Posted by Zoe Harris and Drew DeVitis
Local
The Puget Sound Regional Council approved nearly 17 million for thirteen bike and pedestrian projects including Tacoma’s Prairie Line Trail and Lynwood’s Interurban Regional Trail.
The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is now accepting proposals for improvements to streets and parks. The city has 1.2 million to spend. Proposals are due by February 3rd and funding will be implemented in 2015.
The City of Seattle is now accepting applications for the new Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board.
Recent data illustrates the extent to which walking has emerged as an everyday means of commuting in a select group of cities that include Tacoma and Seattle. Tacoma saw a 1.7% increase in walk commuters, which is significant for a city that has a total walk commuter share of 3.7%.
National
The New York City Department of Transportation recently completed a study titled “The Economic Benefits of Sustainable Streets.” The data provide encouraging results in seven test cases taken from three of the city’s boroughs.
A group of civic-minded architects, planners, and transportation professionals built gingerbread models to bring attention to the issue of accessible streets in Chicago. By building models of Chicago landmarks, we are able to express how the sweet idea of accessible shared space can be for everyone, said Sarah Medcalf, an architect involved in the project.
According to the results of the American Institute of Architects’ Home Design Trends Survey, homeowners in the U.S. are showing an increasing preference for walkable communities and mixed-use development.
International
The city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia announced it will be building pedestrian bridges over three busy roads, which have lacked proper crossings up to now. In the past year, several injuries and at least one death can be attributed to the lack of basic pedestrian infrastructure on these roadways.
At the World Eco-Mobility Festival in Suwon, South Korea, cars were removed from an entire neighborhood for one full month and the streets became a thoroughfare exclusively for people-powered transit.
If you come across any interesting pedestrian news or stories, please send a link to zoe@feetfirst.org.
Photo courtesy of Vasuma