Pedestrian, cyclist, disabled injuries and deaths on Nanaimo streets

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How many mobility modes fit comfortably in a 70' wide city street?

Look what 2 - 10' travel lanes gets you. — 24' of public space for citizens of all ages and mobility abilities. 18.5' of protected bike lanes, and on-street parking. This is a city street where people want to gather, to live, to stroll and to shop. Wallace Street to the west also lends itself to this kind of street design. This is also a safe street because it is shared more equally with all the citizens who use it and pay for it. Most of this can be done for very little cost, with paint and planters. There is a clearly established relationship between travel lane width and vehicle speeds. On wider lanes cars travel faster regardless of posted maximums.

Click image for enlargement.

—@streetmix is a great on-line open-source tool. Design your own street! For instance eliminate the parking lane and add a bus lane...

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) October 7, 2016

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From Streetsblog Network — A New Blueprint for Streets That Put Transit Front and Center

The National Association of City Transportation Officials has released a new design guide to help cities prioritize transit on their streets. “The kinds of problems that the guide seeks to solve are exactly the kinds of design problems and questions that cities are trying to solve,” said Roe. “How do you get transit to get where it’s going quicker, without degrading the pedestrian environment? Some of that has to do with the details of design.” For example, the guide lays out how to design boarding areas where buses can pick up passengers without pulling over to the curb and then waiting to reenter traffic — which can slow service considerably. Read more: A New Blueprint for Streets That Put Transit Front and Center.

The new @NACTO guide tells you how to build a street this awesome -- for cyclists & transit https://t.co/nJbDH93dgP pic.twitter.com/mSgSkPJsZb

— Streetsblog Network (@StreetsblogNet) April 15, 2016

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From Project for Public Spaces — Detroit's Eastern Market Great Public Spaces nominee

Eastern Market is a pedestrian oasis in the middle of a still largely car-focused (but rapidly changing) city. With over 150 vendors in the central market sheds and many other market-related businesses in the surrounding area, Eastern Market has a great variety of places where visitors can find meat, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, jams, honey, apple cider, cheeses, spices, herbs, plants, flowers, and much more. While the wholesale market dominates most of the week, there is also a retail farmers market on Tuesdays and Saturdays and a street market on Sundays. Outside this core, the district also features housing, art space, restaurants, galleries, and other businesses that draw diverse visitors to the area every day of the week. The market is a great source of civic pride for Detroit. Read more: Detroit Eastern Market - Great Public Spaces

Twitter list — Walking, cycling, transit

Tweets from https://twitter.com/NanaimoCommons/lists/walking-cycling-transit

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From Better! Cities — An animated Donald Shoup explains How cars took over cities

The TruTV show Adams Ruins Everything ran an episode on cars that is a good history of our favoritism toward automobile transportation and why that hurts people. The show stars Adam Conover, who mixes comedy and education on real issues—in this case the form of cities and the impact on how we get around. The episode was posted to You Tube this week. Below is a short segment that features an animated representation of UCLA professor and parking expert Donald Shoup.



Read more: Comedic history of how cars took over cities | Better! Cities

From @grescoe — In the 20th century, "modern" meant bringing cars into cities. In the 21st it means keeping them out.

In the 20th century, being "modern" meant bringing cars into cities. In the 21st, it means keeping them out. pic.twitter.com/XVBgpSSpus

— Taras Grescoe (@grescoe) November 11, 2015

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@WorldVIU Days Nov. 2-6 — Free keynote by Charles Montgomery @thehappycity

—@WorldVIU Days Nov. 2-6 features free keynote by Charles Montgomery@thehappycity @viunews

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Wednesday, October 28, 2015

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From Slow Streets — Elements that Make Pedestrian Streets Work

We currently dedicate an excessive amount of our street public space for the movement and storage of automobiles. We can bring dignity to our streets where people live, work and play by reclaiming it for people. It has been shown that cities are significantly quieter when there are lower traffic volumes, or even when the vehicle traveling speeds slow down to a human speed (40-30kph). There are also fewer automobile related injuries and fatalities. It can also make us happier since we can spend more time outside and meet more of our neighbours.

