Livable Streets Update
Written by Boston Biker on May 02
Training to become a Street Ambassador, May 7
Make change happen. Become a Street Ambassador this summer.
In 2012, our Street Ambassadors helped win huge interim improvements along the McGrath Corridor as part of our Remove McGrath Campaign. They even made national news while doing it!
In 2013, our Street Ambassadors helped win a safer and more livable Massachusetts Avenue Bridge as part of our Better Bridges Campaign.
In 2014, we want you to join our Street Ambassador team to: -collect postcards in support of our Safer Streets Campaign -help with tactical urbanism in Cambridge and Greater Four Corners -represent LivableStreets at events throughout the summer -and more!
“Whenever I see a bunch of folks standing on a corner in bright orange shirts I know they are fighting the good fight and getting stuff done.” – 2012 Street Ambassador
Attend the training on May 7 at 5:45pm to become an Ambassador and help create safer and more livable streets in Boston.
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Wins
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Next generation street design guide adopted by MassDOT
Major kudos to MassDOT for making Massachusetts the second state to officially endorse the National Association of City Transportation Official’s Urban Street Design Guide, considered the next generation manual for designing more livable streets. Yes to more innovation!
For years, advocates have hit a brick wall with government and their consultants: “The Green Book and MUTCD say you can’t do that.” Since 1914, the “Green Book” has controlled street design, such as how wide car lanes should be (and no separated bike lanes allowed). And since 1971, the Manual on Urban Traffic Control Devices has controlled the use of traffic signals, signage, and striping, providing barriers to good bicycle and pedestrian design (e.g., no bike signals, no leading pedestrian walk time). Mass. Transportation Secretary Rich Davey says the NACTO guide provides “essential design principles for safe, multi-modal urban streets and attractive public spaces that embody our sustainability mission.” You know change is in the air when the Federal Highway Association urges all transportation engineers to use the new guide. With Ned Codd as the new director of MassDOT’s GreenDOT transportat |
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Newsworthy
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In recent StreetLife newsletters, we shared news that major city centers across Europe, from Brussels to Madrid, are hoping to go car-free to reduce air pollution and traffic, and to create space to enjoy other activities.
The news continues about cities flirting with these ideas, but there is a catch. A recent article in The Atlantic Cities notes that even though places such as Boulder, CO and Portland, OR are known for walking and biking, they are still not seeing any significant mode shifts despite huge investments in these activities.
The cause? “The crucial component that’s missing is that we’re not implementing any policies that disincentivize driving,” says Daniel Piatkowski. The article suggests, “We could reduce parking availability or raise parking rates. We could implement congestion pricing. We could roll back subsidies for gas and highways and public parking garages. We could tie auto-insurance rates or infrastructure taxes to how much people actually drive.” Read on.
This is a really important point. Fitch Ratings, the third-largest credit rating agency in the US, discusses it in their March 12 press release, urging policymakers to plan for changing travel demands. Fitch Ratings highlights U.S. Census Bureau data revealing record transit use and multi-family home construction across the country. “In our view, the transportation needs of the next 50 years will be markedly different from those of the past 50 years. U.S. policymakers must begin adapting their current decisions to these future needs.” Read on.
One neighboring city that is exploring policies to discourage driving and plan for the future is New York City. On March 20, The Atlantic Cities published an article describing how NYC is toying with one policy idea to limit congestion and increase transportation options. The idea is called “fair tolling:” a plan to charge drivers fees that will go to funding public transit, led by group Move NY. Read on.
Questions for you: Where are the places that you choose not to drive to because of limited parking or high cost, and instead choose another way of getting there?
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