The New Yorker takes an informal survey of the Lower East Side with slow-driving proponent Rod King.
King, the founder of the British advocacy group 20's Plenty for Us, has successfully promoted low-speed zones in cities across the U.K. He argues that area-wide regulations, rather than piecemeal devices like speed bumps and school zones, have the best chance of promoting restrained driving, or "tootling" as he calls it, with the aim of reducing traffic fatalities.
King's work in the in the U.K. informed New York's recently introduced anti-speeding campaign, Ian Parker writes:
"New York City's Department of Transportation has announced that it will introduce an experimental twenty-m.p.h. neighborhood, somewhere in the city, before the end of next year."
Read the full story: Tootling
Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority
New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.
NYC Launches Major Traffic Safety Campaign
The new initiative from the city's Department of Transportation and Police Department will target speeding and failure-to-yield violations, including rogue cyclists.
Honolulu lowers speed limits near schools — but doesn't change the signs
A year and a half after changing the legal speed limit in school zones, the city has yet to update street signs — meaning police can't cite speeders.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC to turn city-owned property into thousands of homes
The city has scheduled a public hearing regarding the development for October.
Buses travel at 5mph along this route in NYC. The Bronx's first-ever busway looks to change that
Prior to the busway, buses on the Bx36 route traveled as slowly as 5 miles per hour.
Pittsburg launches 'EZ permits,' aims for one-day turnaround for low-risk permits
The pilot ‘fast lane’ for permits is part of a bundle of modernization efforts for Pittsburg’s permitting process.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello