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	<title>Transportation For America &#187; complete streets</title>
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		<title>Guest Post: In Honor of Powell Calhoun and Donna Williams</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2012/04/16/guest-post-in-honor-of-powell-calhoun-and-donna-williams/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2012/04/16/guest-post-in-honor-of-powell-calhoun-and-donna-williams/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:27:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Transportation for America</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dangerous by design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national complete streets coalition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[partner]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=12265</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Editor&#8217;s note: This guest post by Barbara McCann is cross-posted from the National Complete Streets Coalition. We&#8217;re re-running this here because we&#8217;ve previously highlighted the work of Dr. Scott Crawford in Jackson, Miss. to bring attention to the danger posed to residents by streets that aren&#8217;t safe for everyone that needs to use them. Sadly, that turned out [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> This guest post <a href="http://www.completestreets.org/news/in-honor-of-powell-calhoun-and-donna-williams/">by Barbara McCann is cross-posted from the National Complete Streets Coalition</a>. We&#8217;re re-running this here because <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2009/04/24/a-small-group-of-committed-individuals-can-and-often-do-make-a-difference/">we&#8217;ve previously highlighted the work of Dr. Scott Crawford</a> in Jackson, Miss. to bring attention to the danger posed to residents by streets that aren&#8217;t safe for everyone that needs to use them. Sadly, that turned out to be more true than any of us would have wished for.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/1-pedestrian-killed-another-injured-in-Jackson/-/9156912/9843020/-/11s2qfjz/-/index.html"><img class="alignright" style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 10px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px;" title="16-wapt-news" src="http://www.completestreets.org/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/16-wapt-news-300x171.png" alt="The crash site, where Powell Calhoun pushed Donna Williams on Friday, March 30. (16 WAPT News)" width="300" height="171" /></a></p>
<p>The next time someone refers to a sidewalk as a too-expensive “amenity,” think about Powell Calhoun and Donna Williams.</p>
<p><em>Right: the crash site, where Powell Calhoun and Donna Williams traveled on Friday, March 30. (16 WAPT News)</em></p>
<p>They were hit by a car as they walked and rolled along a frontage road in Jackson, Mississippi two weeks ago. Ms. Williams uses a wheelchair and Mr. Calhoun helped push her around the streets of Jackson. <a href="http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/No-charges-filed-in-crash-that-killed-pedestrian/-/9156912/10133420/-/ilcwv5z/-/index.html" target="_blank">He died at the scene; she died a few days later of her injuries</a>. The deaths were all the more painful because three years ago, another man using a wheelchair was killed as he traveled in the breakdown lane of another Jackson road without an accessible sidewalk.</p>
<p>Dr. Scott Crawford, a longtime supporter of Complete Streets and a member of Jackson’s ADA advisory council, was friends with Ms. Williams. He blames a failure to build Complete Streets for the deaths.</p>
<p>“Many may wonder: ‘Why were they in the street with a wheelchair?’ ” says Crawford. “The answer is simple. Our society hasn’t yet decided to build and maintain roadways that are safe for ALL its users, including vulnerable ones like bicyclists and pedestrians, and especially those with disabilities.”</p>
<p><img class="alignright" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" title="donna-6_09_09" src="http://www.completestreets.org/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/donna-6_09_09-300x225.jpg" alt="Donna Williams, exiting a bus. (Photo: Dr. Scott Crawford)" width="300" height="225" /><em>Right: Donna Williams, exiting a bus. (Photo: Dr. Scott Crawford)</em></p>
<p>Dr. Crawford says Williams had spoken to ADA Council members about the need for ADA compliance, and the fact that when she encountered a road without a sidewalk, she didn’t have the option of walking in the grass.</p>
<p>The man driving the car that has not yet been charged, and police made a sympathetic comment that the couple may have been in his ‘blind spot’ – an attitude that recalls the case of <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/07/18/prosecuting-the-victim-absolving-the-perpetrators/" target="_blank">Raquel Nelson</a> in Georgia.</p>
<p>From our perspective, even more glaring is the fact that the public right of way had no safe place for Calhoun and Williams to travel. I’d guess that right now hundreds of people who use wheelchairs are out in the street across the United States, because there is no sidewalk, or an obstructed sidewalk, or no accessible curb ramp between their home and their destination.</p>
<p>At this point, I could quote statistics about pedestrian deaths from <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/">Dangerous by Design</a>. But right now, I’m not thinking about statistics. I’m thinking about Powell Calhoun and his wife, Donna Williams, and their friends and families.</p>
<p>Let’s build Complete Streets for them.</p>
<p><em><strong>T4 Editors note</strong>: Today, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger published an op-ed by Dr. Crawford about this incident and the larger issue of making streets safer for everyone. <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120416/OPINION/204160307/Citizens-endangered-by-lack-user-friendly-streets">Read that in full here</a>.</em></p>
<blockquote><p>Lest readers think these are simply isolated incidents, consider the fact that in the first decade of the 21st century, there were more than 47,700 pedestrian deaths on America&#8217;s roadways, the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every month for an entire decade. Media attention for disasters like this would be intense, and the public outcry would be enormous.</p>
<p>Are not pedestrian deaths on our streets at least as avoidable as plane crashes? Aren&#8217;t those individuals on bicycles, walking, and riding wheelchairs at least as valuable as those driving automobiles or flying?</p></blockquote>
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		<title>It&#8217;s National Walking Day, but too many people will have to walk unsafe streets</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2012/04/04/its-national-walking-day-but-too-many-people-will-have-to-walk-unsafe-streets/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2012/04/04/its-national-walking-day-but-too-many-people-will-have-to-walk-unsafe-streets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:19:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stephen Lee Davis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atlanta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BIke/Ped]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dangerous by design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[georgia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrian safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sidewalks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=12236</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You may not have known it — it&#8217;s not the most publicized special day on the books — but today is National Walking Day. Some of you may have traded part or all of your drive or transit trip today for a walk to work. But for many, every day is &#8220;walking day,&#8221; and it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You may not have known it — it&#8217;s not the most publicized special day on the books — but today is National Walking Day. Some of you may have traded part or all of your drive or transit trip today for a walk to work. But for many, every day is &#8220;walking day,&#8221; and it happens on streets with dangerous or inconvenient conditions that no one should have to endure just to walk to school, their job, or the grocery store.</p>
