Making the case for do-it-yourself infrastructure.

Writing in Bloomberg CityLab, David Zipper makes the case for ‘guerilla crosswalks,’ crosswalks painted by citizens without the authorization of local officials. To be clear, these crosswalks most often appear in places where pedestrians already have a legal right to cross, such as unmarked intersections.
Most recently, the Seattle Department of Transportation removed a citizen-installed crosswalk, saying that “Improperly painted crosswalks give a false sense of safety which puts pedestrians in danger.” Critics say this betrays the agency’s hypocrisy: “When motivated, transportation agencies can quickly alter streetscapes. But they often seem to show more urgency removing citizen-built crosswalks than they do installing official ones.” In some cases, cities have even fined groups that install guerilla crosswalks, such as the Los Angeles-based Crosswalk Collective.
Outlining the rise in pedestrian deaths in the United States and the causes for it, including poor pedestrian infrastructure, Zipper focuses in on the “absurd timelines,” as one San Francisco resident called them, for installing safety improvements in most U.S. cities.
Providing more examples of citizen-installed crosswalks, Zipper concludes, “Indeed, the sky is unlikely to fall if city agencies are a bit more open-minded about citizen-installed infrastructure.”
FULL STORY: The Case for Guerrilla Crosswalks

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Cleveland to Boost Bike Safety With New Bike Lanes, School Programs
The program, using curriculum created by Cleveland Bikes, is part of a broader effort to improve safety along school routes.

Florida Home Insurers Disproportionately Dropping Low-Income Households
Non-renewal rates are highest in inland counties, not the coastal areas most immediately vulnerable to storms.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.
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City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
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