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

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

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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