<p>Last Friday, I spent some time driving around the sprawling Atlanta, Georgia metroplex<strong> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/sets/72157629725091393/">photographing some well-known trouble spots for pedestrian safety</a></strong>. Though some improvements have been made in places, there are still so many unsafe streets, corridors and intersections for pedestrians, finding streets that are &#8220;<a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign">dangerous by design</a>&#8221; is about as easy as blindly putting your finger down on a map.</p>
<p>The Atlanta Regional Commission has helped address some of these problems through their popular and oversubscribed <a href="http://www.atlantaregional.com/land-use/livable-centers-initiative">Livable Centers Initiative</a> that gives metro communities small grants to help make a dangerous street safer, improve MARTA access, add new crosswalks or streetscaping, or other small improvements to the built environment that help improve quality of life for residents. And T4 America partner <a href="http://www.peds.org">PEDS</a> has had their boots on the ground for years now, working hard to make metro Atlanta more walkable. But we need far more of these kinds of efforts — and similar efforts from others in cities across the country — to make the kinds of improvements we need to save lives and end the 4,000-plus deaths that happen to people walking each year.</p>
<p>Many of these deaths occur simply because the design of a road just hasn&#8217;t adapted to the changing needs of all the people who use it.</p>
<p>Consider: at one point, Old National Highway in South Fulton County was probably a sleepy state highway through a relatively unpopulated area on one&#8217;s way south out of Atlanta. Now, it&#8217;s teeming with retail on both sides of the street just south of Interstate 85. Add in the fact that it&#8217;s a relatively low-income area (read: people more likely to walk or take transit) with apartment complexes on both sides of the main highway and you&#8217;ve got a street that no longer meets the needs of everyone who uses it, and certainly not for the people who live there.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians15 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/7039189799/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7039189799_def2afb9eb.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians15" width="500" height="332" /></a></p>
<p>Though the first few miles away from Interstate 85 have sidewalks and there are a handful of signalized intersections with crosswalks, sidewalks soon end completely and there are many stretches where there are no safe places to cross for hundreds or thousands of feet — all in an area with MARTA bus stops on both sides of the highway. The sidewalks may end, but the walking doesn&#8217;t, as the &#8220;desire paths&#8221; through the grass indicate.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians06 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/7039147789/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/7039147789_a919ff225a.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians06" width="500" height="332" /></a></p>
<p>Of course, the most well-known road in Atlanta that&#8217;s dangerous for walking and biking is certainly Buford Highway. This stretch near Clairmont Road is a whopping 7 lanes across, with crosswalks often so far apart as to be merely dots on the horizon.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians36 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/6893195018/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/6893195018_dca3b44bfa.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians36" width="332" height="500" /></a></p>
<p>This corridor is lined with more affordable apartments and has also been a popular landing place for Latino and Asian immigrants for years, and many portions of the street are filled with small ethnic shops catering to the local clientele — many of whom are likely to be walking. According to the data in our <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/map/">map</a>, in just the few miles from I-285 south down to 400, <strong>20</strong> pedestrians were killed from 1999-2009. There are stretches with no sidewalks on either side of the street and no safe crosswalks almost as far as the eye can see.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians41 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/6893219404/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/6893219404_85801d847b.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians41" width="500" height="332" /></a></p>
<p>In this picture alone, not only are there no sidewalks but there are <strong>nine</strong> separate curb cuts where this man could be easily struck by a right-turning car before reaching the next safe crosswalk at the intersection.</p>
<p>Some key improvements have been made on Buford Highway in recent years, though, which have helped to increase safety. Thanks to recent efforts by Dekalb County and the Georgia Department of Transportation, a busy stretch of Buford Highway south of Doraville with high density of retail on both sides of the street received several new signalized intersections as well as new pedestrian-only mid-block crossings that use a special light called a HAWK signal. This is a light that stays dark until a pedestrian pushes a button, activating a light that flashes before turning red for cars. These crossings also include a refuge to shorten crossing distances and give people a safe place to wait while crossing.</p>
<p><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buford-highway-crossing1.jpg"><img class="alignnone  wp-image-12237" title="buford highway crossing1" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buford-highway-crossing1-400x224.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="224" /><br />
</a><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buford-highway-crossing-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone  wp-image-12238" title="buford highway crossing 2" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buford-highway-crossing-2-400x215.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="215" /></a></p>
<p>And then there&#8217;s southern Cobb County, the northern Atlanta suburb where <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/07/18/prosecuting-the-victim-absolving-the-perpetrators/">Raquel Nelson was walking when her son was killed and she found herself prosecuted after the fact</a>. Some busy corridors have sidewalks and some don&#8217;t — though walking isn&#8217;t very pleasant next to seven lanes of traffic — and crosswalks can be interminably far apart.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians24 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/6893132328/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/6893132328_f86f32dc8a.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians24" width="500" height="332" /></a></p>
<p>This photo below bears some similarities to the conditions on the street where Raquel Nelson&#8217;s son A.J. was killed, which isn&#8217;t too far from here.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians21 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/7039215895/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/7039215895_0f4ed0deac.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians21" width="500" height="332" /></a></p>
<p>Note the bus stop on the other side of the street with a Cobb County bus approaching. See a marked crosswalk anywhere? Perhaps this man is trying to catch the bus? What happens when the bus drops you off and you need to reach a destination across the street? Should we really expect people to walk half a mile out of the frame to find a safer place to cross, and then walk half a mile back?</p>
<p>And some streets around here just have zero accommodation for pedestrians, including a busy street that serves two major universities and the county&#8217;s biggest employer (Dobbins AFB/Lockheed) right in the center of the county.</p>
<p><a title="Metro ATL Pedestrians26 by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/7039236439/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/7039236439_d0271d79aa.jpg" alt="Metro ATL Pedestrians26" width="500" height="332" /></a></p>
<p>Keep in mind that these pictures represent just one busy American metropolis — there are hundreds more cities and thousands of places with similar conditions that need urgent attention. We have a long way to go to retrofit these streets to help make them safer for everyone that needs to use them. <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/12/14/senate-committee-takes-positive-steps-for-freight-multimodalism-performance-and-safer-streets/">The complete streets provision in the Senate&#8217;s MAP-21 bill</a> would be a step in the right direction, as would be <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2012/02/14/crucial-amendment-could-improve-senate-bill-restore-local-control-and-help-make-streets-safer/">the flexible funding that local governments can use</a> to help address some of these dangerous areas under the Senate bill.</p>
<p>With 67 percent of all pedestrian fatalities happening on federal-aid roads — many of which that were designed in this unsafe way <em>because</em> of federal design guidelines and standards — there&#8217;s a clear role for the federal government to play in improving them.</p>
<p>So what would happen in our communities if we started by looking at our map of pedestrian fatalities to see where the worst trouble areas are and devoted a small slice of transportation money into small, tangible improvements like new sidewalks, new crosswalks, and new signals for making walking safer and more convenient? What if we made it a clear priority to make every day National <em><strong>Safe</strong></em> Walking Day?</p>
<p>Wouldn&#8217;t we be saving lives immediately? And for a small price?</p>
<p>Watch the full slideshow here, or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/sets/72157629725091393/show/">click to watch full-size in a new window</a>.</p>
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		<title>Senate committee takes positive steps for freight, multimodalism, performance and safer streets</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/12/14/senate-committee-takes-positive-steps-for-freight-multimodalism-performance-and-safer-streets/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/12/14/senate-committee-takes-positive-steps-for-freight-multimodalism-performance-and-safer-streets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:14:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stephen Lee Davis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commerce Committee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FREIGHT Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multi-modal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[senate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=11678</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/commerce-rockefeller-240x166.jpg" width="150" class="alignright" />The Senate Commerce Committee passed a package of bills to create and implement goals and objectives for the overall transportation bill, update our federal freight transportation policy, and an amendment to help ensure that federal dollars help build streets that are safe for all users. These bills (including others not mentioned) represent the majority of this committee’s contribution to the overall Senate transportation bill.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<table style="border: 1px solid #b9d2e9; margin: 10px 0px 10px 10px; background-color: #f8f8f8; height: 264px;" width="179" border="0" cellpadding="5" align="right">
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<td><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/commerce-rockefeller.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11680" title="Senator Rockefeller Commerce" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/commerce-rockefeller-400x277.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="194" /></a></td>
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<td>Sen. Rockefeller, Senate Commerce Committee Chair (USA Today photo)</td>
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<p>The Senate Commerce Committee this morning passed a bill to create and implement goals and objectives for the overall transportation bill, update our federal freight transportation policy, and an amendment to help ensure that federal dollars help build streets that are safe for all users.</p>
<p><a name="freight"></a>As a refresher, there are four committees that share most of the responsibility for the bill in the Senate, with the Commerce Committee covering safety and freight, as well as a few other components. Today’s bills (including others not mentioned) represent the majority of this committee’s contribution to the overall Senate transportation bill.</p>
<p>Many components of Senator Lautenberg’s FREIGHT Act, <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2010/07/23/what-does-the-freight-act-really-mean-for-our-freight-and-ports/">which we’ve been supporting since its introduction in 2010</a>, were passed out of committee as a part of S. 1950 today. It would create a coordinated national policy for freight and ports across the country.</p>
<p>The FREIGHT Act was combined with a separate bill about performance goals and objectives to become the Surface Transportation and Freight Policy Act. These two proposals both had language on measuring performance – one focused on the freight system and the other on the entire surface transportation network.. The combined bill melds performance goals and objectives from both bills to see if we’re really spending money wisely across our whole system, not just freight.</p>
<p>This bill will establish national policy objectives and goals for the transportation system. It explicitly covers key indicators such as congestion, road condition, reducing environmental impacts, improving the reliability of freight movement, increasing access to transit, and reducing traffic fatalities across all modes. It directs the Secretary to create a national strategic plan for surface transportation and freight and examine all transportation programs for their consistency with these goals and objectives, evaluating and reporting on that every two years.</p>
<p>There’s also a multimodal grant program for freight infrastructure projects focused on bottlenecks, areas of congestion and other key freight needs. The projects are selected by criteria that support many of the same goals and objectives listed above.</p>
<p>The FREIGHT Act was passed out of committee on a party line vote. Republican Senators had asked for more time to review the legislation and raised concerns about the potential impact on the Highway Trust Fund. However, EPW Chairman Barbara Boxer, a member of the Commerce Committee, spoke up in support of Senator Lautenberg’s amendment and assured the Committee that the program wouldn’t impact the trust fund. “I support what Senator Lautenberg is doing with this,” she told her fellow Committee members.<a name="completestreets"></a></p>
<p>Senator Begich introduced an amendment to “ensure that the design of Federal surface transportation projects provides for the safe and adequate accommodation…of all users of the transportation network,” which passed on a unanimous voice vote after it was amended.</p>
<p>Under this bill, USDOT will work with states to develop standards to ensure that any surface transportation project built with federal funds provides safe and adequate accommodation for all users. Senator Thune offered an amendment to this that would give states discretion as to what is safe and adequate. States have the option of developing their own standards which would then apply instead of the federal standards. This will help states have been leading the way on policies to improve street design.</p>
<p>The Commerce Committee could take up other key provisions in 2012 related to intercity passenger rail, the TIGER program and an Infrastructure Bank, but this morning’s provisions are now done and will join MAP-21 and the pending Banking Committee markup in awaiting floor action in the Senate.</p>
<p><em><strong>Related</strong>: <a href="http://t4america.org/pressers/2011/12/14/transportation-for-america-responds-to-senate-commerce-committee-actions-on-transportation-authorization/">read our full statement on today&#8217;s Commerce Committee action</a></em></p>
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		<title>Transportation for America responds to Senate Commerce Committee actions on transportation authorization</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/pressers/2011/12/14/transportation-for-america-responds-to-senate-commerce-committee-actions-on-transportation-authorization/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/pressers/2011/12/14/transportation-for-america-responds-to-senate-commerce-committee-actions-on-transportation-authorization/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:15:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Transportation for America</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commerce Committee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance measures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[senate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=11683</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Commerce Committee today adopted two key policy measures for the upcoming authorization of the federal transportation program. The “Surface Transportation and Freight Policy Act of 2011” establishes policy goals for the federal surface transportation program, such as addressing congestion, improving access to multiple travel options, supporting domestic manufacturing and reducing [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Commerce Committee today adopted two key policy measures for the upcoming authorization of the federal transportation program. The “Surface Transportation and Freight Policy Act of 2011” establishes policy goals for the federal surface transportation program, such as addressing congestion, improving access to multiple travel options, supporting domestic manufacturing and reducing impacts on the environment and public health. It also directs the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a national surface transportation and freight strategic plan and establishes a multimodal grant program for alleviating bottlenecks in the freight system.</p>
<p>An amendment offered by Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska), and modified by Senator Thune (R-SD), directs the DOT Secretary to “establish standards to ensure that the design of Federal surface transportation projects provides for the safe and adequate accommodation … of all users of the transportation network, including motorized and non-motorized users.”</p>
<p>Transportation for America’s director, James Corless, offered this statement in response:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The Commerce Committee’s measures offer critical policy direction at a time when our key national infrastructure program is in urgent need of renewed focus and reinvigoration. Establishing national goals and performance-based objectives for our investment in transportation would be a vast improvement over our current system, improving accountability and transparency of federal transportation spending. The Surface Transportation and Freight Policy Act would go a long way toward ensuring that we get the most bang for the buck from our increasingly constrained transportation dollars.</p>
<p>At a time when pedestrian fatalities and injuries are rising as other traffic fatalities fall, the Begich amendment would help to improve safety for everyone on our roads and save money. With support from the full Senate and incorporation into the House’s companion bill, these measures would establish safety, fairness and efficiency as the hallmarks of the next authorization.”</p></blockquote>
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		<title>Governor Cuomo signs Complete Streets legislation as New York Times surveys pedestrian safety in Orlando</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/08/17/governor-cuomo-signs-complete-streets-legislation-as-new-york-times-surveys-pedestrian-safety-in-orlando/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/08/17/governor-cuomo-signs-complete-streets-legislation-as-new-york-times-surveys-pedestrian-safety-in-orlando/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:36:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Barry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dangerous by design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[florida]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrian safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=10950</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/jp-PEDESTRIAN-2-articleLarge-240x159.jpg" width="150" class="alignright" />NY Governor Andrew Cuomo's decision to sign complete streets legislation is a step forward for pedestrian safety, though a Times report out of Orlando yesterday illustrates how much further we have to go. The status-quo for most people on foot or on bike around the country is woefully unsafe and insufficient, though perhaps nowhere more so than in Florida.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Governor-Andrew-Cuomo2.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-10964" style="margin: 10px;" title="Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Andrew Cuomo Gathers With Supporters On Election Night" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Governor-Andrew-Cuomo2.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="183" /></a>New York Governor Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s <a href="http://www.completestreets.org/policy/state/excelsior-complete-streets-will-be-law-in-new-york/" target="_blank">decision to sign Complete Streets legislation</a> is a step forward for pedestrian safety, though a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/us/16pedestrians.html" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em> report out of Orlando</a> yesterday illustrates how much further we have to go.</p>
<p>First, the New York measure — known as &#8220;Brittany&#8217;s Law&#8221; in honor of 14-year old girl struck by a car in a crosswalk on her way to school — sailed through the legislature with <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/23/new-york-complete-streets-clears-legislature-awaits-governor-cuomos-signature/" target="_blank">unanimous votes and broad-based support</a> earlier this summer. The <a href="http://tstc.org">Tri-State Transportation Campaign</a>, a T4 partner, played a pivotal role in passage of the bill, along with the New York chapter of AARP. Republican Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, chairman of the transportation committee in the upper house, was the original sponsor.</p>
<p>Complete streets policies aim to make new and reconstructed roadways safe and accessible for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchair users and transit riders, as well as motorists. Sadly, the status-quo for most users around the country is woefully unsafe and insufficient, perhaps nowhere more so than in Florida.</p>
<p>&#8220;As any pedestrian in Florida knows, walking in this car-obsessed state can be as tranquil as golfing in a lightning storm,&#8221; wrote the Times&#8217; Lizette Alvarez yesterday, continuing:</p>
<blockquote><p>Sidewalks are viewed as perks, not necessities. Crosswalks are disliked and dishonored. And many drivers maniacally speed up when they see someone crossing the street.</p>
<p>Then there are the long, ever widening arterial roads — those major thoroughfares lined with strip malls built to move cars in and out of sprawling suburbs.</p></blockquote>
