baltimorespokes

[B’ Spokes: I am assuming this is in DC but I would love to see things like this popping up in Baltimore.]

from TheWashCycle by washcycle

Continue reading “Bike Parking dreams”

[B’ Spokes: There is no doubt that there should be more diverse types of streets available in urban areas, yet standards and planning tools are trying to make everything as freeway like as possible. If you are into this stuff then read the attached article, otherwise I just show the highlights:]

from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Gary Toth

Images: Andy Singer

Good approach, wrong setting

I’m not going to look back and quibble with the general philosophy of how the interstates and the associated high-speed freeways were planned and designed. On many levels, the approach made sense.

But it became increasingly less persuasive when applied to the rest of our road network. Unlike interstates and freeways, most roads exist not just to move traffic through the area, but also to serve the homes, businesses, and people along them. Yet in search of high LOS rankings, transportation professionals have widened streets, added lanes, removed on-street parking, limited crosswalks, and deployed other inappropriate strategies. In ridding our communities of the weeds of congestion, we have also pulled out the very plants that made our “gardens” worthwhile in the first place.

…

Let me repeat: Contrary to what you may hear, there is no national requirement or mandate to apply LOS standards and targets 20 years into the future for urban streets. This thinking is a remnant from 1960s era policy for the interstate system, and has erroneously been passed down from generation to generation.

…

Creating balanced standards for roadway design will benefit transportation as well. In the Netherlands, the “Livable Streets” policy led to a remarkable improvement in safety on their roadways. They started in the 1970s with a crash rate 15 percent higher than in the U.S., and now have a crash rate 60 percent lower.

Continue reading “LOS and Travel Projections: The Wrong Tools for Planning Our Streets”

Continue reading “Bicycles are the reason…”

By Kaya Burgess, The Times (UK)
…
Mary, a news reporter, would be first to ask why it is not mandatory for lorries driving on city streets to be fitted with sensors and mirrors to pick up cyclists in their blind spots. Or why training for cyclists and drivers on how to share the road responsibly is so poor. Or why some junctions are so dangerous that jumping a red light can actually be a safer option than lining up alongside HGVs [Heavy Goods Vehicle] at the lights like a racetrack starting grid. Or why London trails so far behind cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen in terms of the infrastructure and legislation to protect vulnerable cyclists and to help the drivers who are trying to avoid them.
…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3306502.ece
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[B’ Spokes: I would not recommend running red lights but the problem is what I would recommend is top-secret or might as well be since so few know about it. You just can’t squeeze cyclists into car only designs and not expect some bad consequences. You cannot treat safety education as something for only a privileged few, everyone needs to know what to expect from fellow road users. We have a triple whammy, poor facilities, poor education and poor laws to protect us.]

Highlight from American Walks:

No Right-Turn on Red

When attempting to turn right on red,
vehicles must look left to see if the road
is clear; drivers often forget to look
right before turning and may not see
pedestrians to their right. Restricting
right-turns on red can reduce confl icts
between vehicles and pedestrians.
Blank out turn restriction signs are more
effective than conventional “No Right
Turn on Red” signs. “No Right Turn on
Red” signs that specify time-of-day
restrictions or “When Pedestrians are
Present” are confusing to motorists and
are often disregarded.

Pedestrian Recall

Pedestrian recall gives pedestrians a
“Walk” signal at every cycle. No pushbutton or detection is necessary since
a “Walk” signal will always be given.
Pedestrian recalls are useful in areas
with high levels of pedestrian activity.
They demonstrate that an intersection
is meant to serve both vehicles and
pedestrians. In general, pedestrian recall
should be used if pedestrians actuate
a “Walk” signal 75 percent of the time
during three or more hours per day

https://americawalks.org/wp-content/upload/America-Walks_Signalized_Intersections_Report_2012.pdf