Saratoga Springs. Photo by BabetteKD.

Safe but illegal routes to school

One mother and son biked to the child’s school along a bike path in Saratoga Springs, New York for Bike to Work Day.  When they arrived, the school confiscated the bicycle because of their policy prohibiting anyone from walking or biking to school. School officials said they wouldn’t make an exception for those that use the existing bike path because it runs through “a substantially wooded area” and child predators might be lurking about. (Saratogian News via @streetsblog)  

Highways becoming safer, still dangerous

National traffic deaths have decreased significantly since last year. We’re on track to fewer than 31,000 deaths this year (which is still a lot, especially compared to trains). People are also driving less, but the fatality rate per mile traveled has dropped as well. We’re also using seat belts more, but still only 83% of people wear them, meaning one in six drivers doesn’t wear a seat belt. (WTOP)  

Single tracking, here we come

Unrelated to the crash, Metro is moving ahead with a project to rehabilitate large portions of Red Line tracks and stations between Dupont Circle and Silver Spring. Once the project starts, trains will single-track beginning around 8 pm. After they finish that segment, they’ll move onto other lines. Metro needs to perform this maintenance to keep its infrastructure from falling apart, but it’ll also drive many evening riders away from transit. (Examiner)  

Following in our mistakes

Builders in Mumbai/Bombay are now required to build parking for every resident in new construction. (Michael P)  

We’re like California, but at least we’re not like New England

Noah Kazis says that Virginia’s growth patterns mirror California’s, with a multi-ethnic polycentric development pattern driven by a strong growth machine, and both struggling with making their existing dense but unwalkable places more walkable. We’re lucky we’re not New England, he says, because their government by towns instead of counties impedes all regional planning as towns compete to add malls at their edges and capture tax revenue.  

Only Boston is more Luddite

The LA Metro now works with Google Transit. WMATA and the Boston MBTA are the only two major city transit systems not to participate. (LAist)  

And…

WALKArlington has released a new Walkabouts brochure listing walking tours around the county (Arlington’s Car-Free Diet Blog, Gavin Baker) … VDOT will close many highway rest stops to save money (Examiner) … Gay marriage is now officially sorta-legal in DC.  (Tip: Gavin Baker)  

Bleedin’ billboard

After a rash of road deaths during rainstorms, Papakura, New Zealand installed billboards that appear to bleed when it rains. Apparently they’ve worked. In this news report, a police inspector denounces the use of the term “accident.” (JTS

AMT, цarь, QuietGlover, Gizmodo)

  (Tip: цarь)