Feet First’s look at pedestrian news for the week of August 26, 2011.
Weekly Walk Around the News
Posted by Derrick Van Kirk August 26, 2011
Local
Join hundreds of Puget Sound residents on September 24th at the South Lake Union Moving Planet Seattle event. Lisa Quinn will lead an hour long walk on the Lake to Bay Loop.
After checking out the Mapnificent tool on this DC based news network website, I realized that this isn’t just a tool for DC residents. The tool that shows you where you can walk or take transit within 15 minutes is also available in Seattle. It’s certainly worth a look.
National
On the West Side of Manhattan, folks can enjoy a walk along an elevated path that stretches from Gansevoort Street to West 30th (nearly twenty blocks). The High Line, originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan streets, is now an elevated park.
International
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Topical medicine conducted research on the effect of 20 mph traffic speed zones on road injuries in London. The report in the British Medical Journal, explains that the introduction of 20 mph speed zones were associated with a 41.9% reduction in casualties.
Sustainable Cities Collective, a source for sustainable urban planners, point to a new study released by Transport for London that attempts to answer the question: Who are the people that choose to walk more? Among the findings, researchers concluded that women walk more than men and people who are single tend to walk more than people in a relationship.
In Auckland, New Zealand, officials are considering a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that could cost $23 million to $31 million. In order to avoid taxpayer contributions, users will have to pay a $2 to $5 toll for to cross the bridge.
Two universities in Toronto are trying to make their pedestrian only spaces permanent. The plan to try out pedestrian only spaces is set to expire at the end of next month but students and school officials would like these areas to become permanent.
If you come across any interesting pedestrian news or stories, please send a link to derrick@feetfirst.org.
Photo of shoes courtesy of Flickr user blond avenger under the Creative Commons license.