Traffic Safety

Primary Image
Center City, Philadelphia

Philly Safe Streets Advocates Want What San Francisco and New York Are Having

The idea of blocking major streets to private automobiles is making advocates envious in cities that have yet to implement the idea. A petition is circulating to give the car-free treatment to Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.

February 25, 2020 - Billy Penn

Bus Priority Zones

The 14th Street Busway Saves Lives

An additional benefit of the 14th Street Busway project in Manhattan has emerged: greatly reduced traffic collision rates.

February 23, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Blocking the Bike Lane

All Vehicle Traffic Imposes Danger. Vision Zero Requires Vehicle Travel Reduction Policies

Traffic safety initiatives must recognise that all vehicle travel imposes risks, and traffic reduction policies increase safety in addition to other benefits.

February 19, 2020 - Action Vision Zero

Slow Turn Box

Vision Zero, Meet VMT Reductions

Many jurisdictions have vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction targets, intended to reduce congestion and pollution. They can also provide large but often overlooked traffic safety benefits.

February 13, 2020 - Todd Litman

Austin Pedestrians

Austin Traffic Fatalities Triple in January

In 2015, Austin, Texas adopted a Vision Zero goal to reach zero traffic fatalities.

February 12, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Road Rage

Report: Virginia's Drivers Ranked Rudest in the Nation

Auto insurance comparison outfit Insurify reviewed two million insurance applications and calculated the states with the rudest drivers based on one or more driving violations.

February 11, 2020 - Insurify Insights

Indiana

Bike-Friendly City in Indiana is Known for Plentiful Roundabouts

Indiana's fifth-largest city, of just under 100,000, residents has 120 roundabouts, more than any city in the U.S., and only 14 traffic lights. The average traffic fatality rate is 83 percent lower than the national average.

February 2, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Orlando Street

Lessons From the Most Dangerous Pedestrian Environment in the Country

The city of Orlando, Florida is examined as the worst example of the nation's pedestrian safety crisis.

January 28, 2020 - Curbed

Market Street, Center City

Action Needed to Match Vision Zero Ambition in Philadelphia

Philadelphia's succeeded at reducing traffic fatalities in the first years after adopting a Vision Zero goal. That success didn't last, and one writer is calling for the city to back up its ambitious talk with actions.

January 23, 2020 - Philadelphia

Public Hearing

What Is Local Control?

State preemption and local control are two of the most controversial and contested concepts in land use. Understanding when and where one or the other takes precedence is key to understanding the politics and governance of planning.

January 16, 2020 - James Brasuell

Biking Mayor

Uber Launches 'City Mobility Campaign' to Advocate for Safer Streets

Uber enters the safe streets advocacy fray by offering a new publicly available data tool and launching a coordinated advocacy campaign.

January 15, 2020 - Uber Newsroom

Autonomous Vehicles

U.S. DOT Reveals Latest Autonomous Vehicle Guidelines

The U.S. Department of Transportation, under fire for not doing enough to prevent an Uber self-driving car from killing a pedestrian in Tempe in 2018, has released the latest iteration of guidelines for autonomous vehicle technology.

January 13, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Sports Utility Vehicle

Men and SUVs: A Bad Mix for Traffic Safety

Data from New York City show that male drivers are responsible for the vast majority of traffic fatalities in the city, and more of those fatalities are caused by male drivers behind the wheels of trucks and SUVs.

December 16, 2019 - New York Daily News

Tesla

Elon Musk Takes the Cybertruck for a Spin in Malibu

Maybe this should be called a Friday WTF?

December 13, 2019 - Gizmodo

Seattle Speed Limits

Seattle Expands Speed Limit Reductions

After an initial wave of speed limit reductions in 2016, the city of Seattle will embark on a major expansion of speed limit reductions over the next 18 months.

December 11, 2019 - The Urbanist

Beacon Hill Intersection

School Proximity and Speeding Tickets: Still Can't Win Safety Improvements

A loss for traffic safety advocates in Seattle.

December 7, 2019 - The Urbanist

Bus Stop and Bike Lane

2019 Bicycle Friendly States Rankings Released

The Pacific Northwest is leading the way for bicycle safety at the state level, according to the latest report from the League of American Bicyclists.

December 4, 2019 - League of American Bicyclists

Pedestrian Signal

Where Enforcement of Jaywalking Equals Criminalization of Homelessness

Records in Salt Lake City show that police in Salt Lake City concentrate jaywalking enforcement in the corner of the city that houses most of the city's homeless services.

December 2, 2019 - The Salt Lake City Tribune

Red Light Camera

Toronto Ready to Implement as Ontario Legalizes Photo Speed Enforcement

The city of Toronto needed regulatory permission from the province of Ontario to begin enforcing speed limits with the use of automated camera technology. Photo radar in Ontario is legal as of today.

December 1, 2019 - The Star

Protected Bike Lane

Nation's Top Safety Board Recommends Protected Bike Lanes

The NTSB chair issued a stark warning on Nov. 5: "If we do not improve roadway infrastructure for bicyclists, bicyclists will die who otherwise would not," stated Robert Sumwalt in introducing their first report in 47 years devoted to bike safety.

November 19, 2019 - National Transportation Safety Board

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.