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Slow Streets Were a Success. Should Cities Keep Them?

Skip Descant

October 29, 2020 |

Governing |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

A pilot project in several American cities has provided a large amount of data on how residents use streets where vehicular traffic is restricted. The initiative tested out ways to calm traffic, provide space for families to convene and exercise, and provide safer bike lanes. A transportation analysis firm was able to provide detailed analysis for how each city responded to the changes, opening up ways for governments to "implement the best project for that specific need and measure against those goals."

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Decades of Data Suggest Racial Profiling is Getting Worse, Not Better

Mike Sherry Mary Sanchez

October 28, 2020 |

Flatland |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Missouri

In 2000, Missouri passed one of the nation's first and most comprehensive laws aimed at ending racial profiling by police in traffic stops. But racial disparities have grown worse since then, with Black drivers far more likely than white drivers to be stopped and searched. The law relies on data collection to air the problem, which in turn was supposed to spur more reforms. But the state's lackluster efforts to enforce the law and lack of follow through on other reforms has turned the annual data gathering into "little more than exercises in futility."

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How Oakland Got Real About Equitable Urban Planning

Rikha Sharma Rani

October 08, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Oakland is making an effort to make city planning more equitable to include the needs of communities of color. "Esential Places" is the second iteration of a program that started off as "Slow Streets" and was criticized by local residents for catering to "white and moneyed interests." The initial attempt was informed by survey respondents who were overwhelmingly white and rich. Meetings with community members in distressed neighborhoods resulted in different traffic challenges and pedestrian needs. The shift in policy planning has led to safer intersections with no collisions at previously dangerous sites.

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Do We Need Police To Curb L.A.'s Traffic Violence? Some Cities Are Saving Lives Without Them

Ryan Fonseca

September 24, 2020 |

LAist |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Five years after Los Angeles launched its Vision Zero program to reduce traffic fatalities, the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists killed on city streets have soared. By relying too heavily on the racially fraught and often ineffective practice of police stops of vehicles, and by not spending enough on street redesigns and automated enforcement technologies, L.A. has failed to make the kind of progress that cities like New York and Seattle have made with engineering innovations, stricter speed limits, and camera enforcement.

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Polish Drivers Beware: Road Work Ahead

Kacper Sulowski

September 22, 2020 |

Gazeta Wyborcza |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lithuania

A series of methodically planned and publicized measures to improve traffic safety have significantly lowered Lithuania's highway fatalities in what is now serving as a model for safety advocates in neighboring Poland. Starting nearly a decade ago, after traffic deaths peaked, Lithuania began increasing penalties for violations, toughening enforcement, and improving roadways. Each phase was accompanied by public education. More lenient laws and enforcement are blamed for Poland's relatively high traffic-death rate.

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Bellevue uses AI technology to identify problem intersections and make them safer

Michelle Baruchman

August 07, 2020 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bellevue, Washington

Artificial intelligence and traffic cameras are being used to identify dangerous intersections in Bellevue, Washington. Data from thousands of hours of footage revealed that intersections where drivers, bikers and pedestrians had near misses were the most problematic spots in need of improvement. Leveraging traffic data allowed the city to pinpoint potentially dangerous situations relatively quickly and implement the changes that are needed to secure those intersections.

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In San Diego, ‘Smart' Streetlights Spark Surveillance Reform

Sarah Holder

August 06, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

A smart-streetlight program has helped businesses and residents by collecting a wealth of data to make parking easier, monitor air quality, and inform drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists of traffic patterns. But its use by the police to collect evidence of suspected crimes has prompted a privacy backlash. Police officials say the videos have been used only in serious crimes and have both incriminated and exonerated suspects. Critics say mission creep has led to improper surveillance of protests and racially disparate enforcement in minor crimes. City legislators are considering ways to regulate the practice.

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They Stopped Suspending Licenses ... And Fine Collections Went Up

Bonita Gooch

July 27, 2020 |

The Community Voice |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

When San Francisco courts stopped suspending drivers' licenses for failure to pay fees and fines, revenues actually increased. The reform, aimed at avoiding trapping poor people in endless cycles of debt and incarceration, was paired with affordable payment plans and alternatives to cash fines and fees as ways to hold people accountable for traffic violations. The rest of California, and eventually six other states and the District of Columbia, followed suit. The reforms have countered a trend that turned a traffic safety measure into a revenue generator for governments, on the backs of the poor.

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Śmierć na polskich drogach. Jesteśmy w europejskiej czołówce pod względem liczby ofiar, Litwa dała radę

Kacper Sulowski

July 25, 2020 |

Gazeta Wyborcza |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lithuania

Liczba śmiertelnych wypadków drogowych na Litwie spadła w wyniku szeregu systematycznych i szeroko upublicznionych rozwiązań mających na celu poprawę bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego. Gdy prawie dekadę temu na Litwie nastąpił bezprecedensowy wzrost śmiertelności w wypadkach drogowych, zaczęto tam podwyższać kary za wykroczenia, wzmacniać egzekwowanie prawa oraz poprawiać stan dróg. Każdemu etapowi towarzyszyła kampania edukacji publicznej. Uważa się, że za stosunkowo wysoki wskaźnik śmiertelności na drogach w Polsce odpowiadają zbyt łagodne przepisy oraz zbyt liberalne ich egzekwowanie.

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#MakeCyclingSafer: In Nairobi and cities around the world

Duncan Lukoye

June 03, 2020 |

DIRAJ |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

In Nairobi, as in other major cities around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted travelers away from mass transit to bicycling for social distancing purposes. This presents policy and safety challenges, as many more cyclists use streets designed only for automobiles. But, with benefits extending beyond virus protection to physical fitness and lowering carbon emissions, planners are pushing for cycling lanes and other design changes in hopes that the cycling craze will continue even after the pandemic danger eases.

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