Regional and Urban Design Committee

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Friday, August 8, 2014

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Klaus Philipsen FAIA
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
Baltimore MD
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As (radical) students we used to cry "the streets belong to the people" which became more of a lament than a promise of activism. Since then I have become an active dog walker in the evening. And ever more frustrated by the system. My neighborhood may be less urban than what Klaus envisions as we have neither sidewalks nor street lights, but cars and trucks and pedestrians nevertheless.. In this configuration, all walkers take to the street and assume as much right in doing, as the vehicles. But walkers do so at a great risk that drivers do not face. It is truly harrowing at times, and so dog walking has become about the most dangerous thing I do now since giving up bar fighting.

All that Klaus says about the causes and reasons for so many pedestrian deaths are probably true.

My own conclusion is that drivers have no understanding of how lethal their machines are on streets and only revel in the roar of their fuel injection addictions. How little respect for pedestrians there is in this world of driving machines is my current lament. People take on a different attitude about themselves "behind the wheel" and it shows in lack of respect in other ways too. I drive interstate long distance regularly and see countless carcasses of animals, still there, or what's left of them, the next time through. That we haven't figured out a way to simply and respectfully remove the meat from the street is woeful and our society's shame. I'm sick to my stomach from it and the promotion of speed, power and vehicular supremacy is on the wrong side of history. Not to be too moralistic or anything, you may feel inadequate at times but getting into your leather seat with 300 or more turbo charged HP - well that's performance enhancement and security and no one has the right to interfere or obstruct especially a pedestrian or a dog who can't anyway. Not. 

As far as I am concerned, pedestrians have the right of way. I slow down or stop for all, as well as for animals. That is impractical. But that's part of the solution, a consequence of our frenzy for vehicular rights of way. That is, if in fact, we still value life as it is.  
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Allen E Neyman
Rockville, MD
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Allen,

Cars weigh 1.5 to 2.5 tons; trucks more, and are made of steel.  People weigh 50 to 250 pounds (with a few notable exceptions), and are flesh and bone.  People are typically walking at speeds up to 3 miles per hour - only a few running.  Cars are travelling from 20 to 50 mph. in varying urban conditions (when they bother to observe speed limits).  Pedestrians - especially very old and very young ones - make bad decisions.  Drivers make bad decisions - especially the very old and very adolescent. That is all there really is to know; no matter the decision made, pedestrians do not run over cars and kill or maim them.  The answer is really straightforward, but the tendency for planners is to accept the urban model of  pedestrians and vehicles interacting in the same space as an inviolable norm to be somehow favorably ameliorated - a palliative response, at best.  The only truly workable solution: separate people from cars as nearly absolutely as possible.  Any city that cannot accomplish this separation remains seriously deficient in vastly important ways that over-exploit human adaptability. 


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Gary Collins AIA
Principal
Gary R. Collins, AIA
Jacksonville OR
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-12-2014 19:36
From: Allen E Neyman
Subject: Why Pedestrian Safety Remains Elusive

As (radical) students we used to cry "the streets belong to the people" which became more of a lament than a promise of activism. Since then I have become an active dog walker in the evening. And ever more frustrated by the system. My neighborhood may be less urban than what Klaus envisions as we have neither sidewalks nor street lights, but cars and trucks and pedestrians nevertheless.. In this configuration, all walkers take to the street and assume as much right in doing, as the vehicles. But walkers do so at a great risk that drivers do not face. It is truly harrowing at times, and so dog walking has become about the most dangerous thing I do now since giving up bar fighting.

All that Klaus says about the causes and reasons for so many pedestrian deaths are probably true.

My own conclusion is that drivers have no understanding of how lethal their machines are on streets and only revel in the roar of their fuel injection addictions. How little respect for pedestrians there is in this world of driving machines is my current lament. People take on a different attitude about themselves "behind the wheel" and it shows in lack of respect in other ways too. I drive interstate long distance regularly and see countless carcasses of animals, still there, or what's left of them, the next time through. That we haven't figured out a way to simply and respectfully remove the meat from the street is woeful and our society's shame. I'm sick to my stomach from it and the promotion of speed, power and vehicular supremacy is on the wrong side of history. Not to be too moralistic or anything, you may feel inadequate at times but getting into your leather seat with 300 or more turbo charged HP - well that's performance enhancement and security and no one has the right to interfere or obstruct especially a pedestrian or a dog who can't anyway. Not. 

