The auto-centric county has been building new bike trails and pedestrian facilities, but more improvements are necessary to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries, planners say.

Planners in Montgomery County presented a set of recommendations aimed at making the region safer for pedestrians, particularly aging people and transit-dependent residents, reports Katherine Shaver in the Washington Post.
“Building sidewalks more quickly — and before residents have to ask — is one of dozens of recommendations they presented this past week for the first countywide “pedestrian master plan” aimed at retrofitting a suburb designed for cars.” Other suggestions include improved street lighting, more shade trees, and smaller county vehicles that are safer for pedestrians.
To ensure equity in deploying improvements, “Planners say they will use public input and safety data to prioritize improvements based on where they are needed most, rather than catering to residents who press for them most persistently.”
As Shaver notes, “About 11 percent of all trips in the Washington region are made by foot or bicycle, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Even as the region has opened new trails, added bike racks to buses and incorporated pedestrian and cycling facilities into larger transportation projects, COG officials say, safety remains a problem.” Pedestrians remain highly vulnerable: “While they were involved in 4 percent of all Montgomery collisions between 2015 and 2020, they suffered 27 percent of severe injuries and fatalities, planners say.”
FULL STORY: In auto-centric Montgomery, planners suggest ways to make walking safer

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.

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.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
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