An electronic display praises drivers who stay under the speed limit with personalized messages.
A road sign installed by an insurance company on a roadside in Austin, Texas compliments drivers on maintaining a legal speed, reports Hunter Schwarz in Fast Company.
The billboard uses a nearby spotter to identify cars by color and make and issue personalized messages to drivers going under the speed limit. The insurance company, Lemonade, says it hopes the positive messaging approach will improve safety, unlike negative electronic messaging, which has been shown to sometimes increase crashes.
In Finland, a similar project using a sign that showed drivers who drove near the speed limit a smiley face and speeders a frowning face led to a statistically significant reduction in speeding — even after the signs were taken down.
Read the full story: This clever road sign in Austin will compliment you only if you’re a good driver
San Antonio could lower speed limit to 25mph
City officials want to lower speed limits and take other steps to reduce speeding and improve traffic safety on neighborhood streets.
After San Francisco installed traffic cameras, speeding dropped by 80%
The city was allowed to install speed cameras as part of a five-year pilot program approved by California in 2023.
Austin Removes 3 Decorative Crosswalks After Feds Shut Down Safety Study
The crosswalks, two of which were painted with rainbow colors, were part of a safety study canceled by the FHWA in November.
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.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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