Livable Streets Alliance: What we can learn from Spain

LivableStreets Alliance StreetTalk

What we can learn from Spain: urban mobility planning in Barcelona

by Marius Navazo, Urban Planner, Barcelona, Spain

Thursday, June 25, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

@ LivableStreets office space, 100 Sidney Street, Cambridge (directions: www.livablestreets.info/node/530)

This event is free and open to the public, donations suggested, beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery and delivered thanks to Metro Pedal Power!

What are the results of implementing better transit networks, traffic calming zones, and a bike sharing program? Are these measures always environmentally-friendly? Are they enough to create better places to live and enjoy? Learn about the development of urban mobility plans in Greater Barcelona and Catalonia, Spain. See what the Catalan Government is encouraging municipalities to do.

Marius Navazo is a geographer who has been working for the last 10 years in town and regional planning, focused on transportation and its impacts to improve cities from a social and environmental perspective. He has been working at the Catalan Government for the last 4 years, and now he is a freelancer working for different municipalities in the Barcelona area.

(Photograph: a typical day on Les Rambles, Barcelona)

For more information, go to www.livablestreets.info/node/2154

The evils of externalized costs and what it means for transportation in Massachusetts

Okay, this isn't WalkBoston specific but it is related to transportation in general, and I keep ranting the ears off anyone who will listen to me and I woke up in the middle of the night last night to fret about this, so I'm just going to get it off my chest.

This spring, Governor Patrick proposed a significant transportation reform for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which involved a lot of absolutely essential elements like road and bridge repair. Like much of the rest of the country, Massachusetts' transportation infrastructure is aging and ailing, and we need to take care of it. This, of course, costs money, which no one has these days.

So, Governor Patrick proposed that we pay for these improvements by raising the gas tax 19 cents a gallon. This would have been the first gas tax increase in Massachusetts since 1991. Why a gas tax to pay for transportation improvements, though? No one wants to pay more for gas, after all!

I talk about this in terms of internalized and externalized costs. Internalized costs are costs that are reflected in the price we pay for things. So, for example, if we know that one out of every 200 oil tankers is likely to leak and cause environmental damage, and some smart economists figure out that $0.01/gallon would fully fund a program to clean up that damage, and we therefore tax gas at that rate, then the price of gas "internalizes" that environmental cost of gas. If, on the other hand, we decide that we're not going to clean up those spills, or we're going to let an environmental nonprofit do that, then we're "externalizing" that cost, either to the future or to the nonprofit and its donors.

When we drive, we cause wear and tear on roads. We create a need for traffic enforcement by state and local agencies. Our use of roads and other transportation infrastructure creates the need to spend money. Streets and roads are not free, even though they look free because so few of them are toll roads. The more we drive, the more wear and tear we create, and a gas tax is a fair way to figure someone's contribution to this. If I don't want to spend more money on gas, I can get smarter about how much I drive -- as many people have done in the last year when gas prices skyrocketed to more than $4/gallon. Because a gas tax internalizes the cost of roads, drivers can make smarter choices about how much it's worth to them to drive somewhere.

It additionally makes sense to use this money for things like public transit, because public transit is less costly per user in the long run, and a full bus is much less damaging on the infrastructure per capita than each person or family in their own car.

BUT. Public transit isn't popular, and paying for things we use isn't popular, so the citizens of Massachusetts made a big stink, and therefore the legislature dug in their heels, and someone came up with the brilliant idea of making these costs invisible again: sales tax. Now, there's no incentive for people to be calculated about their impact on the built environment, because we all pay sales tax (although it can be easy to dodge that through things like internet shopping) on things unrelated to transportation. Way to go, guys.

Now, of course, we'll raise less money for necessary improvements, it'll be more variable, and people will have no incentive to understand that their choices have consequences. If there's one great evil in our current system, it's externalized costs that create falsely deflated prices for goods and services with high costs. I'd hoped Governor Patrick could lead Massachusetts out of that system for transportation spending, but, instead, we're all going to pay higher taxes on cheap plastic trinkets while people who ride the T have to pay up to 25% more because some short-sighted jerk wants his roads to look like they're free.

MetroFuture: From Plan to Action

Join the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and people from across the region for an evening of discussion, information and collaboration on how we can turn our vision of a Greater Boston into reality.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 6 p.m. at The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02116

Complimentary dinner and registration at 5 p.m.

Free and open to all

MetroFuture is a roadmap for shared prosperity and sustainable development in Greater Boston, crafted with input from thousands of area residents. There is a clear strategy for achieving the plan's goals, and a corps of supporters who are committed to putting them into action.