So how can we reclaim some of this space? Pedestrian streets offer one way to do this, but it has been demonstrated that pedestrian streets in North America have failed in the past (see Buffalo’s Main Street, Ottawa’s Sparks Street, and other examples). But many cities feature widely-visited, vibrant pedestrian streets in different city scales, climates and cultures throughout Europe including Northbrook St. in Newbury, UK (pop. 31,331 in 2011), Calle San Jacinto in Seville, Spain (pop. 702,355 in 2012), Exhibition Road in London, UK (pop. 8.3 million in 2013). They also exist in various sizes either as a short section of one street or a network of car-free streets such as in Delft, Netherlands or the Stroget in Copenhagen. This article explores several of these successful pedestrian streets and breaks down several of the elements that make them work. Read more: Critical Elements to Make Pedestrian Streets Work | SLOW STREETS

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Nov. 4th: #Victoria Walk the Talk with @BrentToderian @GVCC @VicPlacemaking

Pls join us Nov. 4th: Walk the Talk w @BrentToderian our fall #TransForm event w @VicPlacemaking #yyjevents pic.twitter.com/tiUtJ3FX2z

— GreaterVictoriaCycle (@GVCC) October 14, 2015

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Pedestrian upgrades underway in the Old City Quarter

Pedestrian upgrades in the Old City Quarter are scheduled to be constructed this Fall. Improvements include curb extensions at Fitzwilliam Street & Selby Street and Fitzwilliam Street & Wesley Street. The improvements are intended to create a safer environment for pedestrians by making them more visible to motorists when they are waiting to cross the street. The project also includes installing a rain garden at the southeast corner of the Fitzwilliam Street and Selby Street intersection. Rain gardens are an engineered landscape feature which is designed to absorb and filter rain water through soil layers and plantings, thereby increasing infiltration of rain water into the ground. More at City of Nanaimo: Pedestrian Upgrades underway in the Old City Quarter

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From Winnipeg Free Press —From parking lot to urban paradise

It is rare for a city to be given an opportunity to build a brand new neighbourhood in the heart of its downtown. When it happens, it is usually the result of an industry that was once the economic engine relocating out of the modern core.

In Toronto, the railway lands along Lake Ontario have seen a multibillion-dollar transformation into a forest of highrises, altering the city's postcard skyline image into something resembling lower Manhattan. False Creek was once the industrial heart of Vancouver, but today it is home to 60,000 people living in a signature West Coast condo tower neighbourhood.

When the rail yards at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine rivers were closed 30 years ago, Winnipeg was given that same opportunity -- but went in a different direction... Read more: From parking lot to urban paradise - Winnipeg Free Press

Speed Kills: Streets should provide access, not move people thru quickly. @slowstreets

Speed Kills: Streets should provide access, not move people thru quickly. Our latest report: http://t.co/DJmKRlb9Qz pic.twitter.com/a3AD5e38tU

— Slow Streets (@slowstreets) September 8, 2015

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From @100architects — Urban intervention in Santiago

Check out our last Huellas Artes video! It contains interesting shots of the whole process of intervention. https://t.co/cIYdqFFkYS

— 100architects (@100architects) January 16, 2015

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From @BrentToderian — 4 classic #roaddiets in one 2-minute video via @JeffSpeckAICP

"4 classic #roaddiets in one 2-minute video" via @JeffSpeckAICP. https://t.co/R5xwmvEq7N What do you think, Tweeps? pic.twitter.com/xP0hqLpnDC

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) August 20, 2015

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¡más calles así! Via @jen_keesmaat

#México #City #Pedestrian #Street @cityofsmiles. #streetsforpeople ¡más calles así! pic.twitter.com/v80NE96FRp

— Ari Fernando Valerdi (@FernandoValerdi) August 2, 2015

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@jen_keesmaat — complete street, Queens Quay, has taught us a lot about redesigning streets for people

Our spectacular new #completestreet, #QueensQuay, has taught us a lot about redesigning #streetsforpeople pic.twitter.com/nI5YE0rFEH #TOpoli

— jennifer keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) August 4, 2015

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From CityLab — Getting smaller cities walking

After counting pedestrians on hundreds of blocks (sampled for different densities, districts, and Walk Scores), a group of researchers found that active uses (i.e., well-trafficked buildings or busy parks, schools, and cafes), street furniture or items (from benches to fire hydrants to ATM machines), and first-floor windows (measured by window-to-facade ratio) all had statistically positive relationships to the number of pedestrians. 

But are these findings applicable elsewhere? There’s so much that sets New York apart from other American cities: its density, its walkability, its spread of urban versus suburban development, among others. What about smaller towns? What are the design traits that most encourage pedestrian activity on these streets? Read more: New Study Shows Urban Design Matters When It Comes to Pedestrian Activity in Salt Lake City - CityLab

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Sidewalks are a social space... oh, and they can also be used for walking

#Sidewalks are a social space, and a place for commerce. Oh, and they can also be used for #walking. #UrbanDesign pic.twitter.com/DskgjB58rq

— AntonioGomez-Palacio (@aurbanist) July 25, 2015

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In a car dependent city alternative modes can't be achieved without reducing car infrastructure #streetdiet

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) July 25, 2015

Cities that won't accept this principle will always be car first regardless of high-minded jargon and plans #Nanaimo https://t.co/udjKd59MZL

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) July 25, 2015

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