There are many roads designed with little or no consideration for the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists, putting lives at risk. Looking out for Non-Drivers Road Redesign It found that arterial roads-multi-lane roads with typical speed limits of 40 mph or higher and few accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists-are the most deadly for non-drivers in the area. In 2012 alone, there were 427 pedestrian deaths, 394 deaths in 2011 and 415 deaths in 2010 in the Tri-State Area. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign ( TSTC), a non-profit organization which advocates for balanced, transit-friendly and equitable transportation in the Tri-State Area, studied federal transportation data from 2010 through 2012 and found that 1,236 pedestrians were killed on Connecticut, New Jersey and downstate New York roads. According to the same report, 89 percent of streets have sidewalks in high-income areas compared to 49 percent in low-income areas. The report compared federal traffic accident data from 2008-2012 with census data about income. Recorded pedestrian fatality rates in low-income tracts are approximately twice that of more affluent neighborhoods within metro areas, according to a 2014 research report by Governing. Walking along these roads often means walking on the shoulder of the highway because there are no sidewalks provided. These sprawling suburbs and exurbs are bisected by main roads which were not intended for foot travel and people are finding themselves either cut off from resources within walking distance or in harm’s way when attempting to walk there. Pedestrian walks along Highway 35 in Sayreville, N.J. It is an unfortunate reality today that the very places that were designed for heavy vehicle use have a growing population of those who cannot afford cars, according to transit advocate, Benjamin Ross, author of Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism. Many suburbs and exurbs, particularly those which developed over the second half of the twentieth century, are laid out in a patchwork of developments cobbled together by rural highways or arterials, and they do not support safe walking. Suburban Poverty Surpasses Urban and Rural Those who are being priced out of the cities are migrating into suburban and exurban areas where living is more affordable. As city centers are becoming more and more desirable places to live, rising property values are making it impossible for the less fortunate to stay. After a half a century of people fleeing the nation’s cities for a “better life” in the suburbs, they are coming back. The Retrofitting Suburbia website is here.Cities are hot stuff these days. Such ideas could prove fruitful for the east end looking for water quality improvement.Īn in-depth interview with the authors with Vice can be found here. Closer to home, the authors look at creating more walkable neighborhoods that are less car dependent, and urging social opportunities through shared spaces like the “third place” (defined as the location most frequented by people when not at home or work).Īnother interesting concept lies in repurposing commercial developments into ecological corridors and stormwater treatment “parks”, by regreening and removing hard surfaces such as paving. The book records 32 recent examples of ‘suburban retrofits’ like turning failed malls into places to live and work and massive parking lots into recreation opportunities. This thought provoking study looks at how suburban design transformed the world, and its implications that no long suit the living needs of a majority of the population. Enter Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges, a new book by June Williamson, an associate professor of architecture at the City College of New York, and Ellen Dunham-Jones, a professor of architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Though the east end of Long Island purports to be an upstanding case in preservation of ‘rural character’, in many instances our urban planning has led to suburban development and all of its trappings, including strip malls, office parks, box stores and especially unwalkable neighborhoods built for cars. Many say that the American Dream promised by suburbia is long dead, if it ever existed at all.
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