The Transportation Planner posts about an inexplicable crosswalk at a highway interchange located in McLean, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC.
This crosswalk appears to connect nothing to nothing, and is an example of "bad pedestrian design of the worst sort," writes Michael Rodriguez. Planners need to be weary of these types of crosswalks because they communicate that planners don't care about pedestrians, potentially placing "token" crosswalks that don't really do any good for pedestrian infrastructure. "It speaks to horrible planning, to bad design, and just a general insult to pedestrian infrastructure," he adds. At worse, this crosswalk is potentially dangerous as it invites pedestrians to walk across a highway interchange.
FULL STORY: The Most Useless Crosswalk Ever Is In McLean
Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Chicago Judge Orders Thousands of Accessible Ped Signals
Only 3% of the city's crossing signals are currently accessible to blind pedestrians.
Pittsburgh Excels at Low-Cost, Quick-Build Traffic Calming
The city’s traffic calming initiative has led to a 6 percent average reduction in speeds on corridors with recent interventions.
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.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.
Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie