New research finds that as more distracted drivers take the road, protected bike lanes are keeping bikers alive.

According to recent studies, bike infrastructure makes bikers safer. David Dudley writes in CityLab, "The transformative virtues of protected bike lanes have been the focus of much research lately. A 2014 study from Portland State University determined that segregated bike paths are not only demonstrably safer for riders, they have the power to lure lapsed riders back aboard their bikes." Moving travelers to these protected lanes is a double public health benefit as it brings more people to the physical act of biking and makes those rides safer.
Improvements to bike safety are on the minds of many, after a deadly start to 2016, "In the first six months of 2016, fatalities rose more than 10 percent from 2015, a reversal of a four-decade-long trend," Dudley reports. The streets are becoming more dangerous because of a rise in distracted driving and with a more dangerous driving public, design fixes to transit dangers become all the more important.
FULL STORY: Why Protected Bike Lanes Save Lives

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions