‘Dying of whiteness’: why racism is at the heart of America’s gun inaction

The country’s refusal to pass new gun control laws has everything to do with defending racial hierarchy, says author Jonathan Metzl Lois Beckett in San Francisco Fri 9 Aug 2019 Why does the United States refuse to pass new gun control laws? It’s the question that people around the world keep asking. According to Dr Jonathan Metzl, a psychiatrist and sociologist …

Car Crashes Aren’t Always Avoidable

The Atlantic, Car Crashes Aren’t Always Avoidable, July 2019 In a country where the laws compel the use of cars, Americans are condemned to lose friends and relatives to traffic violence. My childhood neighbor was a varsity student-athlete, the president of the junior class, and the most popular girl in school. One day in September 1995, a car crash took …

We need Protected Mobility Lanes

Lloyd Alterlloydalter June 21, 2019 The number of people using alternative mobility devices is exploding, and they will be demanding safe routes. The people at Bike Newton tweet: Bike Newton  #mobilitylanes #2019Goals@BikeNewtonReplying to @bryanbarash Bike Newton doesn’t want bike lanes. We want protected mobility lanes. These would be appropriate for almost anyone not in a car. If we had those maybe …

Want to increase transit ridership without adding service? Make it easy to get to the stations. Also shift performance measurement from LOS to VMT (or better yet, space use) for roads.

Shifting from LOS to VMT would save time, money, and better support local goals Two recent studies suggest that California’s change in assessing the impact of development—from level of service (LOS) to vehicle miles traveled (VMT)—can reduce costs for developers and streamline the review of projects. Under the new guidelines, both studies to determine transportation impacts and any mitigation measures …

Bike lanes need physical protection from car traffic, study shows: Drivers left bikes less room in the presence of parked cars and painted bike lanes

“We know that vehicles driving closely to cyclists increases how unsafe people feel when riding bikes and acts as a strong barrier to increasing cycling participation. Our results demonstrate that a single stripe of white paint does not provide a safe space for people who ride bikes,” said Dr. Ben Beck, lead author of the study.  Accident Analysis and Prevention, …

Crime is going down but fear is going up based on Next Door et al.

Violent crime levels have been going down in America. But people perceive those levels as going up. That contradiction is nothing new. But it could be dramatically exacerbated by the proliferation of a new kind of social network that connects you to your neighbors — without you ever leaving the house. Rani Molla in Recode: The rise of fear-based social media like …

Is Your Agency or City Really Serious About Road Safety? Look for These 3 Things

By Anna Bray Sharpin, WRI, May 06, 2019    While more than 40 cities in the United States and many more around the world have committed to Vision Zero, a global movement to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by taking a systemic approach to road safety, many are struggling to turn this vision into a reality. Research on 14 countries that set quantified road safety targets between …

Complete Streets Strategy and Networks for St. Petersburg, FL

St. Petersburg, FL approves complete streets plan, by Katie Pyzyk, May 6, 2019, Smart Cities Dive The St. Petersburg, FL City Council approved its Complete Streets Implementation Plan, a guide for how the city’s streets will be designed and function over the next 20 years. The plan aims to help make streets safer and more accessible for users for all modes of …

We need safe places to walk and ride, not just safety theater

By Lloyd Alter, Treehugger.com April 29, 2019 CC BY 2.0 All dressed up for construction/ Lloyd Alter Do helmets and high-visibility vests on construction sites really do anything? Recently we wrote about the hierarchy of controls, where the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggests what should be done first to reduce injuries and deaths in workplaces. A lot …