As far as I am concerned, pedestrians have the right of way. I slow down or stop for all, as well as for animals. That is impractical. But that's part of the solution, a consequence of our frenzy for vehicular rights of way. That is, if in fact, we still value life as it is.  
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Allen E Neyman
Rockville, MD
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Gary

Separate, segregate, sure. In my corner of reality, practically speaking, segregating vehicles from pedestrians will require resources that will never be justified by need. But there are things that could be done. For example, certain streets could be labelled "pedestrian priority", or "bicycle priority", and "vehicular" priority. A requisite  change in behaviour would be attached to the classification. For example, the pedestrian priority streets could have a slower vehicular speed limit, and thus discourage traffic and tame it. Other streets could be bike friendly, and provide broader bike lanes, and so forth. 

That is not say that on any street, vehicles, bikes or pedestrians have to be prohibited. Unrealistic because no one wants that. Only that they are viewed differently and practically adjusted more or less to be viable for each type of traffic. Consider minimally disruptive adjustments to perception that alter the way we are required to look at and use the street, leading to solutions that do not require "massive infrastructure redevelopment" that we tend to think of as the only solutions. It means also that all streets are not the same. . The reorganizing or prioritizing our streets is about adopting "passwords", posting street signs for cars and people, and probably pavement markings, to permanently alter the way they are perceived and ultimately used.      

Allen E Neyman
Rockville, MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-12-2014 20:37
From: Gary Collins
Subject: Why Pedestrian Safety Remains Elusive


Allen,

Cars weigh 1.5 to 2.5 tons; trucks more, and are made of steel.  People weigh 50 to 250 pounds (with a few notable exceptions), and are flesh and bone.  People are typically walking at speeds up to 3 miles per hour - only a few running.  Cars are travelling from 20 to 50 mph. in varying urban conditions (when they bother to observe speed limits).  Pedestrians - especially very old and very young ones - make bad decisions.  Drivers make bad decisions - especially the very old and very adolescent. That is all there really is to know; no matter the decision made, pedestrians do not run over cars and kill or maim them.  The answer is really straightforward, but the tendency for planners is to accept the urban model of  pedestrians and vehicles interacting in the same space as an inviolable norm to be somehow favorably ameliorated - a palliative response, at best.  The only truly workable solution: separate people from cars as nearly absolutely as possible.  Any city that cannot accomplish this separation remains seriously deficient in vastly important ways that over-exploit human adaptability. 


-------------------------------------------
Gary Collins AIA
Principal
Gary R. Collins, AIA
Jacksonville OR
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-------------------------------------------
Gary Collins AIA
Principal
Gary R. Collins, AIA
Jacksonville OR
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 08-13-2014 18:49
From: Allen E Neyman
Subject: Why Pedestrian Safety Remains Elusive

Gary

Separate, segregate, sure. In my corner of reality, practically speaking, segregating vehicles from pedestrians will require resources that will never be justified by need. But there are things that could be done. For example, certain streets could be labelled "pedestrian priority", or "bicycle priority", and "vehicular" priority. A requisite  change in behaviour would be attached to the classification. For example, the pedestrian priority streets could have a slower vehicular speed limit, and thus discourage traffic and tame it. Other streets could be bike friendly, and provide broader bike lanes, and so forth. 

That is not say that on any street, vehicles, bikes or pedestrians have to be prohibited. Unrealistic because no one wants that. Only that they are viewed differently and practically adjusted more or less to be viable for each type of traffic. Consider minimally disruptive adjustments to perception that alter the way we are required to look at and use the street, leading to solutions that do not require "massive infrastructure redevelopment" that we tend to think of as the only solutions. It means also that all streets are not the same. . The reorganizing or prioritizing our streets is about adopting "passwords", posting street signs for cars and people, and probably pavement markings, to permanently alter the way they are perceived and ultimately used.      

Allen E Neyman
Rockville, MD
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 08-12-2014 20:37
From: Gary Collins
Subject: Why Pedestrian Safety Remains Elusive


Allen,

Cars weigh 1.5 to 2.5 tons; trucks more, and are made of steel.  People weigh 50 to 250 pounds (with a few notable exceptions), and are flesh and bone.  People are typically walking at speeds up to 3 miles per hour - only a few running.  Cars are travelling from 20 to 50 mph. in varying urban conditions (when they bother to observe speed limits).  Pedestrians - especially very old and very young ones - make bad decisions.  Drivers make bad decisions - especially the very old and very adolescent. That is all there really is to know; no matter the decision made, pedestrians do not run over cars and kill or maim them.  The answer is really straightforward, but the tendency for planners is to accept the urban model of  pedestrians and vehicles interacting in the same space as an inviolable norm to be somehow favorably ameliorated - a palliative response, at best.  The only truly workable solution: separate people from cars as nearly absolutely as possible.  Any city that cannot accomplish this separation remains seriously deficient in vastly important ways that over-exploit human adaptability. 


-------------------------------------------
Gary Collins AIA
Principal
Gary R. Collins, AIA
Jacksonville OR
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