The new formulas for calculating the length of walk signals are designed to give people more time to safely cross the street.

"Determining how much time a pedestrian needs to safely cross the road at a crosswalk is surprisingly complicated," writes Michelle Baruchman in the Seattle Times. City engineers employ "a set of formulas that consider the width of the street, an average walking pace and intersection design, among other things" to calculate the amount of time needed for each intersection. Until recently, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) used an average walking speed of 3.5 feet per second. "Now, through conversations with a pedestrian-focused advisory group, SDOT has updated its guidelines to give people a little more time to cross — a move celebrated by advocates for seniors and people with disabilities."
Pedestrian advocates applaud the move as one of many possible "seemingly small tweaks" that "can make a big difference in street safety, without requiring major construction or costs." Akira Ohiso, a social worker with Sound Generations, an organization that provides activities for seniors, cited prior conditions as unsafe, saying that "crosswalks in busy urban streets do not allow enough time for older adults to cross safely, especially four-lane streets." The new guidelines call for recalculating the timing "when existing intersections are modified, when community members request a change and when new signals are installed." For drivers, the changes will "mostly balance out," according to SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson, as "slightly longer red lights usually also lead to longer green lights."
The change comes as part of a broader move to improve pedestrian safety in the city that includes curb bulbs, leading pedestrian intervals, and guidance on whether intersections require push-to-walk buttons or automatic signals.
FULL STORY: Why the ‘walk’ signals at some Seattle crosswalks seem a little longer now

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Car Noise Is Killing Us
It’s not just traffic collisions that kill—a new study from researcher at Rutgers finds that the loud noises emanating from cars has direct impact on heart health in Americans.

Acceptable Deaths
What can we learn from our Covid response?

New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.

Fare-Free Transit Hasn’t Reduced Car Trips, Data Says
Fare-free transit isn’t the climate change benefit that many have hoped, according to recent writing by David Zipper for Bloomberg.

Redevelopment Threatens Iconic, Affordable Chicago Homes
The ‘workers’ cottages’ are being replaced with larger, more expensive homes, threatening one of the city’s original forms of affordable housing.
City of Malibu
EMC Planning Group Inc.
Jefferson Parish
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
City of Lakeway, Texas
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.