Pedestrian Safety

Road Safety

Traffic Safety Solution: Design, Not Enforcement

Alon Levy argues that the best path to traffic safety is through design rather than traffic law enforcement.

October 24, 2016 - Pedestrian Observations

New York

Bill Introduced to Relieve Congestion—on Sidewalks

New York City has come a long way since the Giuliani days, when sidewalk barriers were placed at intersections to facilitate turning vehicles, thus prohibiting pedestrians from crossing the street.

October 4, 2016 - amNew York

Scramble Tokyo

Engineers Scramble for Pedestrian Safety in Los Angeles and Santa Monica

A "good news" story for pedestrians emerges from the streets of Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Traffic signals at heavily used pedestrian intersections have been reengineered to add a 'scramble phase' and the results are startling.

October 2, 2016 - NBC Los Angeles

San Francisco MUNI

Safety Gets Top Priority in San Francisco Street Reconfiguration

Pedestrian safety and transit performance won out over parking concerns on San Francisco's Taraval Street.

September 24, 2016 - San Francisco Examiner

Lombard Street San Francisco

Crowds of Pedestrians Prompt Lombard Street Study

San Francisco is looking for ways to manage—and protect—the masses of tourists who want to walk "the World's Crookedest Street."

September 22, 2016 - SF Gate

Lightning

Indianapolis: Where the Streets Have No Lights

The IndyStar shines a light on the city of Indianapolis' neglect of its infrastructure.

September 22, 2016 - Indystar

Orlando Street

Florida DOT Taking a New, Data-Driven Approach to Pedestrian Safety

The Florida Department of Transportation is trying to change the state's status as the most dangerous in the nation for pedestrians, with 5,100 people killed while walking between 2003 and 2010.

August 11, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Bicyclists White House

Bike and Pedestrian Advocates Rejoice: 'Contributory Negligence' on its Way Out in D.C.

A new law with the support of the mayor and an initial approval by the D.C. council will make it easier for bicyclists and pedestrians to collect insurance after a crash with a motor vehicle.

August 2, 2016 - Washington City Paper

Busy Crossing Street

New York Launches New Pedestrian Safety Plan

The New York State Pedestrian Safety Action Plan will invest $110 million to improve pedestrian safety in the state of New York.

June 28, 2016 - The Lansing Star

20's Plenty

Boston Lowers Speed Limits to 20 MPH—Columnist Sees Opportunity for Satire

A Boston Globe columnist met the news that the city would reduce speed limits to 20 mph on some residential streets with scorn and snark.

May 5, 2016 - The Boston Globe

New Jersey Considering Fines for Distracted Pedestrians

Having launched a pedestrian safety campaign focused on education, legislators may go a step further to tackle another 'E'—enforcement. But rather than drivers, pedestrians looking down at their smart phones will be the targets.

March 25, 2016 - NJ.com

Bicycle traffic light in Berlin

Op-Ed: Prohibit Right Turns on Red Lights

A writer suggests an end for one of the many conveniences available to drivers: the right turn on a red light.

March 23, 2016 - Next City

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Sets 20-mph Speed Limit

Citing pedestrian and cyclist casualties, the Scottish capital will reduce speed limits on 80 percent of its streets to a mere 20 mph. Backers are pushing for additional complete streets improvements.

March 17, 2016 - Next City

Efforts to Increase Pedestrian Safety Take Hold in Nevada and Kentucky

With a new Governors Highway Safety Association report estimating that the number of pedestrian fatalities jumped 10 percent in 2015, the highest ever, we look at efforts in Nevada and Louisville, Ky. to increase pedestrian safety.

March 11, 2016 - Las Vegas Sun

Bike on Sidewalk

Bicyclists on Sidewalks: Why They're Not Going Away, and What We Can Do About It

Simply banning bikes from riding on sidewalks does more harm than good. A better understanding of why people choose to ride bikes on the sidewalk will be necessary to create safer environments for all users.

March 10, 2016 - Ariel Godwin and Anne M. Price

Report: Pedestrian Deaths Climbed 10 Percent in 2015

Pedestrian safety is a growing problem across the country, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

March 9, 2016 - The Christian Science Monitor

Rainbow Crosswalk

Re-Examining the Safety of Colorful Crosswalks

There has been no shortage of responses to the story about St. Louis letting decorated sidewalks fade away after encountering federal policy that recommends more subdued colors.

February 13, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Sidewalk Shed Scaffolding

New York City's Sidewalk Shed Epidemic

A 1980 law protecting pedestrians from falling debris has spawned a labyrinth of sidewalk sheds: the covered walkways that often support scaffolding. Many of these "temporary" structures linger for years.

February 8, 2016 - Crain's New York Business

One Simple Way to Anger Pedestrians: Give Snow Removal Priority to Cars

A large backlash followed a large winter storm on the East Coast.

February 4, 2016 - Brokelyn

12 Seattle Schools to Get the Safe Routes to School Treatment in 2016

The Urbanist takes a close look at the first of 12 Safe Routes to School projects scheduled for Seattle schools this year.

January 23, 2016 - The Urbanist

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.