<table style="border: 1px solid #b9d2e9; margin: 10px 0px 10px 10px; background-color: #f8f8f8; height: 264px;" width="179" border="0" cellpadding="5" align="right">
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<td><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/us/16pedestrians.html?_r=2&amp;ref=us"><img class="size-medium wp-image-10954 " title="Orlando Pedestrian" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/PEDESTRIAN-popup-272x400.jpg" alt="" width="272" height="400" /></a></td>
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<td style="font-size: 11px;">New York Times photo <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/us/16pedestrians.html?_r=2&amp;ref=us">from the story</a> by Chip Litherland.<strong><a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/08/17/raquel-nelsons-story-may-be-rare-but-the-dangerous-conditions-are-not-%E2%80%94%C2%A0show-us/">Send us your photos of similar unsafe streets designed for speeding traffic</a></strong></td>
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<p>Alvarez, who spoke with T4 America for the piece, noted that four metropolitan areas in the state were ranked as the worst in the nation for pedestrians in our <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/" target="_blank">Dangerous by Design</a> study, with Orlando at number one. And, as her reporting demonstrated, these statistics are borne out by real people everyday:</p>
<blockquote><p>Just down the street, the same scene played out repeatedly, only pedestrians raced across the road (where there was no median) to a neighborhood supermarket. One group included a child in a stroller. The road, like so many others, was built for cars and not people.</p></blockquote>
<p>Fortunately, Orlando officials are starting to see the situation with the urgency it demands. They are building miles of new sidewalks, putting in audible pedestrian signals and instituting measures to slow traffic. Frank Consoli, traffic operations engineer for the city of Orlando, told Alvarez the goal was &#8220;to change the culture and this thinking that is car-centric.&#8221;</p>
<p>But local efforts alone will not suffice. As the article points out, many roads fall under multiple jurisdictions with conflicting priorities. That&#8217;s why actions like those of Governor Cuomo and New York State legislators are crucial — to ensure the kind of uniformity and safety that pedestrians everywhere deserve.</p>
<p>As we pointed out in Dangerous by Design, two-thirds of the 47,700 pedestrian fatalities from 2000-2009 occurred on roads eligible for federal funds or with federal guidelines for design. Since federal transportation dollars have helped build these unsafe streets that treat pedestrians as an afterthought, the federal government must play a role in fixing the problem.</p>
<p>In the House, Democrat Doris Matsui of California and Republican Steve LaTourette of Ohio have <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/05/06/complete-streets-bill-introduced-in-house-policies-gaining-in-popularity-across-the-country/" target="_blank">introduced</a> national complete streets legislation, and Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is sponsoring a companion piece.</p>
<p>Portions of the Orlando metropolitan area, incidentally, are represented in Congress by John Mica, the powerful chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Will Mica respond to the needs of his constituents by making safe and complete streets a priority in the next transportation bill?</p>
<p><em>We&#8217;re gathering pictures of unsafe conditions for pedestrians to show online and in meetings with members of Congress here in D.C. Share the conditions near you by sending in photos. <strong><a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/08/17/raquel-nelsons-story-may-be-rare-but-the-dangerous-conditions-are-not-%E2%80%94%C2%A0show-us/">Details here</a>.</strong></em></p>
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		<title>New York Complete Streets clears legislature, awaits Governor Cuomo&#8217;s signature</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/23/new-york-complete-streets-clears-legislature-awaits-governor-cuomos-signature/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/23/new-york-complete-streets-clears-legislature-awaits-governor-cuomos-signature/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:21:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Barry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aarp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dangerous by design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=10441</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Complete streets legislation passed both the New York State Senate and Assembly unanimously this week and awaits Governor Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s signature. Once the legislation becomes law as expected, New York State will follow in the footsteps of hundreds of other states and municipalities that have already started prioritizing the needs of all users on their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/TSTCweblogo2.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-10444" style="margin: 10px;" title="TSTCweblogo2" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/TSTCweblogo2-240x120.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="120" /></a>Complete streets legislation passed both the New York State Senate and Assembly unanimously this week and <a href="http://blog.tstc.org/2011/06/21/new-york-complete-streets-bill-nears-finish-line/" target="_blank">awaits Governor Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s signature</a>.</p>
<p>Once the legislation becomes law as expected, New York State will follow in the footsteps of hundreds of other states and municipalities that have already started prioritizing the needs of all users on their roads, whether on foot, bicycle, in a wheelchair, or using a personal vehicle or public transit.</p>
<p>The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a T4 partner in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, played a pivotal role in pushing the bill, which was sponsored in its latest iteration by Republican Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, the chairman of the chamber&#8217;s transportation committee. The New York AARP was also closely involved in securing passage.</p>
<p>“Everyone knew that somethin<a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/aarp_logo.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-10445 alignleft" style="margin: 10px;" title="aarp_logo" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/aarp_logo-240x50.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="50" /></a>g had to be done, so the political will was there,” the state AARP&#8217;s legislative director Bill Ferris told <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/06/21/complete-streets-passes-legislature-unanimously-cuomo-expected-to-sign/comment-page-1/" target="_blank">Streetsb</a><a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/06/21/complete-streets-passes-legislature-unanimously-cuomo-expected-to-sign/comment-page-1/" target="_blank">log New York City</a>.</p>
<p>A national complete streets policy was a key recommendation of our recent <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/" target="_blank">Dangerous by Design 2011</a> report, which documented the more than 47,700 preventable pedestrian deaths in the Untied States between 2000 and 2009. These tragic deaths are too often treated as a fact of life, when we&#8217;ve built roadways more suited to speeding traffic than people. Complete streets policies, like the one passed in New York State, make streets safer for all users, no matter their mode of transport.</p>
<p>As Tri-State Transportation Campaign&#8217;s executive director Kate Slevin <a href="http://blog.tstc.org/2011/05/19/a-broad-bipartisan-push-for-ny-complete-streets/" target="_blank">said earlier this year</a>, “We’ve repeatedly found that what makes a road dangerous is poor design — exactly what a state complete streets law will fix.&#8221;</p>
