Tag: pedestrian
Americans don’t walk – but it’s not because we’re lazy
Most Americans don’t walk for one reason: In most communities, walking is both inconvenient and unsafe. At least that’s what F. Kaid Benfield, Special Counsel for Urban Solutions, Natural Resources Defense Council, argues in a recently published excerpt from his book of essays, People Habitat: 25 Ways to Think About Greener, Healthier Cities. Americans lose […]
Towns wave white flag in fight for pedestrian safety
The road to pedestrian hell is paved with good intentions — and lined with brightly colored flags. Bridgeport, Conn., is the latest American city to institute a pedestrian flag system at one of its downtown intersections. The concept is easy to grasp: Pedestrians grab a flag from a post and wave it as they cross […]
Are pedestrian deaths the Titanic of intersection redesign?
The death of more than a thousand passengers aboard the sinking Titanic resulted in adoption of rigorous maritime safety regulations. It has taken a rising number of pedestrian deaths in New York’s busy intersections for the city to shift its focus to road safety. Take the example of a busy street where it took another pedestrian death […]
Study: Cars more dangerous than natural disasters
Floods, tornadoes and earthquakes are not as dangerous as simply being a pedestrian in America, according to a report by the National Complete Streets Coalition, a nonprofit safety advocacy group. More than 47,000 pedestrians died in vehicle collisions in America over 2003 to 2012, a number which tallies to 16 times the amount of Americans […]
New gadget gauges sidewalk compliance
A seemingly simple three-wheeled device — Wired calls it a “magic cart” — may make America’s sidewalks safer for the disabled. Created by Peter Axelson, who has used a wheelchair since 1975, the device is programmed with federal, state and local disability regulations. A worker runs the device, formally known as Prowap, or Public Rights-of-Way […]