After 12 people were killed this year biking on San Diego County roads, local advocates are calling for more protected bike lanes and safer bike facilities.
The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition is calling the city's 12 bike deaths this year "preventable" and "calling for more bike-friendly infrastructure across the region." In the latest tragedy, writes Brian White, "Laura Shinn was killed last week along Pershing Drive while riding her bike to work at SDSU. She was struck from behind by driver Adam Milavetz, who pled not guilty to charges including DUI and murder."
Advocates are demanding better infrastructure to protect people on bikes. "'Protected bike lanes help because there are physical barriers between a car and a cyclist,' said Elizabeth Mayer, Programs Manager for BikeSD. 'These greater infrastructures are going to allow, not just physical barriers, but also visual reminders for drivers to know that it’s a bike lane. It’s not a shoulder. It’s a bike lane.'"
Despite concerns about reduced parking for local businesses, numerous studies from around the world show that "replacing on-street parking with a bike lane has little to no impact on local business, and in some cases might even increase business." According to Mayer, having to park farther away from your business of choice is a small price to pay for protecting human life. "The priority of valuing our citizens no matter how they choose to commute is what our City of San Diego needs to do."
Read the full story: 12 people have died riding their bikes in San Diego County this year, what bike advocates say need to change
Nation's Top Safety Board Recommends Protected Bike Lanes
The NTSB chair issued a stark warning on Nov. 5: "If we do not improve roadway infrastructure for bicyclists, bicyclists will die who otherwise would not," stated Robert Sumwalt in introducing their first report in 47 years devoted to bike safety.
Less Paint, More Barriers, Make for Better Urban Cycling
New research from the University of Colorado Denver and the University of New Mexico sheds light on how to make cities safer for cyclists and other road users and refutes some assumptions about bike safety, such as "safety-in-numbers."
Philadelphia adds new safety measures to 13th Street bike lane
The city is piloting plastic, modular bike lane separators that buffer cyclists from the adjacent vehicle lane.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority