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Weekly Chatter: parking, walkability, affordable housing, good business all entwined
MyWHaT finally received some negative publicity on a local public forum; how flattering, a love-to-hate comment. Note: criticism & alternative perspectives are welcome anytime on this website…would love it actually.
Weekly Chatter:
- As TC Bayfront Plan flushed out, moving forward
- City starts to contemplate another $10 million p-deck
- Want a walkable city? Parking policy is key
- Want more business? Reduce street parking
- Or, for god’s sake just, raise the price of parking
- Want affordable housing? Include transportation costs
- For example, visualize Lansing’s affordable housing before & after counting for transportation
- Rental inspections reveal issues (Garfield: Really?)
- Freak Accidents my ass, predictable crashes!
- productive detention: bad drivers Learn to Share the Road
- Is it time for a Bike-Tax?
- comments to the above are informative
- And, is it time to be Down With “Avid Cyclists”?
- concerning LaHood’s pronouncement
- question asked: Should active transportation be equal?
- some on the right obviously don’t get it
- but they often win by failing as, the recession causes government shrinkage
- How oil dependent is your State?
- To end, how to improve transportation in rural America?
Surprise, surprise: provide alternatives & development by being smart, strategic and intentional.
Co-Chair of T4 America and former Mayor of Meridian, Miss. testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in March with the following recommendations taken from the above report (Download the white-paper: Principles for Improving Transportation Options in Rural and Small Town Communities (pdf):
- Invest in Main Streets
- Empower Local Communities
- Improve the Conditions and Safety of our Transportation System
- Invest in Public Transportation
- Preserve and Create Livable Communities
- Move Goods Through Rural America
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Roundabouts resource page: for those seeking an informed choice
The preliminary recommendation from traffic engineer Ian Lockwood for Division St. and now Grandview Parkway, is a series of roundabouts. As expected, the initial reaction by some has been bombastically negative, but many more people are simply intrigued and open to learning more.
Let’s focus on the curious.
Peruse the information below and then contribute your comments on the issue at MyWHaT, Plan for TC & to City Commissioners. Whatever the outcome, this is a great learning opportunity for the community.
For your reading and viewing pleasure, there is a roundabout toolkit below. First, you might like an unrelated article that asks the basic question: Can Roads Control Your Driving?
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Typical response to roundabouts, repeated again and again across the country
A video of the country’s busiest roundabout:
50,000 vehicles/day, 8000 pedestrians/day
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MDOT has a good resource, but listed below are some of the more robust & easy to navigate Web sites and a few studies thrown-in:
- FHWA: Roundabouts – A Safer Choice
- Do Roundabouts Work for Bicycles and Pedestrians?
- USDOT: Roundabouts – An Informational Guide
- FDOT: Bicycle and Pedestrian Considerations at Roundabouts
- NY-DOT’s Roundabout First policy (PDF)
- Special consideration for the blind
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
- Impressive resource for Alaska’s Roundabouts
- Including this Myths & Facts resource
- Positive Effect of roundabout operations on pollutant emissions
- And of course, Roundabout USA
And yes, they can handle trucks
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