Now, we turn our focus to the action campaigns key to meeting MetroFuture's goals. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss one of four topics:

• Transportation Finance Reform
• Green Energy and Job Creation
• Local Smart Growth Planning
• Advocacy Tools and Techniques

To learn more, visit www.metrofuture.org, call 617-451-2770 x2057 or e-mail metrofuture@mapc.org.

Don't miss this exciting, interactive event!

WalkBoston named Finalist in International Competition!

WE NEED YOUR HELP! WalkBoston has been named one of ten finalists in the "Global Competition for Innovative Health Nudges" which looks for small, innovative pushes that help people make better health choices for themselves and others.

WalkBoston's "Timed Walking Map" project is one of ten finalists among 281 entries from around the world. Now, we need your participation in the vote so that WalkBoston can become one of three winners who will receive $5,000 toward our work. This is a one-vote-per-person system, not one where people vote every day for a month, so it should just take a few minutes to register and vote for three of the ten finalists. To vote, go to http://www.changemakers.net/designingforbetterhealth before 6PM on Friday, May 28. Click on Vote Now, and then register and vote.

WalkBoston became a finalist because our low-cost, easy-to-read maps help people see their neighborhoods, towns and cities on a walking scale, which encourages them to choose walking over driving some of the time. Our inclusion among the finalists is a great honor and an opportunity to spread the word about our walking maps and our advocacy that makes walking easier, safer and more fun.

We hope that you will share this information with your friends and coworkers to spread the word, encourage everyone to vote, and learn more about all of the creative and effective health nudges among the ten finalists. Winners will be announced June 1, and we'll let you know how we do!

Thank you for your support of these innovative maps (and other pioneering projects we work on)! Now - please vote, and then go outside and take a walk!

(Click on map below to download a pdf of a timed walking map from our web page.)

Crosswalk confusion

I was walking down Clarendon Street in Boston earlier this week with a friend. It was rush hour, and we were looking forward to having drinks at a new-to-us restaurant near Back Bay Station. Because there was heavy traffic, we did not pull the classic Boston jaywalking maneuver of just crossing when there's a break in traffic, but instead walked up to the crosswalk in front of what used to be the Hard Rock Cafe.

This crosswalk is faded, but clearly visible, but when we stepped into it, the car that was approaching did not slow, initially, and when he finally did, it was in a big huff with a lot of arm waving. My companion and I gave in to the temptation to yell, "It's a crosswalk!" to which the driver stuck his head out the window and said, "That's not a crosswalk!"

Now, I'm not writing this up to say I'm right and he's wrong (even though I'm right and he's wrong), but to point out one of the problems of faded crosswalks and other unclear traffic signs and signals: confusion is bad. When there's a conflict between cars and pedestrians, especially, the pedestrian always loses, no matter what the law says. The driver of this vehicle thought that the faded crosswalk indicated that it was no longer in effect, or at least thought that was a good argument to yell at a couple of pedestrians as they crossed in front of his car. If he was right about that, then we, as pedestrians, have been put at risk due to misleading infrastructure. That's bad for everyone.

So what do you do in a situation like this? Go to WalkBoston's advocacy page and download the "Reporting Form" (or download it directly by clicking here). Fill it out (which will probably involve a call to the relevant city hall to identify the person you should contact, or, if you prefer, a call to WalkBoston where one of us will find out for you) with as much detail as possible, and send it to the city. We'd also love for you to send a copy to us so we can help with followup and tracking.

Let's make walking better!

WalkBoston/RunBoston fundraising event!

(I apologize for the incompatible oranges for those of you looking at this post on the WalkBoston blog page.)

The Built Environment, Activity, and Walking

This weekend's incredibly gorgeous weather forecast has me eagerly anticipating a lot of time in the sunshine, and thinking about what a huge impact the built environment can have on people in innumerable ways.

Today, a friend sent me a link to Not Just Child’s Play, an article in BU Today about a study that has found that renovated playgrounds appear to improve the MCAS math scores of kids who attend those schools. It may be that a nice playground makes kids feel more invested in school, or more valued, or it may mean they're more likely to run around and be active over the course of the day. Who knows, but whatever the cause, there seems to be a connection between the built environment around schools and kids' ability to learn.

Similarly, another friend send me a link to Brain Gains, a feature focusing on the huge benefit to learning that physical activity provides. Many of us live in environments that don't encourage, or actively discourage physical activity and movement over the course of the day, and an increasing body of research suggests that this is bad for our physical health, mental health, learning, productivity and mood.

