Transit advocates say that outdated road widening plans contradict the city's Climate Action Plan.
Despite the city's stated commitment "to cut back on car dependence by making streets safer and more oriented towards pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit" San Diego continues to widen roads based on outdated plans, reports Andrew Bowen.
One of the city's deadliest streets, El Cajon Boulevard, is slated to receive a new right-turn lane that would also shrink the footprint of the adjacent Fair@44 pedestrian plaza. Meanwhile, the permit for a trolley extension on Morena Boulevard required the re-widening of the street, creating dangerous conditions for pedestrians trying to reach the trolley station. Pedestrian and transit advocates say these and similar projects go against the city's 2015 Climate Action Plan, "which legally binds the city to cut back on driving by prioritizing less polluting modes of transportation."
"A lot of cities, including San Diego, haven't caught up to the value statements that their elected officials have signed onto," says Colin Parent, executive director of the nonprofit think tank Circulate San Diego. "Parent added that the city had to find a balance between redoing its old plans while not letting that work delay important projects like the trolley extension through Bay Park or the affordable housing project on El Cajon Boulevard."
FULL STORY: San Diego Pledged To Shift Away From Cars. So Why Is It Still Widening Roads?
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San Diego could raise fares for North County buses and trolleys
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The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association