From PBS NewsHour — Traffic deaths surged in 2015

Fatalities rose 7.7 percent to 35,200 in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. That overall rate was significantly outpaced by non-motorist traffic deaths: Bicycle fatalities were up 13 percent; pedestrian deaths rose 10 percent, and motorcyclist deaths rose by 9 percent. Last year was the deadliest driving year since 2008, when 37,423 people were killed. It was also the year in which American drove 3.1 trillion miles, more than ever before. The fatality rate for 2015 increased to 1.12 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), up from 1.08 deaths in 2014. Read more: PBS NewsHour on Twitter: "Traffic deaths surged in 2015, federal data shows https://t.co/Z458qPQ9by"

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From PBS NewsHour －Urban designers transform these streets into pedestrian paradise

New York City’s streets underwent a radical transformation under the leadership of Janette Sadik-Khan, who served as transportation commissioner from 2007 to 2013. In the new book “Streetfight: A Handbook for an Urban Revolution,” Sadik-Khan and co-author Seth Solomonow share the lessons from six years of redesigning the streets of New York City with more plazas, bike lanes and rapid bus lanes. Read more: Urban designers transformed these five spaces into pedestrian paradise | PBS NewsHour

From Better! Cities & Towns — A city street is a terrible thing to waste

To stop the killing of pedestrians we have to change the way we build our streets. Until we prioritize pedestrian safety over traffic flow, we will never get to zero deaths for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, or their passengers. But the good news is that when we do make streets that are safe for pedestrians, traffic still flows—and it becomes easy to design streets where people can want to get out of their cars and walk, enjoying public life. Which, after all, is what city life is all about. Read more: A city street is a terrible thing to waste | Better! Cities & Towns Online

From walklobby.tv — How wide should traffic lanes be?

More http://t.co/dRKf5dYnU0 discussing better mobility design approaches http://t.co/Wql7CGB9t3

— Howard Blackson (@hblackson) September 2, 2015

"Just to be safe, our traffic lanes are wide enough to be dangerous. Just to be safe." #bikeVA #infra pic.twitter.com/9LeHFhWuTq

— Andy Boenau (@Boenau) September 2, 2015

In a car dependent city alternative modes can't be achieved without reducing car infrastructure #streetdiet

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) July 25, 2015

From Business in Vancouver — City streets are being returned to pedestrians

Peter Ladner (pladner@biv.com) co-founder of Business in Vancouver. 

He is a former Vancouver city councillor and former fellow at the SFU Centre for Dialogue, author of The Urban Food Revolution.

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Something very odd happened when the City of Vancouver recently announced yet another bike lane reducing car capacity on the Burrard Bridge: nothing.

A small furor rose like an angry baby alligator from the swamp, then settled back into the mud. (“Absolutely ridiculous. The amount of bike traffic doesn’t warrant another bike lane,” snarled the most-liked comment under CBC’s story, even as daily bike trips across the bridge were topping 6,000.) The Vancouver Sun printed a widely circulated editorial effectively saying “no big deal.” The NPA stared menacingly and moved on. The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association was in favour. Read more: More steps being taken to return city streets to pedestrians | Transportation | Business in Vancouver

How much does your commute cost (or save) society?

.@adamlcarey @theage Any funding that build more roads is just a bad bad bad investment pic.twitter.com/5jRz9d1GVI

— Jon Bryant (@JonathanPBryant) May 19, 2015

Here's What Happened When A Neighborhood Decided To Ban Cars For A Month http://t.co/6uQsLaqsVu @ecomobility_ pic.twitter.com/EGWWSBNs4U

— Ethan Kent (@ebkent) May 19, 2015

From The Guardian — Bikes vs Cars: why it’s war between cyclists and drivers on city streets

@zoesqwilliams Fredrik Gertten is a Swedish documentary-maker: he made a film about the banana industry, and then he made a film about being sued by the banana industry. He has recently been anointed one of Sweden’s “top environmentalists” – which, although the title is fairly broad, has got to be good. And he has now made Bikes vs Cars, which is as confronting – though I don’t think you’d call it exactly confrontational – as you would expect. Read more: Bikes vs Cars: why it’s war between cyclists and drivers on city streets | Film | The Guardian

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Why Cities Around The World Are Suddenly Ditching Traffic Lights

Why Cities Around The World Are Suddenly Ditching Traffic Lights @FastCoExist Via @PPS_Placemaking http://t.co/8f39zRaJfI

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) March 19, 2015

It's not a complete street unless it's completely safe. #slowthecars @StrongTowns

More at: It's not a complete street unless it's completely safe. #slowthecars @StrongTowns

From @Streets4Every1 — Commercial Drive Campaign

The goal of the Commercial Drive Campaign is to build the necessary support so that Commercial Drive can become safe for, and inclusive of, people of all ages, abilities, and incomes by fall of 2015. The core changes we are aiming for include widened sidewalks, better transit and transit shelters, separated bike lanes, better pedestrian crossings and more marked or signalized crosswalks, more street furniture, and more landscaping. More at: Commercial Drive Campaign » Streets for Everyone

The Case For A Complete Street On Commercial Drive @spacingvan @slowstreets http://t.co/0icwNIPKZK pic.twitter.com/TPCmhnW4H1
— Darren Proulx (@dnproulx) January 19, 2015

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From Smart Growth America — A national epidemic of pedestrian deaths

A national epidemic 
of pedestrian deaths

We’re walking more often, for fun and to get to places in our neighborhood. We turn to WalkScore when figuring out where to live and our most walkable places often are among the most economically vibrant in the country. Hundreds of cities have adopted Complete Streets policies to ensure walking is in the forefront of our decisions regarding street design. Public health officials from the Office of the Surgeon General to the local doctor’s office are encouraging us to get out for a walk for physical activity and to combat chronic disease.

But we are still dealing with a legacy of roadways that fail to account for the safety of people on foot. In the decade from 2003 through 2012, more than 47,000 people died while walking on our streets. That is 16 times the number of people who died in natural disasters during in the same ten years, but without the corresponding level of urgency.

In 2012, pedestrians accounted for nearly 15 percent of all traffic deaths, up 6 percent from 2011 and representing a five-year high.  Read more: A national epidemic of pedestrian deaths | Smart Growth America

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How @DonaldShoup Will Find You a Parking Spot

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

Amsterdam children fighting cars in 1972 HT @BicycleDutch @PPS_Placemaking

Post by Project for Public Spaces.

From Planetizen — Todd Litman: Time Traffic Engineers moved beyond Roadway Level of Service (LOS) rating system

Evaluating transportation system performance based only on roadway LOS biases planning to favor automobile-oriented improvements, such as wider roads with higher design speeds, to the detriment of other modes, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of increased automobile dependency and reduced travel options. There is good evidence that communities which improve walking, cycling and public transit experience shifts to those modes, indicating latent demand. Read more: Reform Transport Engineering: Expand Beyond Just Roadway Level of Service (LOS) Ratings | Planetizen: The Urban Planning, Design, and Development Network

From PBS NewsHour — 'A long way from zero' NYC takes on traffic fatalities

Although New York City streets over the past few years have been the safest in decades, traffic accidents and pedestrian fatalities have recently started to tick back up. Now, city officials are looking to "Vision Zero," an initiative based on a model from Sweden. The plan hinges on expanded enforcement, new street designs and legislation to increase penalties for dangerous drivers. NewsHour's Hari Sreenivasan reports. Read more: A long way from zero': NYC takes on traffic fatalities | PBS NewsHour

NYC lowered speed limit to 25. Other cities should do it too.

Post by Project for Public Spaces.

From StreetsBlog NYC — Woodhaven BRT Could Set New Standard for NYC Busways

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NYC DOT and the MTA have developed three design concepts for Select Bus Service on Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard in southeast Queens, and two of them go further than previous SBS routes to keep cars from slowing down buses [PDF]. All of the options include some measures to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians on one of the city’s widest and most dangerous streets. Read more: First Look: Woodhaven BRT Could Set New Standard for NYC Busways

From Project for Public Spaces — How to Restore Walking as a Way of Life

The bias in our national philosophy towards high speed mobility has long been a topic that PPS has advocated against. In addition to stifling Placemaking, forcing people into cars has contributed to a host of growing national problems. Most compelling of those problems is the incredible pedestrian carnage. Yet until recently public outcry was minimal and government investment in transportation paid only lip service to annual fatalities that amount to the equivalent of one major airplane crash each month. Read more: Project for Public Spaces | How to Restore Walking as a Way of Life

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Jeff Speck's Albuquerque New Mexico Downtown Walkability Analysis

Albuquerque, New Mexico Downtown Walkability Analysis. This project focuses on walkability and connectivity in downtown, with special attention to the area surrounding the Convention Center and Innovate ABQ site as well as the railroad track at Central Avenue. Jeff Speck's final report submitted Sept 2014 here. More from the City of Albuquerque's website here.