Feet First’s look at pedestrian news for the week of April 13, 2012.
WEEKLY WALK AROUND THE NEWS
Posted by Helen Lundell
April 13, 2012
Local
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting this month will feature a presentation on Safe Routes to School from Feet First, City of Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee and King County Food & Fitness Initiative. All are welcome to attend. The meeting will be held on April 18th, 1-3pm, PSRC Conference Room, 1011 Western Avenue, 5th Floor.
UW landscape architecture students have been presenting on how to make the new metro bus service coming to Ballard in September (Rapid Ride) more pedestrian friendly— integrating ideas from better walkways to more public art.
Metropolitan King County Council announced that it has passed legislation calling for the analysis of more options for payment for and distribution of ORCA cards, as payment has been found to be one of the biggest barriers to use of public transportation.
The Council has also approved a two year bus ticket incentive program. Last August, the council instituted a temporary $20 charge for vehicle licenses in King County. However, each household paying the charge will be eligible to receive 8 bus tickets worth up to $24.
Seattle’s own Julia Field of Undriving has won an advocacy award from the Alliance of Biking and Walking, according to Seattle Bike Blog. Take a look at Undriving’s awesome website; they’ve got a wealth of undriving events, resources, social media, and even issue Undriving licenses.
Walking in Seattle has named 5th Ave and Denny Way Seattle’s worst intersection in 2012.
National
Prevention Magazine has ranked US cities by walkability. Cambridge, MA tops the list, but Seattle’s there at number 11!
The World Health Organization has created an online tool to estimate the economic savings resulting from reductions in mortality as a consequence of regular cycling and/or walking – the Health Economic Assessment tool (HEAT) for cycling and walking. So, if you’ve got population level current, or predicted, cycling and walking data, this tool can turn it into an economic argument for change. It can be used to help plan new infrastructure, assess the benefit of a current walking situation , or estimate the mortality and economic consequences of hitting (or missing) walking and cycling goals. Fantastic!
Remember WalkRaleigh? A student who embarked on a ˜guerilla wayfinding’ campaign (putting up unsanctioned signs to help pedestrians find their way) and gained international news coverage? He’s now seeking funding to start an open source set of online resources to help others kickstart their own wayfinding campaigns! And his signs that were taken down by the city¦.are now going back up with the city’s support.
Take a look at this fascinating 4 part essay on walking, from Slate: The Crisis in America: How we got off the pedestrian path.
A new report from U.S. PIRG finds that the younger generation is driving less, considers why that might be and the implications for transportation policy.
According to KPBS, doctors at one health clinic in San Diego will be writing walking prescriptions” to selected patients. WalkSanDiego is leading the project.
More on the 3rd Annual County Health Rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released this month, from Public Health Newswire- descriptions: purpose, changes, trends¦If you haven’t looked through them before, this really is an amazing, user friendly data resource designed with advocacy in mind.
HUD’s office of Sustainable Housing and Communities has released the Sustainable Communities Resource Center.
Active Living Research has put together a new brief outlining the benefits of (and barriers to) using shared community and school resources to promote physical activity.
International
A Finnish man has been caught on camera refusing to budge from a crosswalk in the face of oncoming traffic. While I certainly applaud taking a stand for pedestrian safety, I don’t think I would encourage such a literal enactment. Really, don’t try this at home.
If you come across any interesting pedestrian news or stories, please send a link to info@feetfirst.org.