Is your physical environment encouraging you to be active? Do you have sidewalks or trails where you can walk? Can you easily cross streets and do you enjoy greenery and clean streets in your neighborhood? Are there places to walk to, if you want to run errands on foot?

Increasingly, it appears that the answers to these questions have implications not merely for how much you walk but also for how you feel, how friendly and welcoming your neighborhood is, how much crime takes place there, and the price of homes there. We at WalkBoston often wrestle with the perception of walking as a "pedestrian" activity that people take for granted, but pedestrian advocacy is important because it connects to almost every element of our lives.

Boston: #2 for walkability

Every year, a variety of magazines and organizations make a list of the most walkable cities in the US, and Boston is consistently in the top ten, usually the top five. This is partially simply a lucky break due to the fact that Boston's winding streets and dense population is what we have to work with around here, so we've never had a chance to spread out the way a lot of western-US cities have done. Still, we often beat out Philadelphia and Washington, DC, so it's not exclusively an artifact of timing.

Prevention magazine just came out with the top 25 walking cities for the year and has listed Boston as #2, behind San Francisco. Now, I'm not sure I agree with listing Boston before New York, but never mind that: go, Boston! Though I have to laugh that the picture they use is of Cambridge, not Boston. Okay, never mind that, either.

So, the reason they give for our high rank this year? "Improvements such as longer WALK signals and bright, patterned intersections encourage more people to walk."

And this is the part of the post where I get to be all excited and wave my hands around with glee, because the reason for those improvements? WalkBoston, and especially the work on signal timing that WalkBoston cofounder Dorothea Hass has been doing for years. Ironically, of course, we at WalkBoston continue to be frustrated at all the work still to be done to improve signal timing for pedestrians in Boston, but it's a delight to see that Boston's getting some shout-outs on the basis of what we've done so far.

So, hey, nice going, Dorothea! And Boston!

Give my sidewalks dignity

Last Friday, I was at the Congress for New Urbanism's New England chapter for their Sustainable Urbanism Summit in Portsmouth, NH. There was an excellent series of speakers who offered a number of insights, thoughts, and perspectives on the future of urbanism and sustainability in coming years. Check out the links if you're interested in learning more!

A lot of what was discussed captured my thoughts, but in particular, I've been mulling over Jason Schrieber's comments on what makes people take public transportation. As an avid walker, I am also an proponent of public transit, so I care a lot about this issue, but I also found part of what he said to be directly relevant to walking planning and infrastructure, too.

We all know that people are more likely to take public transit if it provides gains in time, cost, goes where people want to go; that's all pretty intuitive, right? But Jason talked about a fourth factor that's often overlooked: dignity. That is, even if I were going to save time and money and be delivered more or less door-to-door by public transit, I might still choose to take a private vehicle if the transit option is unpleasant, or makes me feel lousy, undervalued, or unimportant.

How many of us have decided to take transit somewhere only to find the bus stop poorly marked, wait forever for a bus that never showed up, have transit employees be unhelpful or unfriendly, poorly maintained and cleaned facilities, broken escalators, and delays that are never explained. If you take public transit even occasionally, you've probably had one or more such experience. Folks who take it every day run into this kind of thing a lot, and, of course, some systems are worse than others. For people who have a choice in how to travel, this kind of thing discourages use of public transit. For people who are obligated by economic or other constraints to rely on public transit as their primary or only means of travel, this sort of thing can reinforce the cultural idea that they don't "deserve" better service. That's bad for all of us, I think, but that's a longer, larger discussion.

This point about dignity is an important one, however, and it extends beyond public transit. Pedestrians are often subjected to incredibly lousy walking conditions, but because we don't think of sidewalks as services in the same way that we do public transit, we may overlook this. But it's one of the primary areas that we at WalkBoston focus our attention. When sidewalks are in poor repair, are too narrow, are dirty, feel (or are) unsafe, we are discouraged from walking, and those who do walk, either by choice or by necessity, are cast as second class citizens. When these conditions exist alongside expensive and well-maintained roads, we demonstrate our greater interest in cars than in people.

Many of us take the walking infrastructure as-it-exists for granted. It's just what is, and that's that. But sidewalks, pathways, and other public areas don't spring up out of nowhere. They are the result of intentional or unintentional decisions on the part of policy-makers, funders, communities and individuals. As walkers, we can request and even demand a walking environment that is not only functional but also dignified.

Where do you think you're going?

