With consistent growth in most urbanized areas around the world, changes to the built environment to accommodate multimodal travel will become one of our most important adaptations. A recent study from Melbourne, Australia, of pedestrian flows over five years found that built environmental changes accounted for 50-60% of the increase in foot traffic in the downtown region.
Multimodal
State laws are empowering people to cross the street
Amid drastically rising pedestrian deaths, more states are considering how changes in pedestrian laws can help tip the balance in favor of those on foot and inspire a cultural shift to make walking safer and more commonplace.
A small town transforms its main street and community
The town of Hillsboro, Virginia, is celebrating the reopening of its main street—Virginia State Route 9—after extensive reconstruction. The installation of sidewalks, crossings, parking, and traffic circles at either end of town has helped to slow traffic and restore a residential feel to this more than 200-year-old rural hamlet.
Hawaii shows pedestrian safety can improve, even in historically dangerous year
The rate of pedestrians struck and killed by motorists in the U.S. has increased by 45 percent in the last decade and the pandemic has only made it worse. Despite many factors at play, Hawaii has gone against this trend, with pedestrian fatalities dropping from 37 in 2019 to 21 in 2020.
Underreported crashes are a barrier to making streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians
Transportation agencies often rely on police generated crash reports for improving roadway design and making streets safer for all users. A recent study from Washington, D.C., however, found that almost one in three car crashes involving a cyclist or a pedestrian goes unreported. With such a wide gap in data, it is quite possible agencies don’t fully understand the real risks pedestrians and cyclists—the most vulnerable users—face, let alone address those risks.
Bike facilities often follow income gains, not the other way around
A new study found little evidence that new bike infrastructure leads to displacement of low-income households or people of color, despite the two sometimes being linked in public discourse. The data reveal some bias toward mostly white neighborhoods in terms of where new facilities are installed, but sharrows, or markings that indicate a preferred bicycle route, account for more of the difference than separated bike lanes.
Small investments can go a long way towards safer, inclusive streets
There is a growing public clamor for better access by people to the places where they live, work, and spend their recreational time. However, a majority of transportation investments are spent on moving people through places, typically by driving.
Improved transit access boosts employment rates
By Saumya Jain A recent study from Britain finds a strong correlation between public transit job accessibility and employment outcomes, especially for low-income people and those who do not have access to personal cars. Although there has been a lot of research around the issue …
Addressing women’s needs could be key to increasing biking
A significant increase in the cycling mode share (currently just 1.1 percent of trips in the U.S.) would offer a number of benefits—reduced emissions, positive health outcomes, and potential reduction in congestion—but it can be hard to envision how a large-scale increase in cycling could be achieved
Modeling pedestrian trips is becoming more practical
With new technology, we can better analyze pedestrian movement, offering insights into disability access, project selection, and more.