Traffic engineers and policymakers are increasingly taking pedestrian needs into account when they set speed limits. By slowing vehicles down, they are improving safety for everyone.
Okay cool, but what about reconsidering streets from a pedestrian’s perspective?
Wouldn’t it be nice if they were narrower, had raised crosswalks, a rough surface that’s uncomfortable to drive on too quickly, and lines of trees/bollards/gargoyles/^(trees carved to look like gargoyles holding bollards) between the road and the sidewalk to protect pedestrians and provide a better speed reference for drivers?
…come to think of it, the pedestrians (a.k.a. voting taxpayers) would probably rather not pay the taxes needed to finance all these upgrades, and would prefer the much cheaper solution of simply disallowing private automobiles on any street where that is possible. Though, more trees are always welcome. Just about everyone prefers more trees. (As long as the city plants trees of both sexes! Squirrels and allergy sufferers ^(including gargoyles) will thank you!)
America isn’t laid out in such a way that you can cut traffic off from almost any street. Some downtown areas where parking is available all around the edges maybe, but that is a pretty rare case, and in those cases there are sidewalks already.
Okay cool, but what about reconsidering streets from a pedestrian’s perspective?
Wouldn’t it be nice if they were narrower, had raised crosswalks, a rough surface that’s uncomfortable to drive on too quickly, and lines of trees/bollards/gargoyles/^(trees carved to look like gargoyles holding bollards) between the road and the sidewalk to protect pedestrians and provide a better speed reference for drivers?
…come to think of it, the pedestrians (a.k.a. voting taxpayers) would probably rather not pay the taxes needed to finance all these upgrades, and would prefer the much cheaper solution of simply disallowing private automobiles on any street where that is possible. Though, more trees are always welcome. Just about everyone prefers more trees. (As long as the city plants trees of both sexes! Squirrels and allergy sufferers ^(including gargoyles) will thank you!)
Yeah those people who want to travel a few mile’s from their home be damned!
Oh no! You’ll arrive 5 minutes later while reducing pedestrian fatalties! How will Murica survive?
America isn’t laid out in such a way that you can cut traffic off from almost any street. Some downtown areas where parking is available all around the edges maybe, but that is a pretty rare case, and in those cases there are sidewalks already.