Walkable Neighborhoods

Posts Mentioning RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Eric Fredericks 7:36 pm on March 31, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  March Website of the Month: Veritas et Venustas 

  The Website of the Month for March is actually the weblog of a well-known architect, John Massengale. So why is his site chosen as a walkable-related site? Because he also happens to be founding member of the Congress for New Urbanism and more importantly, he has been on the ground in the South helping to plan and rebuild the Katrina-ravaged cities – in a smart way. At Veritas et Venustas this past month, John has written countless articles, many focusing on post-Katrina new urbanist efforts (and media battles). While I do not always agree with some new urbanism principles or developments, I am fairly confident that I agree with John most of the time. However, there is one thing I cannot agree with him on, and that is baseball teams. John is a die-hard New York Yankees fan, and of course, I am huge Chicago White Sox fan. I don’t hold that against him, though.

  Veritas et Venustas will be considered for the 2006 Walkable Neighborhoods Website of the Year award along with the future recipients of the monthly awards.

  You may have noticed that I added a new link on the sidebar for the Site of the Month. Now you can more easily find past recipients of the awards.

  Popularity: 1% [?]

   

  Reply Click here to cancel reply.

  Name (required)

  Email (required)

  Web Site

   
• 

  Eric Fredericks 2:05 pm on March 31, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  Site of the Month 

  Each month Walkable Neighborhoods gives recognition to an outstanding website that encourages and promotes walkable neighborhoods, compact and sustainable development, and smart growth principles. Here are past Website of the Month recipients:

  2006

  Site of the Year:
  CoolTown Studios

  Sites of the Month:
  December
  Brand Avenue
  November
  LivinginUrbanSac
  October
  Walk Sydney Streets Photos
  September
  The Urban Commons
  August
  The New York City Streets Renaissance
  July
  Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb
  June
  Curbed, Curbed LA, and Curbed SF
  May
  Gmaps Pedometer
  April
  Context Sensitive Solutions.org
  March
  Veritas et Venustas
  February
  Planning Livable Communities
  January
  CoolTown Studios

  

  Popularity: 1% [?]

   
• 

  Eric Fredericks 12:31 pm on March 31, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle 

  I just listened to a great walkable neighborhoods related song by They Might Be Giants called In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle. Check out the song lyrics:

  Don’t cross the street in the middle in the middle
  In the middle in the middle in the middle of the block

  Don’t cross the street in the middle in the middle
  In the middle in the middle in the middle of the block

  Use your eyes to look up
  Use your ears to hear
  Walk up to the corner when the coast is clear
  And wait
  And wait
  Until you see the light turn green

  Don’t cross the street in the middle in the middle
  In the middle in the middle in the middle of the block

  …And the song continues along in the same manner. It is a really quirky song, but it brings up an interesting debate: Is it really safest to cross at the intersection? Statistics show that most pedestrian crashes happen at intersections, which makes sense considering that is where most pedestrians cross the street. However, there are so many points of potential conflicts with pedestrians and vehicles at intersections. At mid-block crossings, most of the time there are as many points of conflict as the number of crossing lanes and you only have to look two different ways. Plus, you probably are crossing when you have the largest gaps between vehicles. Of course, this is often easier said than done, especially when you are crossing at point with no marked crosswalk. And you are taking the additional risk of getting a jaywalking ticket.

  I have heard that in California it is legal to cross mid-block when you are not between two signalized intersections. I am not sure if the same applies based upon distance between signalized intersections. I should hope so, sometimes you can go miles in suburbia without a signalized intersection.

  Needless to say, no matter where you cross, always use extreme caution. Even the most frequent walkers (Like me, I have had a few close calls recently even while playing close attention).

  The photo above was shot at a bus stop at the University of Illinois. I noticed that the two girls in the left side of the photo were crossing the street in the middle, in the middle, in the middle of the block. The interesting thing is that the side of the street I was sitting on is in Urbana. The side they crossed from is in Champaign. Who has jurisdiction? My guess is the University Police. Makes for some interesting police incident coding reports I bet!

  Popularity: 2% [?]

  MikeL is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    MikeL 3:33 pm on April 9, 2006 Permalink

    TMBG ROOL!!

    also, I remember reading about a pseudo-study of stray dogs in urban environments avoiding corners, and crossing in the middle in the middle in the middle of the block. the researcher followed individual dogs, and the dogs would turn and walk a few feet down away from the intersection, then cross, then back up to the original street in the original direction. He theorized they crossed in the middle because there were fewer threats (cars can approach in only 2 dirs) rather than all the myriad of possible directions @ an intersection.

• 

  Eric Fredericks 6:19 am on March 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  Video: Busiest Pedestrian Crossing in the World 

  This is supposedly the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world at Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan. Watch how long the pedestrians get to cross in the full traffic light cycle! I would have a hard time seeing our traffic engineers in most places the U.S. implementing this any time soon. Although, it is being used in heavy pedestrian places throughout the U.S., including Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois campus and in San Diego in the Gaslamp Quarter.

  I did not get to visit Shibuya (at least I don’t think I did) when I visited Tokyo in 2003. However, I saw many places just like it. I really hope I get to return to Tokyo, it is an amazing city. Somehow, my friend and I managed to navigate their clean and efficient subway system (the best I have ever ridden). Quite impressive when you consider that THIS is your system map! We stayed near the Akasaka Station.

  As you can tell by the lovely embedded video above, I am trying something new for our site. I plan on blogging interesting videos I come across online related to walkability. I plan on shooting some of my own in the future, when I have better technological capabilities. Posting the video is easy, thanks to my good friend’s site, YouTube. In fact, I added a video I shot to an earlier article I wrote on the Sacramento Farmers’ Market.

  If you have not visited YouTube yet, you really must check it out.

  Popularity: 2% [?]

  John (Uneasy Rhetoric) is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    John (Uneasy Rhetoric) 9:03 am on March 23, 2006 Permalink

    That’s a 4-way stop isn’t it? Very cool. I know there’s at least one, and possibly more, in Chinatown in San Francisco, although in terms of time I don’t think the pedestrians are given any more than in other places (of course, the streets are a lot smaller in Chinatown too).

• 

  Eric Fredericks 7:01 am on March 22, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  Big-Box Debate: Wal-Mart vs. Target 

  I never understand why Wal-Mart gets so much criticism and other big-box retailers like Target are lauded and welcomed. I worked in a city where a development application came in for a Wal-Mart and the city exploded in outrage, so much so that Wal-Mart withdrew the application. Meanwhile, just a few months before that, a Target came in with no problems that I know of. Why is this? I assume it is all about marketing for a more “hip” image by Target, the clientele that is associated with shopping at Wal-Mart, and the supposed higher-quality products sold at Target. From a planning standpoint, they are both just as bad in my book. Although, Target seems to be willing to locate in more urban environments and even have parking garages, but perhaps that is only because Wal-Mart was run out of town first. It is amazing what the power of marketing and image can do for a company.

  I also will freely admit that I frequently shop at Target. The store I shop at in Sacramento is the closest major retailer to where I live and is located on the fringes of downtown. Why do I shop there? Because there is nowhere else left to shop for the kinds of goods that Target sells! Okay, maybe if I went to four or five different stores, paid double, drove dozens of miles, and spent hours doing all of this.

  The picture above is of one of the better developments I have seen that includes a Target store. This development, located in State College, Pennsylvania also includes Dick’s Sporting Goods, Wegmens, and Circuit City among others. The street that accesses the development has bike lanes, wide sidewalks, mid-block crossings, and pretty decent bus shelters. There are also some public art features mixed in to the development. Here are a few photos I took of the site:

  See, sprawl can be a little more eye-pleasing. In general, California is much better about incorporating these pedestrian and bicycling enhancements than the Midwest and East Coast. However, the growth of sprawl is much more rapid in most cases in California.

  Popularity: 1% [?]

   
• 

  Eric Fredericks 9:33 pm on March 21, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  Wal-Mart Embracing New Urbanism? 

  I have been meaning to write about this for quite some time, but I think the news is still relevant. The Hurricane Katrina tragedy might actually turn out to be a fortuitous event in the history of the retail giant Wal-Mart. Tired of receiving backlash from the public, Wal-Mart has been an important player in the recovery of the South. They were very pro-active in rebuilding and reopening their damaged stores following the hurricane and the company has played a major role in post-Katrina relief efforts. Now Wal-Mart appears to be embracing the New Urbanist movement of the rebuilding efforts (see the Mississippi Renewal charrette). John Massengale writes about his recent meeting with Wal-Mart executives about the rebuilding the Pass Christian, Mississippi store with mixed-use buildings surrounding it, creating a new town center with a traditional neighborhood feel. Here are a couple of highlights from the discussion posted on John’s blog, Veritas et Venustas:

  2. Architecture: They are actively considering the mixed-used, multi-level Wal-Mart design that Ben Pentreath drew for Pass Christian during the Forum charrette. They did call us on the carpet about the architectural style, though. One of them said he had heard that Ben was from England, and that although he thought his drawing was beautiful, he respectfully said that it looked like Buckingham Palace! They said they were more interested in an architecture for the Pass Christian store that reflected the South. (Yes, you’ve read this correctly.)

