Tag: pedestrians

The Verdict on Protected Bike Lanes

Posted on by robbie

New York City traffic can be brutal, and adding bike lanes had some locals concerned it would only add to the congested Manhattan streets. But the protected bike lanes has actually improved traffic flow, according to a new report from the city.
The city’s Department of Transportation amassed empirical data on the 30 miles of protected bicycle lanes added across the city since 2007, finding that the bike-friendly paths are a boon to both reducing traffic and pedestrian safety.
The report found that some streets with the newfangled lanes are now faster, due in part to a safety feature requiring cars turning left to wait in a pocket. The new design reduces risk of cars hitting pedestrians and also eliminates cars blocking traffic while waiting to turn.

“Having that left turning area, where you’re able to get out of the flow, you can see the cyclist, the cyclist can see the turning vehicle, you can pause and not feel the pressure from behind to make a quick movement,” says Josh Benson, director of bicycle and pedestrian programs for the city’s Department of Transportation. “That’s a major major safety feature of these type of bike lanes. But it also helps the flow.”

Safety is one of the biggest benefits of adding the lanes, as pedestrian injuries have dropped 22 percent while total injuries are down 20 percent. Crashes with injuries have also decreased by 17 percent. One possible reason why: The bike lanes have shortened crosswalks and made them more visible to drivers.

More interestingly, the city points out the bike lanes have been economically beneficial. Local businesses on streets redesigned with the paths saw an uptick in retail sales and have been associated with more jobs and more tourism foot traffic.

For the city’s anti-cyclists, the new report means the bike safety program is here to stay.

“It’s our plan to do five miles of protected bike lanes every year going forward,” Benson tells Fast Company. “That’s actually about 100 city blocks of protected bike lanes, so that’s a huge chunk of city streets every year.”

But as the report reveals, adding bike lanes is beneficial for every type of transportation on New York’s crowded streets. Next time you’re grumbling about passing cyclists, remember, they’re helping you move faster.

MORE: Here’s a Simple Way to Get Your Community Interested in Better Bike Lanes

Could Los Angeles Become The Next Pedestrian-Friendly City?

Posted on by robbie

Survival in Los Angeles has long hinged on owning a car and enduring its punishing traffic, but a new report suggests the sprawling city has potential to become America’s next walkable urban area.
As we reported earlier this week, coalition of real estate developers and investors partnered with SmartGrowth America (a non-profit that focuses on developing and sustaining great urban neighborhoods) and the George Washington University School of Business to analyze the number of walkable neighborhoods in the country’s 30 largest urban areas and look at the potential for growth.
Though L.A. came in at 18th (just below Columbus, Ohio and Kansas City), researchers suggest its future could move it toward the top of the list.
How’s that possible, you might be asking?
Currently, the report finds that only about 16 percent of L.A.’s office and retail space is walkable, compared to three times that amount in Washington, D.C. But 35 percent of that pedestrian-friendly space exists in the city’s suburbs, which means L.A. and its surrounding communities are ripe for growth.
These walkable areas are in-demand for office and retail development, which is driving up rent costs, according to Chris Leinberger, a real-estate professor at George Washington who led the study.

“This is a pretty significant change in how we invest, how we build the country,” Leinberger said. “There will be demand for tens of millions of square feet of additional walkable urban development.”

Additionally, the city has invested more than $40 billion in developing public transit over the next decade — more than any other city across the nation — with eight new commuter, light and heavy rail lines already open. The city has also begun construction on five new rail lines while suburban cities like Pasadena and Santa Monica continue to develop plans for a more public transit-friendly community, Fast Company adds.
“That future—of a walkable, transit-friendly Los Angeles—is being built right now,” the report said. “It will allow people to drive everywhere they want, assuming they can put up with the traffic, and provide the option of walkable urbanism for those who want it.”
Despite the investment, L.A. still must clear the hurdles of circumventing zoning and regulatory policies in some of these communities, as well as find tenants who can afford the soaring costs of rent.
Challenges aside, as the report points out, achieving the futuristic transit system depicted in last year’s movie “Her” is not too far from reality.
MORE: How Can Two Cities Develop the Area Between Them?

Can a New Kind of Sidewalk Save Lives?

Posted on by robbie

In San Francisco, up to 50% of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians, nearly four times the national average. In fact, three pedestrians are hit each day, accounting to a yearly average of 20 deaths. With statistics like these, it’s obvious that something has to change. So why not the streets?
An architecture firm from the Bay Area has come up with an idea that will not only help make pedestrians more visible to drivers, but also turn street corners and medians into useable public space. The design, which was dreamt up as part of a project by pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco, creates “bulb-outs” — curb extensions that make sidewalks bulge into the street, increasingly the visibility of pedestrians who are waiting on the corner. These extensions have high ridges that not only protect pedestrians from drivers, but can also be turned into planters for community gardens.
MORE: What’s the Country’s Best Smart Growth Project? You’ll Be Surprised
“We didn’t want a strict dichotomy between street and sidewalk,” says Zoe Prillinger of Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects, the firm that created the plan. “We’re interested in ambiguity, the idea of sharing and negotiation — between park and city, street and sidewalk, and cars and pedestrians.”
The firm’s design is part of a larger project called WalkFirst, a collaboration between San Francisco agencies — including the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the Planning Department, the Public Health Department, and the City Controller’s Office — that will prioritize capital improvements over the next five years to make the city a safer place to walk. The hope is that projects like this one will decrease pedestrian injuries and fatalities by 50% over the next seven years.
MORE: You Won’t Believe How Much These Smart Streetlights Could Save Us