Posts tagged Pedestrians
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Which way for one-way streets and reversible lanes?
Are one-way streets a good idea? What about reversible lanes? Is slower traffic safer, or does it create more pollution? Citizens in are debating these questions in the context of 15th Street in Logan Circle (which may return to two-way) and Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park (whose reversible lanes were the subject of recent debate). The discussion brings up many arguments, some… Keep reading…
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Seattle condo advertises its Walk Score
Walkability is a selling point for downtown condos, like this building which put up a banner advertising its perfect 100 Walk Score. Keep reading…
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DDOT may restore two-way traffic on 15th Street
NYC DOT has been on a tear recently converting some excessively wide, one-way neighborhood streets like Carlton Ave in Fort Greene and 9th Street in Park Slope into two-way streets with medians and bike lanes that balance the needs of cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists. DC has some of these too, like 15th Street NW, a four-lane (plus parking) high-speed road that’s about… Keep reading…
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Driver vs. pedestrian perspective
This MPD training presentation makes the excellent point that when driving, you see pedestrians and bicycles as being in the way and violating traffic laws, but while walking or biking, drivers are the ones whose transgressions are visible. (Via TheWashCycle.) Keep reading…
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Landmark or mistake?
If a building is ugly, doesn’t serve its intended purpose, and the people who own it want to tear it down… but it was built by the firm of a famous architect and is a prime example of its architectural style, should it be a landmark? That’s the debate before the DC Historic Preservation Review Board about the Third Church of Christ, Scientist (aka Christian Science)… Keep reading…
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The Upper West Side of the future
What if Upper West Side streets devoted more space to pedestrians and less to cars? StreetFilms created a series of photo simulations re-imagining Amsterdam Avenue, 81st Street, and Broadway. Keep reading…
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Calculating walkability
The walkability of a neighborhood is an intangible quality that doesn’t appear on real estate listings like the number of bathrooms or the square footage. But living in a place where you can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters, hair salons, and other amenities makes life in certain places enormously different (and, I believe, better) than those where driving… Keep reading…
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Soho shoppers seek sidewalk space
I’ve written before that SoHo streets could be enormously improved if we simply took away some parking (accommodating about 6 people per block) in favor of larger sidewalks (accommodating hundreds of people per hour per block). Keep reading…
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Closing the bowtie
Times Square is one of the most crowded pedestrian areas in the city. As I covered over a year ago, the Times Square Alliance, the local business association, suggested closing the cutover between Seventh Avenue and Broadway - the “bowtie”, to create additional pedestrian space between the two avenues. … Keep reading…
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Grand Street is crazy wide
Last night, heading to a party on the Lower East Side, I decided to drive. As Transportation Alternatives’ recent study (PDF) showed, the top reason most people who drive into or out of Manhattan do so is because it’s faster. And from Hoboken to the LES late on a Saturday night, it sure is, and (once you already have paid the sunk cost of having a car) cheaper too:… Keep reading…