Austin City Council Votes for Safer Street Designs and Speed Limits
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The recommendations could have long-term positive effects for street safety throughout the city.
Recent Streetsblog TEXAS posts about Safety
Rethinking Speed Limits By Factoring in Walkers and Bikers
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Portland wants to change the speed limit on North Weidler Street from 35 to 25 mph. Photo: Google Maps
For cities trying to get a handle on traffic fatalities, dangerous motor vehicle speeds are an enormous problem. Once drivers exceed 20 mph, the chances that someone outside the vehicle will survive a collision plummet.
But even on city [...]
Retired Fire Chief: Make American Firetrucks Fit City Streets, Not Vice Versa
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It’s a sad irony that fire departments, while essential to public safety, are often a major obstacle to safer streets in American cities.
A smaller European fire truck (top) and an oversized American one (bottom). Photos: FireHouse.com
When cities try to redesign streets to reduce traffic injuries and get drivers to travel at safer speeds, the local fire department often steps in to prevent changes that [...]
Learning from Bogotá: No More Excuses
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We ended this month’s meeting of the Pedestrian Advisory Council with a few thoughts on education and safety*. Of the 82 2015 Austin traffic deaths, 26 have been pedestrians. While we advocate and wait for infrastructure improvements in the form of reduced speed limits, marked crosswalks, sidewalks and bulb-outs, Jim Dale of the city’s Transportation Department […]
Feds Propose Major Rule Changes to Eliminate Barriers to Safer Streets
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By eliminating outdated design standards, the feds can make it much easier for local governments to design streets like Fifth Street in Dayton, Ohio. Photo: APA
Applying highway design standards to city streets has been a disaster for urban neighborhoods. The same things that make highways safer for driving at 65 mph — wide lanes, “clear zones” running alongside [...]