Due to its popularity, Honolulu is extending the Kalakaua Open Street Sundays program through the end of July. The program was first launched on June 14 in a collaboration between the city and the Hawaii Bicycling League.
Open streets initiatives temporarily close streets to automobile traffic and open them to cyclists, pedestrians, and other modes of non-motorized transportation. They are an increasingly common strategy in cities and regions that are seeking innovative ways to promote more sustainable modes of transportation, reduce traffic congestion, achieve economic and public health improvement, and provide more space for recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Honolulu's Open Street Sundays blocks off vehicle traffic on Kalakaua Avenue, the main thoroughfare in the tourist district of Waikiki, to allow walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and skateboarders to freely use the road for some fun and exercise. The goal is to provide residents with a safe stretch of space for outdoor activities, while drawing people to businesses in Waikiki that have been suffering amidst the steep drop in tourism as a result of COVID-19.
The program was originally scheduled to end after four Sundays on July 5, but organizers have decided to extend it to the end of the month due to its popularity. According to Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, "This program has been a tremendous success … I think it’s a welcome thing for our residents and our businesses during this slow period of time in Waikiki."
Read the full story: City extends Kalakaua Open Street Sundays program through end of July [paywall]
How Oakland Is Fixing its Pandemic Planning Equity Problem
The Oakland Slow Streets program, one of the most controversial developments of the early pandemic, has evolved to become the Essential Places initiative, thanks to new planning practices and a commitment to equity in Oakland, California.
New York Outdoor Dining, Open Streets Programs Now Permanent
New York City will now be measurably less car-centric for the indefinite future.
Pandemic Planning Must Reconcile With the Inequities of the Past
The ongoing debate about the role of marginalized communities in the emergency planning programs of the pandemic has now been detailed on the pages of the New York Times.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
If Corpus Christi can’t revive desalination plant project, it may owe Texas $235 million
Earlier this month, city officials declined to pursue developing the plant for the second time in a year.
Mamdani sent nearly 6,000 pied-à-terre tax warnings to homes that didn’t qualify
A judge has ordered the administration to cancel thousands of pied-à-terre tax notices after it sent 35% of them erroneously.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello