L.A. Plans to Fix its Streets

Los Angeles County is in the process of writing a "Model Streets Manual", with funding coming from an unlikely source: The Department of Public Health.

1 minute read

March 28, 2011, 7:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


The Dept. of Public Health is behind the initiative because it sees growing evidence that the built environment can have an effect on physical activity.

Project on Public Spaces looks at some of the chapters from the book, which includes traffic calming, bikeway designs, and pedestrian crossings:

"Simply put, pedestrians must have the ability to safely cross the street. Real and perceived safety is important and is not well reflected by crash data, i.e. 'maybe no body gets killed here, because no one feels safe enough to cross.' Planners should use treatments that are proven to reduce crashes. Transit stops should always have good crossings, because trips typically begin and end on opposite sides of the street. Above all, evaluate the success of new crossings using performance measures."

Friday, March 25, 2011 in Project for Public Spaces blog

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