outs or a continuous sidewalk but given the fiscal constraints of US cities you can't blame them with going with the much cheaper option that allows them to do more updates in many more places.
April 27, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, Dev said: ^ It should go without saying that the more effective option would be to add concrete bump-outs or a continuous sidewalk but given the fiscal constraints of US cities you can't blame them with going with the much cheaper option that allows them to do more updates in many more places. Where I live in Queens, there's a major road (Northern Boulevard) that's really horrible as a pedestrian. I noticed the other day them marking out the exact profile of curb bumpouts and got excited. Walked up there yesterday and all they did was paint that bit with stripes...such a half-assed solution and cars were already parked in that area or crossing over into that zone while turning. So disappointing.
April 27, 20223 yr 8 minutes ago, jmicha said: Where I live in Queens, there's a major road (Northern Boulevard) that's really horrible as a pedestrian. I noticed the other day them marking out the exact profile of curb bumpouts and got excited. Walked up there yesterday and all they did was paint that bit with stripes...such a half-assed solution and cars were already parked in that area or crossing over into that zone while turning. So disappointing. Yeah that's really, really bad. Flexi posts are bad too, since they get demolished easily, but paint only is literally the least effective change.
April 27, 20223 yr The more frustrating thing is that a couple years ago they did reconstruction work and added medians in a handful of locations, added trees (that they haven't bothered to maintain at all) and redid parts of the sidewalk. It was a missed opportunity then, and I thought they were rectifying that, but instead we got this solution that'll fade in no time and basically be right back to normal. There are two driving lanes each direction, a central left turn lane, and a parking lane on each side. So the road is 7 lanes wide and almost exactly 70' wide. I get why they don't have a central median everywhere as a result of left turn lanes onto one-way streets, fine. But reducing needing to cross 70' to 50' would be a huge benefit. The neighborhood I live in has a pretty large elderly population, as does the neighborhood just north over Northern Blvd, and I see people stuck in the middle of the road all the time. It's so car oriented it's frustrating. Beyond that, it's also a spot that should absolutely have a subway beneath it but that never happened. In my dream world a subway is built utilizing cut and cover method (the ROW is plenty wide enough to be able to do this work and keep the road in some fashion open) and as they finish construction it gets a major road diet above. I know it'll never happen, but in my mind it's the logical way to get trains to LGA airport, but that's for another topic haha.
April 27, 20223 yr 5 hours ago, jmicha said: The more frustrating thing is that a couple years ago they did reconstruction work and added medians in a handful of locations, added trees (that they haven't bothered to maintain at all) and redid parts of the sidewalk. It was a missed opportunity then, and I thought they were rectifying that, but instead we got this solution that'll fade in no time and basically be right back to normal. Those painted bump-outs seem like an ideal spot for neighborhood cinder-block storage.
April 27, 20223 yr They really need to push back street parking from all corners back 5 feet because of SUVs. SUVs have caused all kinds of trouble in our built environment since it wasn't built with them in mind for so long.
April 27, 20223 yr 13 minutes ago, Foraker said: Those painted bump-outs seem like an ideal spot for neighborhood cinder-block storage. The street I actually live on is one block removed from the one I mentioned and has a full planted median, bike lanes, and is closed from 7AM to 8PM and the neighborhood has taken it upon themselves to do things like put huge planters that weight hundreds of pounds in the edge of the parking lane to create a more sheltered spot for crossing. The street is only one lane of traffic in each direction so it's a lot smaller, but that, plus the planted median, and bike lanes all combine together to create a very pleasant street. The goal of the neighborhood association is now to make it a permanent park and renovate it as such. I'm hopeful that will come to fruition. I'd love to have a proper park out my front door.
April 28, 20223 yr 19 hours ago, jmicha said: The street I actually live on is one block removed from the one I mentioned and has a full planted median, bike lanes, and is closed from 7AM to 8PM and the neighborhood has taken it upon themselves to do things like put huge planters that weight hundreds of pounds in the edge of the parking lane to create a more sheltered spot for crossing. The street is only one lane of traffic in each direction so it's a lot smaller, but that, plus the planted median, and bike lanes all combine together to create a very pleasant street. The goal of the neighborhood association is now to make it a permanent park and renovate it as such. I'm hopeful that will come to fruition. I'd love to have a proper park out my front door. I think I manifested something because they just officially decided last night in a presentation I didn't know was going to happen that they will indeed make it a park.