<p>The unanimity in this week&#8217;s roll call votes was impressive and significant, but did not come without some legislative maneuvering. As Jim O&#8217;Grady of <a href="http://transportationnation.org/2011/06/21/gov-cuomo-to-decide-whether-new-york-gets-complete-streets/" target="_blank">WNYC</a> described it:</p>
<blockquote><p>Some highway superintendents  complained about the cost of adding bike  lanes and similar features to  road projects. So the bill was changed in  a late negotiation to require them in the  design phase, while making  their implementation optional if they’d put a project over budget. A  town or county cannot be sued if it chooses not to install complete  street features for budgetary reasons.</p></blockquote>
<p>This bipartisan victory in one of the nation&#8217;s largest states should catch the attention of Congress — which <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/05/06/complete-streets-bill-introduced-in-house-policies-gaining-in-popularity-across-the-country/" target="_blank">has its own complete streets bills in the hopper</a> — as members draft priorities for the next transportation bill. Tell your representative to <strong><a href="http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7087" target="_blank">support Complete Streets and stop preventable pedestrian deaths today</a>.</strong></p>
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		<title>Seniors and transit report generates widespread coverage and discussion</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/22/seniors-and-transit-report-generates-widespread-coverage-and-discussion/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/22/seniors-and-transit-report-generates-widespread-coverage-and-discussion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:56:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Barry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Access]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mobility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seniors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=10405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week, we released Aging in Place, Stuck without Options, documenting the more than 15.5 million Americans 65 years and older who, by 2015,  will live in places with poor or non-existent public transportation. The report ranked metro areas according to the percentage of seniors projected to face poor transit access, and asked: How do [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last week, we released <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/seniorsmobilitycrisis2011/" target="_blank">Aging in Place, Stuck without Options</a>, documenting the more than 15.5 million Americans 65 years and older who, by 2015,  will live in places with<a href="http://t4america.org/pressers/2011/06/14/most-aging-baby-boomers-will-face-poor-mobility-options/" target="_blank"> poor or non-existent public transportation</a>.</p>
<p>The report ranked metro areas according to the percentage of seniors projected to face poor transit access, and asked: How do we address the shrinking mobility options of baby boomers who wish to stay in their homes and &#8220;age in place?&#8221; What happens when people in the largest generation in American history outlive their ability to drive for everything?</p>
<p>The discussions we saw in the comments of blog posts and newspaper articles were very interesting. It&#8217;s an immediately relatable story, because almost everyone has a parent or grandparent currently dealing with or facing the prospect of getting older and staying mobile.</p>
<p>Accommodating seniors who want to age in place  — most of them do — will be a challenge for our nation&#8217;s transportation system. But there is a lot that we can do. We can increase funding for bus routes, paratransit, vanpools and ridesharing. We can provide incentives for community non-profits to operate their own systems. We can encourage states to involve seniors more intimately in the planning process and ensure officials are still able to &#8220;flex&#8221; federal dollars for transit projects. We can also prioritize &#8220;complete streets&#8221; that meet the needs of all users, including older Americans on foot, in wheelchairs or on their way to a transit stop.</p>
<p>All of these ideas can — and should — be folded into the next transportation bill currently being drafted in Congress.</p>
<p><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SENIORS-Projected-Growth-of-Seniors.jpg"><img title="SENIORS - Projected Growth of Seniors" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SENIORS-Projected-Growth-of-Seniors-1024x612.jpg" alt="" width="600" /></a></p>
<p>The report generated widespread coverage and discussion. In response to the report&#8217;s findings, the San Francisco Bay Area gave itself a pat on the back for its top rank, with the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=91023" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a> referring to the region as &#8220;a good place to retire the car keys,&#8221; while the <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/16/2955706/report-criticizes-kc-area-for.html" target="_blank">Kansas City Star</a> reacted to its region&#8217;s poor ranking. The <a href="http://blogs.smartmoney.com/encore/2011/06/16/transportation-nightmares-worst-cities-in-america-for-seniors/" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal&#8217;s Smart Money</a> offered a nice summation of the report&#8217;s overall findings.</p>
<p>Some argued that our recommendation to meet seniors where they are is backwards. Rather than extending transit out, they said, we ought to encourage older adults to move to places that already have robust transportation systems. Tanya Snyder surveyed both sides of the debate, which also played out in the comments section and on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/t4america" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, at <a href="http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/06/14/how-seniors-get-stuck-at-home-with-no-transit-options/" target="_blank">Streetsblog Capitol Hill</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Those recommendations might help geographically isolated seniors reach services, but is it really the responsibility of the taxpayer to subsidize the decisions people have made to live in places that explicitly reject transit accessibility? Should those inefficient, low-density, sprawling areas be retrofitted with transit now that their populations are aging?</p>
<p>Cristina Martin Firvida, who works on these issues for AARP, said helping seniors marooned in those areas helps everybody. And besides, the suburbs were built through federal policies encouraging outward development after the second world war, she said – it’s not just that one person built a house on top of a mountain and then demanded that taxpayer-subsidized transit come to them. “The suburbs is where our economy and our entire society has moved to since the fifties,” Firvida said.</p></blockquote>
<p>No one took more umbrage with our report and conclusions than the <a href="http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-myth-of-the-senior-transit-rider/" target="_blank">Cato Institute&#8217;s Randal O&#8217;Toole</a>, whose response to the growing mobility needs of America&#8217;s seniors was a glib: &#8220;So what?&#8221; While O&#8217;Toole is dismissive of the desire for greater options, AARP&#8217;s research found that public transportation use among older Americans increased by 40 percent since 2001 (see graphic below). And this is despite the fact that many live in areas with spotty and less-than-reliable service to begin with. T4&#8242;s David Goldberg <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/15/throwing-grandma-off-the-train-and-under-the-bus/" target="_blank">responded</a> to O&#8217;Toole last week.</p>
<p>You can still check out the full report and see how your area ranked <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/seniorsmobilitycrisis2011/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SENIORS-Total-Number-of-Trips-by-Seniors-on-Transit.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10429" title="SENIORS - Total Number of Trips by Seniors on Transit" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SENIORS-Total-Number-of-Trips-by-Seniors-on-Transit.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="492" /></a></p>
