Posted by Kerry Dirk
Local
The Seattle School District has proposed removing families at 67% of Beacon Hill neighborhood schools from their district-designated walk zones and bussing them to faraway schools.
A pedestrian was killed Thursday night after being struck by an Amtrak train in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood.
National
A recent survey found that 40% of Americans do not believe their neighborhoods are walkable, though 94% feel that walking is beneficial to one’s health. Of course, those who live in more walkable neighborhoods tend to hit the pavement more.
October is National Walk to School Month. Read about the ways that walking to school can benefit kids, including improving academic performance and increasing good life experience.
Two studies have found new transportation trends among young Americans, including that they drive less and want to stay more connected as they travel. They also are more likely to consider a variety of transportation options for each trip.
Amtrak will be at risk if the government shutdown lasts for more than a month.
The American Public Transportation Associated awarded New York’s Metroolitan Transportation Authority an AdWheel award for its arts program, which commissions visual art for subway cars and station walls.
Many transportation authorities are adding pay-by-phone options for riders. Dallas, for example, uses GoPass, an app that also contains a trip-planning tool powered by Google Transit. This transit area and others followed the trend started in Massachusetts last November.
International
Prague’s public transportation system, which serves 1.25 billion people each year, has run into serious financial trouble.
A number of buttons that pedestrians in the United Kingdom can push at street crossings may actually be fake, meaning that pushing the button has no effect at all.
The National Transport Authority in Ireland has plans to make Dublin a more pedestrian-friendly place.
If you come across any interesting pedestrian news or stories, please send a link to info@feetfirst.org.
Photo courtesy of treehugger.com