New Research Strengthens Link between Walkable Neighborhoods and Civic Involvement

Posted by: Megan MacIver Categories: Blog, Building Communities through Transportation, Transportation

"As the The Smart Growth Network points out, a new report by the University of New Hampshire found that “people who live in walkable communities are more civically involved and have greater levels of trust than those who live in less-walkable neighborhoods. This increase in so-called ‘social capital’ is associated with higher quality of life…”  The entire report is available for download through the Springer’s Journal website.

Insights from this study relate to Donald Appleyard‘s findings in his seminal book “Livable Streets.” Recently, Streetsblog explored three studies in Appleyard’s book that measured, for the first time, the effect of traffic on our social interactions and how we perceive our homes and neighborhoods.

A pedestrian-friendly district in Curitiba, Brazil

We can reinvent our towns and cities to be more livable places.  None of this is ‘rocket science”-we have a context of countless traditions and innovations that can create a foundation for a better future.  PPS’ Building Community through Transportation program is helping bring about a transformation that sets transportation solutions within the context of achieving community outcomes and sustainable development. PPS helps agencies and communities come together around solutions that communities want, including more livable and walkable communities.

What do you think of the report’s findings?"

Fonte e imagem:
http://www.pps.org/blog/new-research-strengthens-link-between-walkable-neighborhoods-and-civic-involvement/

Revisiting Donald Appleyard’s Livable Streets

Revisiting Donald Appleyard's Livable Streets from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

You may have wondered, while watching a Streetfilm or reading a post on Streetsblog, where we got the term "livable streets."

by Elizabeth Press on November 1, 2010 |

"The answer can be found in the work of Donald Appleyard, a scholar who studied the neighborhood environment and the ways planning and design can make life better for city residents. In 1981, Appleyard published "Livable Streets" based on his research into how people experience streets with different traffic volumes.  The Second Edition of Livable Streets will be published by Routledge Press in 2011.

Today we're revisiting Appleyard's work in the second installment of our series, "Fixing the Great Mistake." This video explores three studies in "Livable Streets" that measured, for the first time, the effect of traffic on our social interactions and how we perceive our own homes and neighborhoods.

"Fixing the Great Mistake" is a new Streetfilms series that examines what went wrong in the early part of the 20th Century, when our cities began catering to the automobile, and how those decisions continue to affect our lives today."

Fonte e vídeo:

http://www.streetfilms.org/revisiting-donald-appleyards-livable-streets/

Fixing the Great Mistake: Autocentric Development

by Elizabeth Press on February 25, 2010

""Fixing the Great Mistake" is a new Streetfilms series that examines what went wrong in the early part of the 20th Century, when our cities began catering to the automobile, and how those decisions continue to affect our lives today.
In this episode, Transportation Alternatives director Paul Steely White shows how planning for cars drastically altered Park Avenue. Watch and see what Park Avenue used to look like, how we ceded it to the automobile, and what we need to do to reclaim the street as a space where people take precedence over traffic."

Fonte:

http://www.streetfilms.org/fixing-the-great-mistake-autocentric-development/#more-27221

Bike-Bus Lanes

"Overview

Bike-bus lanes are travel lanes restricted to buses, bicycles, and (usually) vehicles turning right. The lane is separated from general purpose lanes by a solid white line, and designated by signs and painted legends. This configuration requires bicyclists and buses to pass one another in "leapfrog" fashion. Cities employing shared bike-bus lanes include Tucson, AZ; Madison, WI; Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, BC; and Philadelphia, PA.

Shared vs. Separate Lanes

On a busy arterial street with conventional bike lanes, buses frequently block the bike lane at bus stops. Bicyclists may also be squeezed between the door zone of parked cars on the right and adjacent traffic on the left. A shared lane eliminates these issues, but may introduce new hazards. However, many bicyclists feel the shared bike-bus lane functions better than a conventional bike lane [1] because bus traffic tends to be relatively light, bus drivers are professionally trained to coexist with bicyclists, and buses can merge partway into the adjacent lane to overtake a bicyclist. Nevertheless, many local traffic departments are reluctant to allow bicyclists access to bus-only lanes. This effectively disenfranchises bicyclists on streets where dedicated bus lanes have been deployed, but denying bicyclists access to them.
In some cities, bicycle lanes are provided to the left of dedicated bus lanes (see photo). This introduces turning conflicts where buses turn left across the bike lane, and bicyclists turn right across the bus lane, and motorists turn right across both.

Safety Studies

A reportedly suppressed study by Transport for London leaked to the London Telegraph [2] indicates that on two corridors where bicycles and motorized cycles were allowed in bus lanes, bicyclist crashes were reduced 44%.
Bike-bus lanes have been used in French and German cities. Paris and Bordeaux have shared lane networks of 118 and 40km, respectively. According to the German Cycling Federation [3], the Federal Ministry of Transportation reports bicycles are safer using bus lanes, and bus operations are not negatively affected by this arrangement. The Ministry states that, where traffic speeds exceed 30 mph, the width of the lane should be at least 4 meters (13 feet) to allow bicyclists to overtake a bus without entering an adjacent lane. Narrower widths, typically 3.0 meters (10.5 - 11.5 feet) are acceptable in lower speed environments (20mph or less). By contrast, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, prefers a width of 16 feet, but may allow widths of 14 feet or even less when necessary.

Bike-Bus Lanes in Streetfilms

Mobilien: Paris' Version of BRT 

Curitiba's BRT

Rush Hour on S.F.'s Market St.

For safe sharing of bike-bus lanes, education of bus drivers is considered important. In early 2008, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley proposed opening that city's dedicated bus lanes to bicycles, with an intent to provide training to all bus drivers prior to launching the program [4].

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• Streetsblog: Whoa: NYPD Ticketing Bus Lane Violators Includes discussion of legality and safety of riding bicycles in bus lanes.
  

REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.
[1] John S. Allen's Bicycle Facilities, Laws, and Program Pages.
[2] Telegraph.co.uk. The truth about bikes and bus lanes, 1/25/08

[3] German Cycling Federation page, translated into English here.
[4] CBS2.com, Daley proposes bike riders use bus lanes, 6/14/08.

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.
[1] Milwaukee Avenue Bike-Bus Lane, Chicago, IL, courtesy Steve Vance, Flickr 2008.
[2] Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, courtesy John S. Allen"


 Fonte:
http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/bike-bus-lanes