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		<title>Tell your Representatives: Complete Streets will help curb pedestrian deaths</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/07/tell-your-representatives-complete-streets-will-help-curb-pedestrian-deaths/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/07/tell-your-representatives-complete-streets-will-help-curb-pedestrian-deaths/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:15:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Barry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bicycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrian safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=10149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In last month's Dangerous by Design 2011 report, we documented the 47,000 preventable pedestrian deaths between 2000 and 2009, along with the 688,000 injured. This is equivalent to one American being struck by a car or truck every 7 minutes for the past ten years. The majority of these deaths occur on roadways that are dangerous by design — engineered for speeding traffic with little to no consideration for people walking, biking or using public transit. None of us should have to deal with losing a child, friend or loved one simply because they were walking in the wrong place at the wrong time.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In last month&#8217;s <strong>Dangerous by Design 2011</strong> report, we documented the <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/05/24/new-report-and-map-chronicles-the-visceral-reality-of-47000-preventable-pedestrian-deaths/" target="_blank">47,000 preventable pedestrian deaths</a> between 2000 and 2009, along with the 688,000 injured. This is equivalent to one American being struck by a car or truck every 7 minutes for the past ten years.</p>
<p>The majority of these deaths occur on roadways that are dangerous by design — engineered for speeding traffic with little to no consideration for people walking, biking or using public transit.</p>
<p>None of us should have to deal with losing a child, friend or loved one simply because they were walking in the wrong place at the wrong time. And none of us should find even a single preventable pedestrian death acceptable.</p>
<p><a href="http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7087" target="_blank">Join us in calling on lawmakers to support streets that are safe and accessible for all users.</a></p>
<p>While some are quick to dismiss pedestrian safety as purely local problem, the majority of these deaths in fact occur on roads built under federal highway programs. In fact, 67 percent of all pedestrian fatalities in the last 10 years occurred on federal-aid roads — roads eligible for improvement funds based on national design standards.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also a question of resources. When pedestrians account for 12 percent of all traffic deaths, how can we allow state departments of transportation to allocate only 1.5 percent of available federal funds toward repairing dangerous roads or creating safe alternatives?</p>
<p>The status quo is broken and we need to fix it.</p>
<p>By supporting the <a href="http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7087" target="_blank">Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011</a>, your Senators and Representative will ensure that all users are considered at the start of new transportation projects, making streets safer and preventing the need for costly repairs later.</p>
<p>The Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011 <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/05/06/complete-streets-bill-introduced-in-house-policies-gaining-in-popularity-across-the-country/" target="_blank">already commands bipartisan support in the House</a>, with chief sponsors Steve LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, and Doris Matsui, a California Democrat. And, communities across America are embracing their own complete streets policies, <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/02/coastal-alabama-advocates-make-complete-streets-in-mobile-a-reality/" target="_blank">even in unlikely places</a>.</p>
<p>With both the House and Senate both active in drafting the next transportation bill, it is more imperative than ever that our Representatives <a href="http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7087" target="_blank">keep pedestrian safety at the forefront.</a></p>
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		<title>Coastal Alabama advocates make Complete Streets in Mobile a reality</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/02/coastal-alabama-advocates-make-complete-streets-in-mobile-a-reality/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/06/02/coastal-alabama-advocates-make-complete-streets-in-mobile-a-reality/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:34:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Barry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alabama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bicycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pedestrian safety]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=10134</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the echo of the latest pedestrian fatality figures still ringing, a city in the deep South became the latest, albeit unlikely, place to adopt a Complete Streets policy. To paraphrase the song: if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. When people think of “infrastructure,” images of roadways and grids tend to come [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Smart-Coast.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-10135 alignright" style="margin: 10px;" title="Smart Coast" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Smart-Coast.jpg" alt="" width="268" height="180" /></a>With the echo of the latest pedestrian fatality figures still ringing, a city in the deep South became the latest, albeit unlikely, place to adopt a Complete Streets policy. To paraphrase the song: if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere.</p>
<p>When people think of “infrastructure,” images of roadways and grids tend to come to mind. But there’s another kind of infrastructure — support from key people and players on the ground — that is equally crucial to how we build our communities.</p>
<p>Wendy Allen and Charlene Lee <em>(pictured at right)</em> of <a href="http://smartcoast.org/smartcoast/html/home.html" target="_blank">Smart Coast</a>, an advocacy group aimed at strengthening and revitalizing the Alabama coastline, understand the importance of that support structure. Without their coalition-building skills, it’s unlikely the Mobile City Council would have <a href="http://blog.al.com/live/2011/06/complete_streets_policy_passed.html" target="_blank">passed a Complete Streets policy</a> this year.</p>
<p>Smart Coast was founded a decade ago to encourage smart and sustainable development in the face of increased population along the coast. In 2009, the Mobile region’s poor ranking on pedestrian fatalities prompted the group to host an event to raise the profile of safe access for all road users.</p>
<p>“We were working in an area that did not have a groundswell or clamor saying &#8216;my God, this is unacceptable that my area is unsafe,’” said Lee, the programs director for Smart Coast. “We were trying to build that groundswell.&#8221;</p>
<p>Allen and Lee cited the recommendations in Transportation for America’s <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/" target="_blank">Dangerous by Design </a>report, and T4 Communications Director David Goldberg attended and spoke at the event. Mobile had 138 pedestrian fatalities from 2000 to 2009, according to our most recent report, and the state of Alabama was the <a href="http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/states/?state=al" target="_blank">fifth most dangerous state</a> overall for people walking.</p>
