With the plan update process for Seattle's Pedestrian Master Plan underway, one writer wonders why the plan is setting firmer goals for increased mode share.
Ryan Packer offers a critique of the Pedestrian Master Plan update currently underway at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). Noting that the number of commuters walking to work grew by 50 percent between 2010 and 2015, Packer determines that the plan update is disappointingly short on the kinds of goals that can further that progress.
For instance, Packer points out that the Pedestrian Master Plan lacks mention of the city's Vision Zero goal for 2035, and instead, "the goal is laid out as a decreasing rate of pedestrians involved in crashes."
Although Packer acknowledges the good intentions of the plan update, which includes mentions of pedestrian mode share, transit ridership, kids walking to school, and streetscapes, "without concrete goals to tell us just how successful our master plan is, we won’t be able to truly gauge success or failure."
Against this backdrop, Packer contrasts the Move Seattle levy, approved by voters in November 2015. That levy has a dashboard and a number of concrete targets to help residents track the success of that $930 million effort.
Back in August 2016, Packer also critiqued the implementation of the current version of the Pedestrian Master Plan, approved in 2009, focusing mostly on issue of maintenance and operations.
FULL STORY: Seattle’s Pedestrian Master Plan Is Short On Concrete Goals
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.