  4. SmartCode: We told them that the Pass Christian SmartCode could enable the development of the Wal-Mart Village. As a group, they were interested in learning more about the SmartCode. None of them had heard about it before. One of them said that it sounded like a great idea because the same rules would then apply to everyone – not one set of standards for Wal-Mart and one set of standards for everyone else as is often the case in the communities where they work. At least two of them are now planning to attend the SmartCode workshop in Biloxi in March.

  I think this is very good news, but I am not confident that this trend will spread to other Wal-Mart stores across the world. I am not a fan of Wal-Mart, but to be fair, I am not a fan of hardly any big-box development and corporations. My opinions of them, at least from a planning sense, could change significantly if they engaged the public, planners, and architects more in their building architecture and development designs. I do understand that a lot of times these developers are just “adhering to the zoning codes”, which is a major problem, but so is the numbing architecture and sprawl that is plaguing North America. So, a combination of the creation of SmartCode and engaging Wal-Mart in the planning process could be a precedent for future developments to come.

  Popularity: 1% [?]

   
• 

  Eric Fredericks 8:53 pm on March 21, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  New Guidelines for Flexible Funding of Pedestrian and Bicycling Activities 

  Never again say that there is no money for bike/ped projects! A great new resource table was released last month by the FHWA called FHWA and FTA Funds That May Be Used for Bicycle and Pedestrian Activities. It is a simple, yet powerful tool. However, do not forget that often the best way to fund your projects is to just be creative with the resources you already have. This guidance will help you fund the big projects.

  Popularity: 1% [?]

   
• 

  Eric Fredericks 4:40 pm on March 4, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  Pedestrian and Bicycling Policy Rhyme Time 

  I attended a two-day training on Thursday and Friday sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration on “How to Develop a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan.” The course was led by Peter Lagerwey of the Seattle DOT and Michael Ronkin of the Oregon DOT. Both of them lead the bicycle and pedestrian programs for their respective departments. The course was very informative and useful, although I did not learn too much new information. Probably because I have taken part in at least 10 of Peter’s workshops now.

  During the workshop, we performed a walking audit of Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento between Alhambra and T Streets. Following the audit, we were to develop some general policies for pedestrian safety for any government entity. We also were to develop an action plan to make Stockton Boulevard safer for pedestrians. Being the good planner that I am, I crashed the table dominated by engineers and we came up with some really creative plans and policies. First, the moment you have been waiting for – our mostly-rhyming policies:

  Cuts in Curbs at Corners are Cool
  Transit-Oriented Development as a Rule
  Road Diet – You Can Try It!
  Plan for Peds – Leave No One Dead
  You are Dead Meat to Place Parking between the Building & Street
  Vehicles Aren’t the Only Users Who Need Lanes
  For Success, Space Your Access
  ADA is the Mobile Way

  Pretty good, eh? I am sure cities around the world will be adopting these catchy slogans. We also developed two action plans in our short activity time. One of the plans included putting in a roundabout at a horrid five-street and light rail intersection. Yes, the light rail would run through the CENTER OF THE ROUNDABOUT! This was quite an idea, and it has worked in other places. We also added a new light rail station, a road diet on Stockton, and improved pedestrian and bicycling facilities. Remember planners: engineers can be our friends.

  I really enjoyed this course and it was good to listen to Peter again, he is really an outstanding presenter. This was the first time that I saw Michael present, and he did a great job as well. The photo shown above I believe was shot by Paul Zykofsky of the Local Government Commission.

  Popularity: 1% [?]

   
• 

  Eric Fredericks 9:46 pm on March 1, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

  February Website of the Month: Planning Livable Communities 

  Consistency defines the selection for this month: Planning Livable Communities. Sharon Machlis Gartenberg, author of the site, writes several articles every month on walkability issues. Her articles each month are consistent in both quantity and quality, and February was no different. Ms. Gartenberg is a former member of Framingham, Massachusetts Town Meeting’s Planning & Zoning Committee. Her weblog focuses on both local and national livability issues. I cannot recall a time when reading one of her articles that I disagreed with what she wrote, and that is saying something! The site was also a major inspiration for me in creating this site.

  Planning Livable Communities will be considered for the 2006 Walkable Neighborhoods Website of the Year award along with the future recipients of the monthly awards.

  Popularity: 1% [?]