Drivers are a powerful enough lobby to overcome all evidence of the need to redesign streets for safety. Examples from Maryland and Virginia provide the latest case studies in Vision Zero futility.
Canaan Merchant doesn't like the current trends in road safety politics in the Washington, D.C. region:
Some local road projects designed to calm traffic and increase safety for all users have been met with a surprising amount of resistence [sic]. Worse, regional officials seem to be prioritizing voices of opposition over actual studies, and it’s keeping our communities unsafe.
Traffic calming proposals in Alexandria, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland were nixed after vocal opposition from drivers worried about delays, "despite evidence to the contrary," according to Merchant.
Merchant digs into the specifics of each example, where both jurisdictions made a choice that will knowingly lead to more death and injury, despite evidence that safety changes could be made with only a few seconds of delay for drivers. Merchant's conclusion from the process in both these examples: "the evidence doesn't seem to matter."
FULL STORY: These “road diets” would make streets safer and barely affect traffic. Why do people oppose them?
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Federal Rule Would Require Regional Emissions Reduction Targets
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Cohousing Association of the US
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Crystal River
Sun City Center Community Association, Inc
City of Mesa
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
