A few things to know this week: January 31, 2020
Happy Friday!
Every week, we round up some of the things we read, listened to, or watched that really caught our attention. Here are just a few things we think you should know this week:
This week's things to know:
New on the Go Cultivate! podcast: Building a bus system that works — with Jerome Horne
In this episode, we speak with Jerome Horne, ridership experience specialist for IndyGo, about Indianapolis's ongoing transit transformation and some of the key elements in building a reliable and effective bus system. Indianapolis makes a great case study for car-dependent cities looking to overhaul under-performing transit systems or even start from scratch.
Ten rules for successful storefront design
Some of my favorite blocks in Shreveport are those that have engaging storefronts. In fact, great storefronts can be contagious; I've seen improvements from one business spur improvements in other businesses as well. This article outlines practical steps that businesses can use to make successful storefronts. These can also be points of advocacy for citizens and local officials when they have some say in how the built environment looks. Some of the tips? Create places for people to sit, make your windows large, and aim to engage people walking by your store. – Tim
Michigan voters: Roads stink, but don’t ask us to pay for fixes
This article highlights the struggle I see in so many communities when it comes to infrastructure: “voters say crumbling infrastructure is the most important issue in their state or community, but they don’t want to pay more for repairs.” Most elected officials just run around saying some version of "we need more money," which doesn't resonate well with a constituency that is tapped out when it comes to what they're willing and able to pay for. As one of the men quoted in this article points out, government leaders are losing the PR battle with voters in failing to succinctly explain why there’s not enough money. In my opinion, there's far too much talk about how much money we need to fix what we've built, and not enough discussion about the inherent unsustainability of our prevailing development pattern.
Helping community leaders and citizens understand how the rate and pattern of development is directly related to infrastructure funding issues is at the heart of what we do here at Verdunity. I love speaking about this topic with city councils at retreats and workshops, and with residents in community meetings. If you're interested in having me come speak in your community, shoot me an email at kevin@verdunity.com.
U.S. mayors like the idea of being less car-focused but hate the policies that could make it happen
2018 was the deadliest year for pedestrians and bicyclists since 1990. So the annual Menino Survey of Mayors posed questions relating to street safety in its 2019 edition. According to the survey (which gathers nationally representative feedback from over 100 mayors), there’s a major disconnect between what mayors say they want in terms of street safety and what they’re actually willing to support to make it happen. Read on for a few critical examples of this too-common phenomenon. – Jordan
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Carmel, IN's secret to reducing traffic fatalities? Roundabouts
It’s going to take a lot of work to reduce our over-reliance on the automobile. One thing we can do from a safety standpoint in the meantime is make the intersections of existing roadways less deadly. And it turns out that we have a pretty good case study in the effectiveness of a rather simple way of addressing the issue: the roundabouts of Carmel, Indiana. Take a quick peep at a map of Carmel and you’ll notice two things: it’s really car-dependent, and almost every intersection in the city is a roundabout. Despite being as autocentric as any city, the traffic fatality rate is one-sixth the national average. "It's all about speed," says Mayor Jim Brainard. Though it’s clear to us that the car-oriented pattern of development is ultimately destructive on so many levels, Carmel at least offers us a good indicator that we can inch closer to Vision Zero through policy decisions like this one. – Jordan
San Francisco pulled off something pretty remarkable this week—although we wish it were less remarkable. On Wednesday, the city made more than two miles of Market Street, a key corridor that runs through downtown, car-free. In this short piece, SF’s Mayor London Breed lays out the motivations behind the change and how it fits into a broader attempt to “create more spaces that are made for people.” Though it’s long overdue, it is inspiring to see one of the US’s great cities taking the lead on this issue. Is there a street in your community that you think could do without motor vehicles? (Side note: head over to Twitter to see some great videos of people of all ages biking the newly comfortable Market Street.) – Ryan
If you have a couple hours to spare, and you’re interested in how we can make cities better for people to get around, then check out this webinar featuring Jeff Speck (author of Walkable Cities and Walkable Cities Rules) and Jarrett Walker (author of Human Transit), recorded earlier this month. – Jordan
Want to learn more about how fiscal analysis can help you make your city stronger financially?
We created a new sister website showcasing how we use math, maps, and money to help cities communicate your resource gap and explore ways to increase tax revenue and improve service efficiency without necessarily raising taxes.
Hey, friends in local government:
Have thoughts on any of the links above? Think we missed something essential? We’re discussing these topics and more over on our brand-new online community, exclusively for local government employees.* Sign up for the Community Cultivators Network and join the discussion!
* The network is currently only for those wonderful folks out there who work in local government. If you’re not currently working for a city, town, or county, we still love you (and are sure many of you would add value to the community), but we want to keep our commitment to making this a community focused specifically on our friends working in local government. Thanks for understanding!