Rockville, Maryland has plans to create a king-sized complete street along Rockville Pike, incorporating lanes for cars, bikes, buses, and more space for landscaping. But can a street like that still serve pedestrians?
Rockville Pike is a high-traffic thoroughfare and a prime candidate for complete streets upgrades. But Dan Malouff sees trouble in the city's current plan to build a mega-complete street with "12 car lanes, 4 bike lanes, 2 bus lanes, and over 50 feet of landscaping."
From the article: "At first glance, this plan has all the components of a good complete street design: Tree-lined sidwalks, protected bikeways, a center-running dedicated busway. Every mode gets all the street width it could possibly want." Except, Malouff argues, the very pedestrians complete streets are supposed to prioritize.
By over-delivering on the accessories to walkability, the Rockville Pike plan may undermine its original intent. "Transit oriented development doesn't work unless it's walkable. If Rockville Pike is too wide, development on one side of the street will be effectively cut-off from development on the other side. Riders won't be able to easily access the BRT stations. People will drive for even short trips. The concept of a community where people don't need to drive everywhere will break down."
FULL STORY: Rockville misses the forest for the trees with its plan for an 18-lane mega main street
New York DOT Status Report Shows Slow Progress on Bus, Bike Lanes
According to a report released by the agency, NYCDOT failed to meet its benchmarks for installing new dedicated bus and bike lanes.
NYC Streets Plan Remains Largely on Paper
For the second year in a row, the city failed to meet legally required targets for building protected bike lanes and bus lanes.
Third Avenue Redesign Plan Revealed
The plan to reimagine Manhattan’s Third Avenue to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists is being applauded by advocates, but some say the city should go further to provide more space for multimodal transportation.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
