Infrastructure?
“A pedestrian refuge island can improve safety and comfort by providing pedestrians with the option of waiting in the median area before beginning the next stage of the crossing.” — USDOT
Read MorePop-Up Bike Lanes
Standing along Pine Street in St. Louis, watching a pop-up bike lane in action, I struck up a conversation with a 64-year-old MetroBus driver about bicycles. As a kid, he would ride through the streets of downtown St. Louis balancing on his handlebars. His antics landed him in the hospital more than once. “I gave […]
Read MoreWhat makes a street pedestrian friendly?
Vox had a great photo essay on how people used streets at the turn of the last century. It was an interesting follow up to their article on the history of jaywalking and further illustrated how the public street is now seen as primarily a thoroughfare for car traffic. Before cars were so ubiquitous, “city streets […]
Read MorePlay Streets
On a recent post about restoring the downtown street grid, Matt Boehner, planner for our city’s Parks and Recreation Department, had a great comment about reclaiming streets. Without a doubt, the default use of streets has become cars and any other use is considered an exception to that rule. (In fact, Vox recently had a […]
Read MoreUnclear on the Concept
“Really one of the things I’m most concerned about is that you’re going to have a bench that is 6 feet away from a diner’s table.” Dear Mr. Mayor: I just read with horror of the city’s plans to put benches on the sidewalk outside my corner restaurant. I really must protest as this will allow people […]
Read MoreIs a road diet warranted?
A sneckdown is a snow pile in the street next to a sidewalk or at an intersection. This pile shows us where sidewalk space could reclaimed, as cars aren’t driving over it, and how streets could be better designed. via @urbanful
Read MoreWhat do cyclists want?
A few years ago sharrows began appearing on our city streets as a friendly tip to everyone in cars that these lanes should also accommodate bikes. It caused all manner of fuss, mainly from drivers who seemed to think that giving something to cyclists (if “giving” is the proper word for someone using the public […]
Read More