May 5, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 16, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 1, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 2, 20223 yr 710 Freeway expansion dropped after decades of planning, marking a milestone for L.A. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-26/710-freeway-expansion-los-angeles-plan-killed Highway Expansions in Denver and Portland are Facing New Hurdles https://usa.streetsblog.org/2022/05/25/awful-highway-expansions-in-denver-and-portland-are-halted/ Eight completed highway removals tell the story of a movement* https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2022/05/31/eight-completed-highway-removals-tell-story-movement *This article goes back pretty far, but it's probably safe to say that some of these older removal projects inspired the growing number of removals and proposed removals today. Bold campaign for highway removal Re-Envision Albany is a compelling vision to transform an unnecessary freeway into a boulevard with green space and equitable development. Albany Riverfront Collaborative won a Merit Award in the Emerging Project category of CNU's 2022 Charter Awards. For more than 50 years, residents of Albany, New York, have endured the effects of I-787, an elevated freeway that divides the city from its waterfront and neighborhood from neighborhood with a massive access road and imposing on-ramps. Past initiatives to remove the highway have gotten nowhere, because formidable forces—such as state DOT workers that use I-787—are aligned to protect the status quo. But now, the recently formed Albany Riverfront Collaborative has emerged with a compelling, bold plan called Re-Envision Albany that is gaining momentum. Since the grassroots group launched in November, more than 6,000 people have signed an online petition in support of the plan. The vision of a green waterfront, with human-scale development reuniting neighborhoods, is gaining widespread attention.... https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2022/03/07/bold-campaign-highway-removal
June 8, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 5, 20222 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 28, 20222 yr Author Most of the cities I visited in Germany earlier this month had new and longtime car-free areas of the city including a stretch of Frederickstrasse in Berlin. It was nice and quiet without cars around. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 8, 20222 yr NYTimes has an interesting "interactive" article today on the effects urban highways have had on the cities they carved up, link below. You can check out more from the author on twitter @SegByDesign. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/08/opinion/urban-highways-segregation.html
September 16, 20222 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 16, 20222 yr Author Here's another one. In America, we remove highways for slow-traffic boulevards. In Europe they remove highways for high-capacity transit (and a boulevard). "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 21, 20222 yr Author Here's one for all of you protected bike lane advocates "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 3, 20222 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 18, 20222 yr Based on many recent headlines, somebody at The Onion gets it: When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
October 21, 20222 yr Author Want to reduce traffic volume? Get rid of the highway. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 11, 20222 yr 11 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said: I would like something stronger from the pedestrian and bike safety angle. Most of the roundabouts in the US are designed to just be a collection of slip lanes so I'm always skeptical that they are actually a safety or access improvement for people outside of cars.
November 11, 20222 yr 26 minutes ago, Dev said: I would like something stronger from the pedestrian and bike safety angle. Most of the roundabouts in the US are designed to just be a collection of slip lanes so I'm always skeptical that they are actually a safety or access improvement for people outside of cars. Roundabouts slow cars down - this is by FAR the most important method for improving pedestrian safety. That said, I do agree that it would be even better to have additional mechanisms for improving safety for bikers and pedestrians. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
November 11, 20222 yr 39 minutes ago, Dev said: I would like something stronger from the pedestrian and bike safety angle. Most of the roundabouts in the US are designed to just be a collection of slip lanes so I'm always skeptical that they are actually a safety or access improvement for people outside of cars. Exactly, we over-engineer our new roundabouts in America and design them to have multiple places where pedestrians must stop, cross traffic, stop, cross traffic, stop, cross traffic. Here's a good example from Newport, KY. Yes, slower automobiles are good for pedestrians, but introducing a bunch of new slip ramps is not good. I'm a big fan of the older roundabout that exist in many American cities where they basically just put a large planter in the middle of a four-way intersection, requiring drivers to slow down a big and swerve slightly to the right to go around it.
November 11, 20222 yr 29 minutes ago, taestell said: Exactly, we over-engineer our new roundabouts in America and design them to have multiple places where pedestrians must stop, cross traffic, stop, cross traffic, stop, cross traffic. Here's a good example from Newport, KY. Yes, slower automobiles are good for pedestrians, but introducing a bunch of new slip ramps is not good. I'm a big fan of the older roundabout that exist in many American cities where they basically just put a large planter in the middle of a four-way intersection, requiring drivers to slow down a big and swerve slightly to the right to go around it. I think about that one all the time. Such a wasted opportunity. It could have been something like this one in Cambridge, England:
November 11, 20222 yr How Residents Fought for - and won-a Slower Franklin Boulevard. (and how ODOT made the process unnecessarily complex) https://thelandcle.org/stories/how-residents-fought-for-and-won-a-slower-franklin-boulevard/ Edited November 11, 20222 yr by gildone typo
November 11, 20222 yr Cleaner air in Cleveland is going to require a lot of road diets and giving more capacity to transit, cycling, and walking infrastructure. Cleveland's Not Breathing Easy https://thelandcle.org/stories/clevelands-not-breathing-easy-new-sensors-to-collect-more-data-on-air-quality/
November 11, 20222 yr 22 minutes ago, gildone said: Cleaner air in Cleveland is going to require a lot of road diets and giving more capacity to transit, cycling, and walking infrastructure. Cleveland's Not Breathing Easy https://thelandcle.org/stories/clevelands-not-breathing-easy-new-sensors-to-collect-more-data-on-air-quality/ It would be interesting if they listed where all these new monitors were installed.
November 28, 20222 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 28, 20222 yr Fremont making progress towards vision zero and providing good learning lessons: When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
January 9, 20232 yr Streetsblog did a story on Cincy's new in-house pedestrian infrastructure team. Really interested to see if this strategy streamlines per improvements. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/01/05/cincinnati-hires-dedicated-in-house-crew-to-build-pedestrian-infrastructure/
January 13, 20232 yr Author Two new articles "Cities should not just build green transport but actively dismantle car infrastructure" https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/11/congestion-roads-cities-traffic-sustainable-transport-phineas-harper/ Widening Highways Doesn't Fix Traffic. So Why Do We Keep Doing It? https://www.yahoo.com/news/widening-highways-doesnt-fix-traffic-194039848.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 13, 20232 yr 19 minutes ago, KJP said: Cities should not just build green transport but actively dismantle car infrastructure" https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/11/congestion-roads-cities-traffic-sustainable-transport-phineas-harper/ we need more highways not less. Less trains more interstates
January 27, 20232 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 27, 20232 yr Strong Towns also applauded Cincinnati's low-cost efforts to slow traffic https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/1/26/pedestrian-safety-boost-new-cincinnati-initiative
February 24, 20232 yr Looks like an inexpensive and quality protected bike lane and road calming design. Diagonal in street parking is quite good for slowing vehicle traffic. Also a really good design for strip mall parking lots to connect stores to the street. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
March 29, 20232 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 5, 20232 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
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