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21 measures to add pedestrian safety

  • 1.  21 measures to add pedestrian safety

    Posted 12-15-2014 08:43 PM

    Friday, December 12, 2014

    21 Measures for Pedestrian Safety (in Baltimore or Anywhere)

    There is hardly a city left in America that doesn't have a Complete Streets policy, and Baltimore is no exception. Unfortunately, while talk is universal, action is much harder to find.
    Stop for pedestrians: Baltimore traffic guard
    While many cities have been relatively quick to paint a number of bike-lanes on their streets, a comprehensive shift from car-centric planning to planning that puts the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit first is barely detectable in most of these cities, save for a few. Interestingly, those cities that set the shining examples have planners and DOT leaders who are women. Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation in Philadelphia, Janet Attarian, who is in charge of Complete Streets in Chicago and most famously, former transportation commissioner Janette Sadik Khan of New York.  Baltimore, too, has a female transportation planner, Valorie LaCour, as Division Chief of the Department of Transportation, and there has been much hope for a trajectory that follows....
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    Nikolaus Philipsen FAIA
    Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
    Baltimore MD
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    Friday, December 12, 2014

    21 Measures for Pedestrian Safety (in Baltimore or Anywhere)

    There is hardly a city left in America that doesn't have a Complete Streets policy, and Baltimore is no exception. Unfortunately, while talk is universal, action is much harder to find.
    Stop for pedestrians: Baltimore traffic guard
    While many cities have been relatively quick to paint a number of bike-lanes on their streets, a comprehensive shift from car-centric planning to planning that puts the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit first is barely detectable in most of these cities, save for a few. Interestingly, those cities that set the shining examples have planners and DOT leaders who are women. Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation in Philadelphia, Janet Attarian, who is in charge of Complete Streets in Chicago and most famously, former transportation commissioner Janette Sadik Khan of New York.  Baltimore, too, has a female transportation planner, Valorie LaCour, as Division Chief of the Department of Transportation, and there has been much hope for a trajectory that follows the big city examples to the north. 

    Friday, December 12, 2014

    21 Measures for Pedestrian Safety (in Baltimore or Anywhere)

    There is hardly a city left in America that doesn't have a Complete Streets policy, and Baltimore is no exception. Unfortunately, while talk is universal, action is much harder to find.
    Stop for pedestrians: Baltimore traffic guard
    While many cities have been relatively quick to paint a number of bike-lanes on their streets, a comprehensive shift from car-centric planning to planning that puts the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit first is barely detectable in most of these cities, save for a few. Interestingly, those cities that set the shining examples have planners and DOT leaders who are women. Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation in Philadelphia, Janet Attarian, who is in charge of Complete Streets in Chicago and most famously, former transportation commissioner Janette Sadik Khan of New York.  Baltimore, too, has a female transportation planner, Valorie LaCour, as Division Chief of the Department of Transportation, and there has been much hope for a trajectory that follows the big city examples to the north. 

    Friday, December 12, 2014

    21 Measures for Pedestrian Safety (in Baltimore or Anywhere)

    There is hardly a city left in America that doesn't have a Complete Streets policy, and Baltimore is no exception. Unfortunately, while talk is universal, action is much harder to find.
    Stop for pedestrians: Baltimore traffic guard
    While many cities have been relatively quick to paint a number of bike-lanes on their streets, a comprehensive shift from car-centric planning to planning that puts the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit first is barely detectable in most of these cities, save for a few. Interestingly, those cities that set the shining examples have planners and DOT leaders who are women. Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation in Philadelphia, Janet Attarian, who is in charge of Complete Streets in Chicago and most famously, former transportation commissioner Janette Sadik Khan of New York.  Baltimore, too, has a female transportation planner, Valorie LaCour, as Division Chief of the Department of Transportation, and there has been much hope for a trajectory that follows the big city examples to the north. 

    Friday, December 12, 2014

    21 Measures for Pedestrian Safety (in Baltimore or Anywhere)

    There is hardly a city left in America that doesn't have a Complete Streets policy, and Baltimore is no exception. Unfortunately, while talk is universal, action is much harder to find.
    Stop for pedestrians: Baltimore traffic guard
    While many cities have been relatively quick to paint a number of bike-lanes on their streets, a comprehensive shift from car-centric planning to planning that puts the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit first is barely detectable in most of these cities, save for a few. Interestingly, those cities that set the shining examples have planners and DOT leaders who are women. Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation in Philadelphia, Janet Attarian, who is in charge of Complete Streets in Chicago and most famously, former transportation commissioner Janette Sadik Khan of New York.  Baltimore, too, has a female transportation planner, Valorie LaCour, as Division Chief of the Department of Transportation, and there has been much hope for a trajectory that follows the big city examples to the north. 
    AIA26 San Diego June 10-13


  • 2.  RE: 21 measures to add pedestrian safety

    Posted 12-16-2014 07:22 PM
    This is great stuff. What we can do as designers for change does not have to involve massive capital intensive projects.

    Re-marking lanes, smart signage, creating safer pedestrian zones with painted markings, serious speed management  - are not costly and would make a difference in livabilty. No right on red in the heavy pedestrian zones is smart. Pedestrian complements in and around parking facilities are  important - an amenity completely lost in the design standards for such facilities - what were we thinking?  

    There are similar and other measures that could make suburban streets safer, and suburbia more livable at the same time. With people walking more everywhere, and that includes suburbia, streets have to be marked differently to allow for them, for bikes, joggers, for dog walkers.          

    Allen E Neyman
    Rockville, MD
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    AIA26 San Diego June 10-13