Separated Bike Lanes Means Safer Streets, Study Says

I was reminded of this article this week. Its a few years old now, but it’s referencing a study which showed pretty conclusively that separated, protected bike lanes made roads safer for everyone. Pedestrians, cyclists, and automobiles were all better off. Notably, painted bike lanes showed no discernible safety benefit. But above all of this my biggest take away is that Sharrows, or a regular auto travel lane in which you paint a big bike icon and an arrow is demonstrably worse for safety. Here’s a quote from one of the study’s authors Wesley Marshall: “We found they’re worse than nothing. You’re better off doing nothing, it gives people a false sense of security that’s a bike lane. It’s just a sign telling cyclists it might just be there.” So there you have it folks. Don’t build sharrows, build protected bike lanes if safety is your number one priority. Note: It ought to be.

The full ‘Protected Lanes are better study is linked here.

The study which shows that sharrows were a terrible idea to begin with is linked here. –Marshall

Contextual design and preservation on DC commercial corridor

A commercial street corridor in Washington DC, Collection 14 provides 25k sq ft of retail, 6k sq ft of office, 3k sq ft of event space and 233 apartments. What's unique about it? It maximizes every bit of space! Featured as a Charter Award winner at CNU's 30th Annual Congress held in Oklahoma City, it demonstrates how historic facades and new construction can work together nicely to create a unique area. Here are some things I personally loved about the project:

• original storefront designs of the existing structures from the 1900s were used as inspiration for design of new building elements

• materials and colors were selected that are relevant to the historic district

• contemporary designs were merged with existing height and scale

• infill was achieved by building over and around existing assets

• alley-facing spaces were created to activate the surrounding alley routes

What if we approached infill design with this sort of attention to detail and prioritized protecting historic assets? It's definitely something we should be talking more about, I believe.  –AJ

'Vision Zero' at a Crossroads as US Traffic Death Rise

Vision Zero. You've probably heard or read about it at this point. In recent years, cities across the U.S. have drafted and adopted statements or policies stating their intent to eliminate fatalities on our roads. Yet, unlike Europe where meaningful reductions are being realized, deaths in the U.S. continue to rise. And as this article demonstrates, we've become experts in making excuses for why we just can't get there. In my opinion, the difference comes down to one thing: political will. If we truly valued the lives that have been lost, there are infinite things that can be done tactically and through construction that would make a difference. With the recent ARPA and Infrastructure Bill funding, the money is there to make these improvements. Where there's the will, there are ways. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that our society thinks it's more important to be able to drive quickly to places than it is to make our communities safer and healthier. –Kevin

Do you enjoy these weekly roundups? (Why wouldn’t you?) You can get them sent straight to your email inbox every Friday, if you’re into that.

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.

Have a look! →

Hey, friends in local government:

Hey, friends who love cities! If you're looking for a place to discuss these topics (and more) with like-minded peers who want to help create a more resilient community, check out our Community Cultivators Network. It's free to join, and we are currently working to build new features for our 2021 relaunch, so stay tuned! We'll arm you with the content, ideas, and support to take small impactful steps to cultivate change.