<p>In January 2010, Smart Coast presented its Complete Streets recommendations to the Mobile City Council <a href="http://blog.al.com/live/2010/01/smart_coast_group_pushes_mobil.html" target="_blank">for the first time</a>, a meeting Allen described as “a big lovefest.” Prior to the presentation, Allen and Lee had solidified support from <a href="http://www.cityofmobile.org/cityofficials/council_mem7.php" target="_blank">Councilmember Gina Gregory</a>, who has a professional background in media and public relations. They also built relationships with business groups, city engineers and other key stakeholders.</p>
<p>The outreach resulted in a “foundational infrastructure with enough people in enough places that cared,” according to Allen, Smart Coast’s Executive Director.</p>
<p>“We had a perfect storm of things happens,” added Lee.</p>
<p>The measure languished for over a year in the council’s Public Safety Committee, but the backing of the Mobile Medical Society, coupled with increased activity among local bicyclists and the full backing of <a href="http://leadershipmobile.org/MU_mission.php" target="_blank">Leadership Mobile</a>, a civic group, helped to finally advance the complete streets proposal to the full Council this year. Growing awareness of the public health implications of unsafe streets was particularly resonant in a state that consistently ranks among the highest in adult obesity.</p>
<p>As the <a href="http://blog.al.com/live/2011/06/complete_streets_policy_passed.html" target="_blank">Press-Register</a> reported this week, the measure passed in Mobile is non-binding and lacks an enforcement mechanism, but Lee emphasized that it was important to “get the policy done first” so that advocates would have something to build upon.</p>
<p>Smart Coast is already at work on implementation, with plans to identify three potential Mobile streets that could accommodate a “road diet” that includes bicycle lanes and wider sidewalks. Mobile citizens would be invited to weigh in on where they would prefer to see these changes happen.</p>
<p>“If we can get an early success on the ground, we think that will parlay into this incredible engagement that&#8217;s already occurring,” Lee said.</p>
<p>Mobile is the sixth city in coastal Alabama to adopt a complete streets policy, following the lead of Fairhope, Daphne Chickasaw, Mount Vernon and Orange Beach.</p>
<p><em>Photo courtesy of Smart Coast.</em></p>
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		<title>Complete Streets bill introduced in House, policies gaining in popularity across the country</title>
		<link>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/05/06/complete-streets-bill-introduced-in-house-policies-gaining-in-popularity-across-the-country/</link>
		<comments>http://t4america.org/blog/2011/05/06/complete-streets-bill-introduced-in-house-policies-gaining-in-popularity-across-the-country/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2011 15:35:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sean Barry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complete streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doris matsui]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[latourette]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national complete streets coalition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://t4america.org/?p=9822</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1305/4686193634_80a6ea3e2e_m.jpg" width="140" class="alignright" />Yesterday's release of the bipartisan Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011 is an affirmative step toward ensuring the safety and convenience of America's streets for everyone. H.R. 1780, sponsored by Representatives Matsui of California and LaTourette of Ohio, would require state transportation officials to consider the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and people with disabilities, as well as motorists.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Yesterday&#8217;s <a href="http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/05/05/reps-matsui-latourette-introduce-complete-streets-bill/" target="_blank">release</a> of the bipartisan <strong>Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011</strong> is an affirmative step toward ensuring the safety and convenience of America&#8217;s streets — for everyone.</p>
<p>H.R. 1780, sponsored by Democratic Representative Doris Matsui of California and Republican <a href="http://t4america.org/blog/2010/09/29/once-a-critic-now-a-supporter-ohio-rep-helps-make-complete-streets-bill-bipartisan/">Representative Steve LaTourette</a> of Ohio, would require state transportation officials to consider the needs of all transportation users — pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and people with disabilities, as well as motorists — in every phase of planning and development.</p>
<p>A complete streets policy at the federal level would help ensure that miserable, dangerous streets like this become history in our communities:</p>
<p><a title="Walking in the ditch by Transportation for America, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4america/4034803481/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4034803481_7568f7d31c.jpg" alt="Walking in the ditch" width="500" height="347" /><br />
<span style="font-size: 10px;">Walking in the Ditch, by Transportation for America</span><br />
</a></p>
<p>Fortunately, we don&#8217;t have to wait for a new federal law for states and local communities to start building streets and roads to benefit our communities and make us safer. More than 200 local governments and 23 states are already doing it, leading the way for Congress. <a href="http://www.completestreets.org">The National Complete Streets Coalition</a> penned a report analyzing these policies and identifying best practices, findings you can learn more about <a href="http://www.completestreets.org/resources/complete-streets-policies-growing-strong/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>The top-rated policies are diverse in geography and size, and include:</p>
<ul>
<li> New Jersey Department of Transportation</li>
<li> Louisiana Department of Transportation</li>
<li> State of Minnesota</li>
<li> State of Connecticut</li>
<li> Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (Columbus)</li>
<li> Bloomington/Monroe County, IN Metropolitan Planning Organization</li>
<li> Hennepin County, Minnesota</li>
<li> Lee County, Florida</li>
<li> Salt Lake County, Utah</li>
<li> Crystal City, Missouri</li>
<li> Roanoke, Virginia</li>
<li> Missoula, Montana</li>
<li> Herculaneum, Missouri</li>
<li> New Haven, Connecticut</li>
<li> Tacoma, Washington</li>
</ul>
<p>It shouldn&#8217;t be a surprise to see complete streets policies sprouting up in places both urban and rural, red and blue. The Rockefeller Foundation Transportation Survey, conducted at the beginning of 2011, found that &#8220;safer streets for our communities and children&#8221; was voters&#8217; top infrastructure investment priority. A commanding 40 percent listed safe streets as their first priority, and 57 percent listed it in their top two.</p>
<p>The federal legislation is expected to pick up additional support from both parties in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>The Act is a &#8220;marker&#8221; bill to be folded into what becomes the comprehensive reauthorization of the nation&#8217;s transportation law. But to get that policy folded into the bigger transportation bill, we&#8217;ll need to let Congress know that their constituents support it in our cities and communities. Over the next few weeks, we&#8217;ll be giving all of you the opportunity to call and write your Representative to urge them to join their colleagues in sponsoring or supporting this bipartisan bill. (Something you can certainly do on your own today!)</p>
<p><em>Congratulations to our partners at the National Complete Streets Coalition for this terrific news. Their hard work over the last few years has made this possible.</em></p>
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