[B’ Spokes: Just the headlines]
1. CONFESSIONS OF A RECOVERING ENGINEER
2. THE GROWTH PONZI SCHEME
3. CAN YOU BE AN ENGINEER AND SPEAK OUT FOR REFORM?
4. GROSS NEGLIGENCE (SERIES)
5. THE FIVE WAYS ENGINEERS DEFLECT CRITICISM
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/1/31/5-essential-strong-towns-articles
Maine’s Law Enforcement Collaborative
By Lauri Boxer-Macomber, Bike Law
A collaborative group in Maine is tackling punishment passes, three-foot violations and other unsafe driving practices from within Maine’s Law Enforcement departments.
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A New Traffic Safety Paradigm
By Todd Litman, Planetizen
Despite numerous traffic safety programs, traffic death rates have not declined in a decade and recently started to increase. We can do better! A new paradigm identifies additional safety strategies that reduce both crash rates and risk exposure.
During this holiday season thousands of North Americans will be unnecessarily killed or severely injured in crashes. We could do much better!
The United States has the highest traffic fatality rate among peer countries, nearly three times the European average and easily twice the averages of Australia and Canada.
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https://www.planetizen.com/node/96324
What and who are really behind all these pedestrian safety campaigns?
By Lloyd Alter, Treehugger
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As it is now, the campaign language and programs promoted by the traffic safety organisations unabashedly victimise the individual (primarily pedestrians and cyclists) rather than speak out about the dangers of motorised vehicles. They also tend to ignore the one most obvious solution to lower road fatalities – a drastic reduction in the number of motorised vehicles on the road.
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Their baseline is clear. Cars are here to stay – everyone else either get out of the way or bubble wrap yourself. What this communication subculture doesn’t talk about is rather telling. Basically anything that would brand cars as the problem – or reducing the number of cars.
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https://www.treehugger.com/walking/what-and-who-are-really-behind-all-these-pedestrian-safety-campaigns.html
Put ‘people, not cars’ first in transport systems, says UN environment chief
Lack of investment in safe walking and cycling infrastructure not only contributes to the deaths of millions of people in traffic accidents on unsafe roads and poorly designed roadways, but also overlooks a great opportunity to boost the fight against climate change, a new UN environment report said today.
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https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/10/543292-put-people-not-cars-first-transport-systems-says-un-environment-chief
Globe editorial: All those pedestrian deaths? It’s the cars, stupid
Via The Globe and Mail
Living in cities makes wannabe legislators of us all. Every day, urbanites have occasion to shake a scornful fist and say, There oughtta be a law. There can’t be a modern city behavior more liable to elicit this high-handed oath than the guy who walks down the street, or worse, crosses the street, with his head buried in his phone.
Some people are legislators in real life, not just in their passive-aggressive daydreams, so when they feel like there oughtta be a law, they put forward a private member’s bill. That’s what Ontario Liberal MPP Yvan Baker has done with the Phones Down, Heads Up Act. It would slap fines on people caught staring at their devices while crossing the street.
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/globe-editorial-all-those-pedestrian-deaths-its-the-cars-stupid/article36898698/