tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post3808195164311190076..comments2024-03-18T16:22:10.302-04:00Comments on Urban kchoze: What if we calculated level of service for pedestrians?simval84http://www.blogger.com/profile/10615053214354191224noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-61183133904764298552015-01-06T15:08:58.415-05:002015-01-06T15:08:58.415-05:00I enjoyed reading this. I was just riding my bike...I enjoyed reading this. I was just riding my bike at lunch and was honked at, in an intersection, crossing at a green light? Not sure horn was at me, but likely it was. Do motorists not understand if I wasn't crossing on my bike, I would be delaying them in a car? Riding a bike is as frustrating in America as trying to be normal weight. <br /><br />I have complained to our City "traffic department" about lack of bike lanes here, and they say they support them but do nothing to back this up, simply putting up "share the road" signs on arterial roads, no shoulders, and 40 MPH speed limits. Who would wish to ride a bike with cars in these conditions? Also the crosswalk near my work, the walk signal actually doesn't last long enough for a PHYSICALLY FIT person to cross, much less elderly or disabled, it's about 4 seconds long, then goes yellow again. Pedestrians, "why bother?" is the reality of where I live. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11651800550205334481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-28797568326514163002015-01-06T07:51:30.330-05:002015-01-06T07:51:30.330-05:00Have you heard of Jeff Tumlin and Nelson/Nygaard&#...Have you heard of Jeff Tumlin and Nelson/Nygaard's work in this area?<br /><br />http://bit.ly/14rRYqx<br /><br />Beyond “Level of Service” — New Methods for Evaluating Streets<br /><br /><br /><br />benjiedlphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291964784525542318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-33857763147190715342015-01-06T00:20:11.905-05:002015-01-06T00:20:11.905-05:00Important topic getting a fair amount of discussio...Important topic getting a fair amount of discussion in the US, where I work in bike advocacy. See http://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/10/03/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-level-of-service/ for a review of some of the efforts under way to redefine sd streets can be designed for all users, not just for drivers.<br /><br />Barb Chamberlain<br />Executive Director<br />Washington Bikes<br />WAbikes.orgBarb Chamberlainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09000768706045663322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-31029245430881845482015-01-05T19:12:35.275-05:002015-01-05T19:12:35.275-05:00Yeah... it started as a translation of my French b...Yeah... it started as a translation of my French blog "kchoze urbaine", but as I got about 20-30 times more audience when writing in English, I have started writing articles in English first... and then putting them on a list to translate, which I can't get motivated to do (translating is easy but oh-so-boring when I could instead write a new article instead).<br /><br />Indeed, much of planning for pedestrians is about coming up with a way to have them cross that is safe... in an ideal world where everyone respects the rules of the road. Pedestrian delays are largely considered irrelevant, but pedestrians themselves DO value their time, so when they can cross a street faster by jaywalking rather than using the amenities provided for them and they think they can do it safely, they will. In a way, placing more emphasis on pedestrian delay may incite planning authorities to favor amenities that are more likely to actually be used by pedestrians.<br /><br />Europe is way ahead of North America largey because in a way they are way behind. Most town centers are stil dense areas built in an era without cars (or rebuilt in that form) and Europe was either unwilling or unable (due to WWII reconstruction costs) to undertake the radical rearranging of their cities in favor of cars and modernist architecture. Now that the verdict of that huge social engineering project has come out negative, European cities look visionary in hindsight.simval84https://www.blogger.com/profile/10615053214354191224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-92114960862413076612015-01-05T09:41:09.414-05:002015-01-05T09:41:09.414-05:00I read that this blog is a translation of your Fre...I read that this blog is a translation of your French language blog, so I thought I would rather read your blog in French. However your blog in French doesn't seem to have this article. So it's a version of your blog with English language articles. <br /><br />The pedestrian experience in many urban areas is poor. Where I grew up (Letchworth, UK) there was extra effort for underpasses, extra footpath routes, etc. but often they were sub-optimal compared to jaywalking. I think this factor is key in your analysis too: there is no point optimising for pedestrians who will often take the route of least resistance even if that means a dangerous road crossing. Still, if the urban planning was just right, maybe it would be OK.<br /><br />In the UK I have seen: proper "beg button" algorithms that sometimes even prioritise pedestrians; much better observation of crosswalk "zebra crossings" as we call them; coherent pedestrianisation of town centres (limited access roads for motor vehicles, etc); better urban planning in general for footpaths. Somehow I don't know why this doesn't catch on elsewhere in Europe (notably France where I live now). Holland is perhaps the best example, most urban centres optimised for bikes and pedestrians now.frueyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231989839724060986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-64174328484868257722015-01-04T14:26:55.215-05:002015-01-04T14:26:55.215-05:00There is such a thing as pedestrian level of servi...There is such a thing as pedestrian level of service (e.g. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/transportation/td_ped_level_serv.shtml) but it usually focuses on width of sidewalks and "flow rate", not intersection wait times.<br /><br />I did this sort of analysis a year ago for a big intersection near me in Boston, but I didn't assign grades, just worst-case and average-case crossing times.<br /><br />http://walkingbostonian.blogspot.com/2014/01/walk-audit-of-union-square-allston-and.htmlMatthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027332620204904993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-31882840684922781332015-01-03T15:23:40.473-05:002015-01-03T15:23:40.473-05:00I think this is a good metric, because it combines...I think this is a good metric, because it combines delay due to waiting with "geometric" delays imposed by forcing pedestrians to make detours. In terms of actually calculating it, you'd have to look at desire lines across the intersction in question, weighted by popularity. And I can think of plenty of intersections even in Boston that desperately need this sort of analysis. If nothing else, there's a vast amount of time where the signal says don't walk, but all conflicting car movements are stopped too, which just tends to encourage massive mistrust of the signals.crzwdjkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394805356595604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-9798373258159922172015-01-03T14:26:31.255-05:002015-01-03T14:26:31.255-05:00I wouldn't say it's distinctly American if...I wouldn't say it's distinctly American if a Canadian is writing about it from their professional experience. There are certainly plenty of car oriented places in the UK.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00565618813710598478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-12166722824163541122015-01-03T08:50:01.195-05:002015-01-03T08:50:01.195-05:00I enjoyed reading this perspective on the role of ...I enjoyed reading this perspective on the role of pedestrians in car-focused streets but I get the impression that the attitude of "pedestrians, fuck 'em" is distinctly American. I'm reminded of this article on how public perception of the danger of jaywalking was shaped by corporate lobbying in favour of the car industry. I thought it was very interesting, it explains at least in some way the source of the American car superiority attitude.<br /><br />http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26073797LTKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990197581631413053noreply@blogger.com