The newly opened Bell Street Park in Seattle offers the kind of "social friction" Leigh Gallagher called for in Friday's NYT with "planters, perches ... and the simplest but most innovative feature of all, a level plane between sidewalk and street."

Josh Feit provides an update on Bell Street Park, the $5 million pedestrian-friendly project along Bell Street between 1st and 5th avenues.
"...now, stretching up to 5th, the corridor of planters, perches, mixed car-and-ped zones, zebra crosswalks, a dog park, and the simplest but most innovative feature of all, a level plane between sidewalk and street (no curbs), it's easy to see what a vibrant stretch of downtown this is going to be. (By the way, the perches are made out of the re-purposed, former curbs.)"
Relating the park to a recent New York Times op-ed that advocates for a "social friction" design for city streets, Feit writes: "And here's the argument city leaders should be making for more Bell Street Parks, as they're bound to face opposition from people who don't like the move away from car-centric design to one that accommodates urban density: This isn't a rush into some development dystopia, it's a return to the lazy Seattle of the 1970s, when life moved a bit slower."
"That, in fact, is the whole point of building a street grid that accommodates foot traffic: Creating spaces to linger on the corner (picture food trucks in the extended pedestrian zones, one of the designers at SvR Design told me) and forcing cars to pay attention by creating more entry points for foot traffic, establishes an Andy Griffith Mayberry setting, not an Uma Thurman Gattaca nightmare."
FULL STORY: Pedestrian Chronicles: Building Bell Street Park

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.

The Subversive Car-Free Guide to Trump's Great American Road Trip
Car-free ways to access Chicagoland’s best tourist attractions.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont