Posted by Drew DeVitis
Local
In 20 parks throughout Seattle and King County, you’ll find colorfully decorated pianos donated by Classic Pianos, designed by an artist from the Gage Academy of Art, and supported by KEXP, the Seattle Symphony, and others. You can enjoy the hands-on installations through August 17.
The Beers Made By Walking program, which invites brewers to make beer inspired by plants on nature hikes, is teaming up with the Friends of the Cedar River Watershed in Seattle to host a series of hikes.
Sound Transit is looking for feedback about its 2014 Long-Range Plan Update, which will identify priorities for future services and destinations and explore when future expansions should occur and how to pay for them.
SDOT has released an update on Neighborhood Street Fund projects, a series of community improvements which focus on safety and access for pedestrians and bicyclists.
National
In Los Angeles, the Walk a Mile in My Shoes public art installation aims to evoking walking in hard-to-walk-to locations, and features, among other things, a bronze replica of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work boots.
A curious thing appeared on a downtown Washington, D.C. sidewalk this week: Dedicated lanes for pedestrians talking on cellphones, with an express lane to the side for everyone else.
In a new study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, the U.S. ranks 13th in energy efficiency among the world’s 16 largest economies, scoring poorly for relatively low use of and investment in public transit, and a high number of miles traveled in inefficient vehicles.
International
Helsinki, Finland is planning a comprehensive, multimodal, and flexible smartphone-enabled travel network that could make traditional car ownership obsolete.
An elevated park in Paris, the La Promenade Plantée, served as the model for the much celebrated High Line in New York, an elevated urban rail line that was converted into a linear park
If you come across any interesting pedestrian news or stories, please send a link to drew.devitis@gmail.com.
Photos courtesy of Maple Leaf Life, Streetsblog LA, and Sustainable Cities Collective.