We've all heard of the infamous bridge to nowhere (I bet it's been a while since you thought about that, huh?). How's this for the crosswalk to nowhere:

Street Talk: Russ Lopez on Urban Health

LivableStreets Alliance to host Street Talk by Russ Lopez on Urban Health: How shaping our built environment shapes ourselves.
When: Thursday, April 2, 7 - 9 pm
Where: 100 Sidney Street, Central Square, Cambridge

This event is free and open to the public. Donation suggested. Beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery!

"If there’s a supermarket in your zip code, for example, you’re 10% less likely to be obese. If there are a lot of intersections in your neighborhood - a sign of street connectivity and continuity - you’re less likely to be obese. And, not surprisingly, the more time people spend in their cars, the more likely they are to be obese” says Lopez. Come hear Russ Lopez speak about how our built environment – from playgrounds to fast food chains – shapes ourselves.

Russ Lopez, a native of California, is an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. Past employment includes working on urban and environmental issues for then Lt. Governor John Kerry. He also worked for ten years in various positions in for the City of Boston on housing, community development and environmental concerns. Dr. Lopez was the first Executive Director of the Environmental Diversity Forum, a coalition of environmentalists and community activists advocating for environmental justice issues throughout New England.

This event is sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance.

For more information, click here.

Snow Legislation: what happened?

Back in January, I asked you to call Governor Patrick's office in support of a house bill in support of making changes to snow clearing legislation. This would have made a variety of changes to how municipalities could handle snow and snow clearing, including by increasing the possible fines, adding teeth to enforcing those fines, and removing liability from residents who do clear snow from their walkways. Unfortunately, Governor Patrick vetoed this legislation, much to the great disappointment of many. Thank you all for your calls, and I'll be keeping you updated on next steps relating to the possibility of this legislation being refiled and/or other things WalkBoston will be doing to improve the state of snow clearance on pedestrian ways in Massachusetts.

Support Governor Patrick's Transportation Legislation!

Please call and/or write your State Representative and Senator today — Governor Deval Patrick’s Transportation Reform and Finance Legislation needs your support! (Click here to find out who your elected officials are and how to contact them.)

Express your support for the big ideas included in the transportation bill filed by Governor Patrick on February 24th by endorsing the bills commitment to pedestrian travel across the state.

The proposal balances reform with raising revenues to bring our transportation system into the 21st century. WalkBoston supports the increase in the gas tax as the best option to raise revenues. The proposed legislation also proposes smart revenue mechanisms to encourage energy-efficient vehicles and road-use based tax mechanisms.

The package includes significantly increased attention to pedestrians in a Healthy Transportation Compact to:

* Construct “complete streets” to enable pedestrians, bicyclists and bus riders to move safely on roadways in urban and suburban areas.
* Increase bicycle and pedestrian travel throughout the Commonwealth
* Expand Safe Routes to School

The reforms will increase safety, encourage physical activity, and help to make our communities more livable for young and old, those able-bodied or living with disabilities, and all citizens who walk by choice or because they are without a car.

The entire bill can be downloaded in PDF form at:
http://www.mass.gov/Agov3/docs/Legislation/090224TranspoReformLegislation.pdf

Please also consider speaking up for the bill at one of the Joint Committee on Transportation hearings:

When: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Springfield Technical Community College

When: Thursday, March 5, 2009 [Time – TBD]
Where: [TBD – South Shore]

When: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Methuen City Hall, Great Hall, 41 Pleasant Street, Methuen, MA 01844

When: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Where: State House, Room A-1

Thank you!
Wendy Landman, Executive Director
Liz Levin, Board President

Guess who's coming to WalkBoston?

Here at the WalkBoston offices, we're busy with a flurry of preparation for our annual celebration, coming up on Thursday, March 19. One of the most exciting things about it this year is that Governor Deval Patrick will be joining us for the pre-celebration walk and making remarks at the celebration itself. Would you like to join us? Please do!

Walking fail

Thanks to footloose reader Ben for pointing out this walking fail, from failblog:

George Bailey

I'm sad to be linking to the obituary of George Bailey, longtime WalkBoston supporter, Golden Shoe Award winner and pedestrian advocate. It mentions how George, as a member of the Sharon Planning Board, pressed to require developers to install sidewalks in their projects. "Today, Sharon is a very walkable community," said his wife, Lucile.

Our condolences to his friends and family, and we'll take a walk in his honor this weekend.

Enrique Peñalosa on Urban Happiness

Last Thursday, I attended a lecture by Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, who was visiting Boston through Livable Streets, and Institute for Transportation and Development Policy last week. He also visited the WalkBoston offices for a couple of lively lunchtime conversations.

