Feet First’s look at pedestrian news for the week of February 10, 2012.
WEEKLY WALK AROUND THE NEWS
Posted by Helen Lundell
February 10, 2012
Local
The City of Seattle has produced a page of walking resources for the over 50s (or anyone else!).
National
Transportation for America has openly opposed the House Energy and Transportation bill, which cuts all guaranteed funding dedicated to public transportation. As said in their official statement, the bill:
- Unfairly punishes current and would-be users of public transportation by ending all dedicated funding for public transportation, threatening to degrade further the service and state of repair of our transit systems;
- Leaves Americans with fewer transportation options rather than more, and deeper dependence on oil rather than less;
- Undermines safety and public health and takes resources away from non-motorized forms of transportation;
- Does not go far enough to ensure the state of good repair of our bridges, highways, railways and other systems;
- And undercuts citizens’ ability to raise environmental, health and other concerns about the impact of transportation projects.
Better Cities and Towns offered up a fascinating review of a New York exhibition charting the development of its grid system. The article gives a nice overview of the thinking and history behind the grid system.
Jane Brody blogged in the New York Times about how the structure of our communities may actually be reducing the life span of the current generation, by reducing opportunities for physical activity.
A new publication describes researchers methods for conducting ˜community audits’ of local physical activity and health eating resources, focusing on rural communities.
On February 28th at 10am PST, Safe Routes to School will be hosting a webinar on how to keep you SRTS program going through the winter months.
Steve Mouson of Better Towns and Cities blogged on the tension between new urban principles, i.e. that dense, walkable, mixed use residential areas of all sizes are what we should be shooting for, and what statistics say is the reality of retail, that a corner store needs to serve 1000 homes to be viable.
The New York Times reported on the efforts of New York City to become a ˜healthy place.’ They have been focusing on pedestrian safety, plazas, and timed cross walks, and the health pay off is that New Yorkers apparently weigh 6-7 pounds less than urban America, on average.
International
We are always promoting the beautification of the streets we walk. This paved street hidden beneath a canopy of leaves is cherished by local residents, and really is something of an ideal¦thanks to TreeHugger for this one.
Jenny Jones blogged in the Guardian this week, calling for the reinstatement of the ˜road user hierarchy’ in London. The hierarchy made sure that the disabled, pedestrians and cyclists were top priority when roads were being redesigned, and was scrapped by the current mayor.
If you come across any interesting pedestrian news or stories, please send a link to info@feetfirst.org.