When crosswalks aren't enough, do more, not less

In a July 4 post, Atlanta columnist Maria Saporta, who was previously trained in urban planning, wonders about crosswalks and what they say about a city's commitment to a true pedestrian environment. Maria shows examples from around the world and brings her point home in Atlanta, where transportation engineers seem to treat pedestrians as second class citizens to the automobile.

Marie notes efforts by PEDS, a local pedestrian advocacy group that I chair, to fight a move toward removing crosswalks that aren't signalized.

...streets like Ponce de Leon could end up not having any crosswalks for blocks — a move that would increase jaywalking and the likelihood of accidents between pedestrians and cars. Certainly, that’s not a positive direction for us.

PEDS addressed the issue in a recent e-newsletter:

After reading GDOT's justification for removing a crosswalk on Roswell Road, we reminded District 7 engineer Bryant Poole that federal guidelines recommend that where crosswalks alone are insufficient to create safe crossings, transportation agencies need to do more, not less. High-speed multi-lane roads like Roswell Road account for 65 percent of all pedestrian fatalities nationwide. Removing crosswalks does not solve the problem of getting pedestrians safely across the street.

Instead of removing unsignalized crosswalks, we encourage GDOT to add rectangular rapid flash beacons. Following installation of these low-cost devices in St. Petersburg, Florida, driver compliance with crosswalk laws increased to 88 percent.

Should transit agencies sell naming rights to stations?

Should transit agencies be able to sell the naming rights to transit stations? This is a question being asked all over the U.S. as transit agencies struggle for money during these tough economic times. Philadelphia, New York, and Miami have agreed to rename their stations, and Detroit and Pittsburgh are considering it.

At first glance it seems like a no brainer. We sell the rights to sports facilities, so why not transit stations?

But nothing is as simple as it seems. Two very important issues that need to be addressed when considering selling the naming rights to transit stops:

1. Is the name of a station supposed to indicate a geographic location to assist riders as opposed to a corporate logo?
2. Isn't corporate influence in the public sector already at an all-time high, and does this not continue to blur the lines between public and private sector?

What do you think?

What is your state doing about texting while driving?

Ever since July 2009 when the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute confirmed what we already knew, that cell phone use (talking and texting) while driving is dangerous (4 times and 23 times more dangerous than not, respectively), the country has been grappling with what policies should be put in place to minimize this risk.

The federal government convened a Distracted Driving Summit, and through executive order made it illegal for truck drivers and federal employees to text and drive. States have followed suite with their own cell phone and texting laws, and the question is when will a nationwide ban occur.

Georgia recently took one step closer when Gov. Sony Perdue signed an anti-texting while driving bill. The new  law, effective July 1, prohibits drivers of all ages from texting while driving. Young drivers with provisional licenses are banned entirely from using cell phones behind the wheel. Violators can receive a penalty of up to $150 and one point on their driving record.

Find out what your state is doing here.

Lanier CEO on Why EVERYONE Should Support Commute Alternatives

Michael Robison, Chairman and CEO of Lanier Parking Solutions, spoke to a group of real estate executives about the business of parking, and what was truly amazing about the discussion was how little Michael spoke about parking. He spent most of this time talking about our efforts to promote alternative transportation solutions such as Zipcar and Streetcar.

This goes to the core of Lanier's belief that we are a transportation management firm, not just a parking management firm, and that parking is one component of a much larger transportation system that impacts our clients' properties. When these systems are managed together, the whole system works more effectively, efficiently, and profitably. It is this belief from the top down that separates Lanier Parking Solutions from the competition.
To view the video, click here, then click "Speaker Series" and then scroll down to Michael.

More Than Talking Heads: Congress for the New Urbanism Promotes Healthy Cities and People

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), which I helped to plan this year, is in Atlanta next week, May 19-22. It's the 18th year of the event bringing the nation's most prestigious proponents and creators of livable, sustainable communities to the city for two days of networking, collaboration, education, tours and special programs. Anyone who would like to discuss development practices and public policies, learn from recent innovative work and advance new initiatives to transform communities, is welcome.

See an excellent video: SPRAWLANTA.

CNU is an urban design and development movement dedicated to developing community oriented principles of traditional town and city planning in contrast with the prevailing system of formless sprawl. New urbanist developments are walkable, provide a diverse range of housing options, encourage a rich mix of uses, and provide welcoming public spaces (read the CNU charter). If you are developer, architect, landscape architect, town planner, urban designer, engineer, environmental consultant, transit/transportation planner, bike and ped advocate, housing specialist, real estate broker, regulator, government official, or interested member of the public, you should check it out.

This year's conference is titled New Urbanism: Rx for Health Places and has been organized with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of the strategies that the CNU promotes to make communities more livable, energy efficient and better positioned for economic success are the same ones health officials promote to make places healthier. Studies have shown that there are numerous health, social, environmental and economic benefits that come from a more connected way of living that flourishes in towns where people can walk, bike, and interact with their neighbors.

There will be a number of impressive speakers at the conference, but one particular highlight will be David Byrne, front man for Talking Heads. David will speak about how cities reveal themselves differently when traveling on a bicycle as opposed to a car. In addition to David's musical talents, he has spent the past several years writing the Bicycle Diaries, a book chronicling his use of a bicycle as his main form of transportation.

I hope to see you at the congress.

Why You Become a Different Person When You Get Behind the Wheel

I just ran across an interview with Tom Vanderbilt who writes the blog "How We Drive" and wrote the book "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)," and I had to share it.
In the interview, Vanderbilt talks about the psychology of driving and the many false impressions drivers use to operate their vehicles. I have always been fascinated with the behavior of driving and how when a person gets in that enclose bubble we call a car, they become a different person. Why does that happen?
Well, Vanderbilt has spent a great deal of time researching this phenomenon and many others. This interview is a very refreshing discussion of the psychology of driving which is often overlooked in our car culture. I immediately ran out and bought the book.

Here are a couple other interviews of Tom.

InfoDesign Interview
Amazon Interview

Here are a couple Reviews of his book.

Washington Post
New York Times
USA Today

Georgia Lawmakers Pass Needed Transportation Funding Bill

It is hard not to be cynical when writing about transportation/transit funding in Georgia, but I will do my darnedest not to interject cynicism into this update. Recently, there has been a glimmer of hope in the long fought battle to get the State to step up with some leadership and money. Just last night, at the eleventh hour, the Georgia State Legislature voted and approved a measure that would allow 12 designated regions around the state to tax themselves for transportation improvements.
As reported in the AJC:

The bill would divide the state into 12 regions. A “roundtable” of local elected officials in each region, working with an appointee of the governor, would draw up a list of projects for the region. The region could then submit the list to its voters for their approval in a referendum, along with a 1 percent sales tax to fund them. No county could opt out of a region’s tax, but a roundtable could decline to hold a referendum in the region.

If approved by a region, the money would not start funding for approximately three years. So what is a region to do if they need money sooner? Well, I'm not sure if there is a solution across the board, but MARTA was offered some relief when the legislature included language in the proposal that "lifts, for three years, a restriction on how the transit agency can use its revenues from sales taxes, freeing up several million dollars for operations."
Thank goodness for small miracles. So to recap, the legislature has spent years working to pass a piece of legislation that 1) allows us to tax ourselves for transportation projects and 2) allows us more flexibility to spend money we collected by taxing ourselves. Nice.