What I found most engaging about Peñalosa was not any particular design suggestion he made for cities. Most of us who are interested in urbanism are familiar with ideas like creating more open space, making bigger sidewalks, bike lanes, and the like, and most of us who are working in the field in Boston know better the streets that would most benefit from an overhaul. What Peñalosa offers, however, is a way of thinking that represents a true paradigm shift in how we approach the politics of urban design.

In essence, what he proposes is that the city be considered habitat for humans, and that people should be the primary focus for urban design. We have Environmental Impact Reviews, he pointed out, but not Human Impact Reviews. Cities planned for cars are cities that institutionalize class-based inequality, as they prioritize the transportation of people who can afford cars over the safety, enjoyment, and transportation of people who can't, or who choose not to. Therefore, reorienting the city towards pedestrians is a move toward equality.

To this end, we should see sidewalks not as relatives of streets, whose job is to get people from here to there, but instead as relatives of parks, which are all about people's pleasure of place. At intersections, the sidewalk should remain at a level, making cars come into pedestrians' space rather than make pedestrians step into the car zone to get across the street. Sidewalks should come first, then room for public transportation, which is a public good, and only if there's room should there be street space for private vehicles in the public way.

What would our cities look like if they put people first?

If you care about how transit dollars are spent ... Call your Senators today!

There is movement in the Senate to strip funding from transit and redirect it to highway construction.

Please call these Senators to express your alarm about the out-of control highway proposals. Say no to highway expansion, and yes to transit and walkable communities.

Urge Senators to vote NO on the Bond Amendments and the Inhofe-Boxer Amendment!

Kit Bond (R-MO) Amendment #1: Strips $2 billion set aside for high-speed rail and redirects it to highway funding.

Kit Bond (R-MO) Amendment #2: Takes $5.5 billion in competitive transportation grants and gives it to highways.

Inhofe(R-OK) and Boxer (D-CA) Amendment: Creates $50 billion transportation slush fund with no criteria for fix-it-first or transit. Read: highway expansion.

Votes could be taken at anytime, so please call these Senators today!

Senator John Kerry
TEL: 202-224-2742
FAX: 202-224-8525

Senator Ted Kennedy
TEL: 202-224-4543
FAX: 202-224-2417

Senator Barbara Boxer
TEL: 202-224-3553
FAX: 202-224-0454

Majority Leader Harry Reid
TEL: 202-224-3542
FAX: 202-224-7327

[Edited to add: As of 11:45 this morning, I've only be able to get through to Senator Kennedy's office. It would seem the Senate phones are receiving a lot of calls. Keep trying!]

Break ice while the weather's nice!

Today, it's supposed to be over 40 degrees here in the Boston area. This is a great chance for those folks who've fallen behind on sidewalk clearing to get ahead of tomorrow's snow! There's nothing so treacherous as pitted ice under a camoflaging layer of new snow, so you'll be doing your neighbors and neighborhood a good deed if you have a chance to get out there and clear old ice this afternoon.

I know it's hard to stay on top of the snow this year, but it makes a big, big difference to both individuals and communities for everyone who's able to do their part.

Who are we accomodating: people or cars?

As I walked to the T this morning, I observed several snowplows getting a jump on clearing the streets as the first couple of inches of snow (4-6 predicted for Somerville, where I live) had fallen. Somerville does a great job of keeping the streets well-cleared.

Similarly, some of my neighbors had gotten a jump on the snow by clearing the first couple of inches off their sidewalks before heading to work. As in many cities and towns in Massachusetts, Somerville residents are required to clear their sidewalks of snow within a reasonable time after a storm stops or face fines (and cranky neighbors).

As anyone who's been walking around the urban and semi-urban areas around Boston this month has no doubt noticed, however, sidewalk-clearing policies still result in spotty walking conditions. In my neighborhood, where there's a high volume of foot traffic, I see a lot of people (myself included!) giving up on sidewalks and simply walking in the street.

Every time I see this, I think about how much we need to change the prevailing approach. Why does the city clear streets but not sidewalks? (Some cities do plow sidewalks with small plows, either throughout the city [Brookline] or in commercial areas [Belmont].) In more rural areas where few people move about by foot, this may be a sensible distribution of resources on the basis of people's use of sidewalks, but in areas with high numbers of foot traffic, it simply doesn't make sense.

People should be the beneficiaries of municipal policies, and in densely populated areas well-served by public transit, that includes people on foot as well as in cars. It's past time to realign our narrow, car-centric thinking to a more inclusive approach.