GLOBAL INSPIRATION
Yes, we can have it here!
Ever taken a vacation to a dense, walkable city, only to come home and feel a bit bummed out that you don’t have the same experience at your door? A lot of folks might say oh well, we just don’t build cities like that here.
Well, we have some news to break — you could have that fun, walkable vacation lifestyle every day in Mt. Lebanon. Believe it or not, most of the European capitals we envy today were also full of overly-wide streets, fast cars, and parking lots.
In this section, we take a look at street design. How do other cities use smart design solutions to re-oriented their streetscape for people, not cars? How might we leverage some of these solutions in Mt. Lebanon?
We also take a look at news and info relevant to interesting or innovative approaches to urban design and policy. What is happening in walkable communities that can help further our cause or inspire us to try something new?
Let’s get started!
What’s a complete street anyway?
A complete street is one that is designed with all road users in mind – from drivers and cyclists to walkers and wheelchair users. Mt. Lebanon enacted a complete streets policy in 2023 (thanks to some MoveLebo members before MoveLebo existed!). Move Lebo’s goal is to continue to advocate for the directives laid out in the Policy, and to imagine a better world for ourselves and the community.
Wow, you already read that whole policy? Nice! Now on to the fun stuff. Below are some of the tools that are used to create a “complete street.” Often times, we go straight to speed bumps and stop signs to slow folks down. However, there are a myriad of ways to visually narrow streets, make intersections safer, and improve the experience of a street.
Our intent is to equip folks with a range of tools and language when it comes time to advocate for changes to a street.
EXAMPLES OF COMPLETE STREET DESIGN TOOLS:
-
THE BUMPOUT
The bumpout reduces crossing distances and improves visibility for drivers and pedestrians. They can be created by extending the curb, or by simply placing boulders, planters, or bollards to reserve a part of the roadway for pedestrians.
-
THE TRAFFIC CIRCLE
The humble traffic circle reduces the visual size of intersections and slows drivers as they approach. They can also serve as a planted greenspace.
-
SCRAMBLE CROSSINGS
Scramble crossings allow pedestrians to cross an intersection all at the same time. This reduces the likelihood of a crash from a car and eliminates the awkward dance of making sure you’re seen by turning cars.
-
LANE DIET
Particularly for thru-streets and busy roads, a lane diet right-sizes a roadway to allow more room for pedestrians or bike lanes. Lane diets also make roads safer by reducing speeding, and make downtowns quieter with fewer lanes of speeding cars.
COMPLETE STREETS & TACTICAL URBANISM
A match made in heaven
We’re finding ways to implement improvements without a large engineering and construction cost, using a phased “tactical urbanism” approach. This way, we can nimbly test and adapt new ideas.
MoveLebo is working on a tactical urbanism policy to be considered by the Mt. Lebanon Mobility Board.
To get inspired, we recommend the Tactical Urbanism Guide.
HOW TACTICAL URBANISM WORKS
Phase 1: quick-builds with temporary materials. Easily adapt a design in a matter of minutes to see how people move through the space.
Phase 2: Semi-permanent installation. This allows safety measures installed quickly without intensive construction process. Intended to last several years.
Phase 3: Permanent installation. If a design is working well and a street is due for reconstruction, the quick-build can be converted to a permanent part of the streetscape.
brain food
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. All around the world, urbanists, advocacy groups, and regular people are working every day to reduce car dependency and make cities and towns more vibrant, economically resilient, and beautiful. Check out the proof points below to help in our mission to advocate for a more connected, less car-dependent Mt. Lebanon.
-
Living near a cafe makes you happier
“A recent study by Tristan Cleveland and his colleagues found no evidence that higher-density living is associated with decreased happiness, social connection, or well-being. Instead, it found that a certain amount of density is necessary but not sufficient to maximize residents’ well-being. Well-designed density, such as pedestrian-friendly streets with easy access to transit and amenities like shops, restaurants, and parks, was positively correlated with well-being and happiness.”
-
Tactical urbanism in pittsburgh
“By extending the sidewalks, adding crosswalks, , and adjusting the placement of stop signs, the team transformed the challenging intersection a pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly space. The reclaimed asphalt also expanded the square footage of the parklet, allowing more space for events.”
The rate of drivers speeding decreased by 40%.
The rate of drivers coming to a full stop at the stop bar increased by 25%.
The rate of drivers not yielding to pedestrians with the right of way decreased by 57%.
Potentially dangerous conflicts between drivers and pedestrians crossing the street decreased by 61%.
-
We need to redesign cities to tackle climate change
“If cities are redesigned to be more compact … where it’s easy to walk or bike to work and stores, and public transportation is also easily accessible—the report says that it could help cut urban emissions by around 25%.”
“Shifting to electric vehicles ‘is a huge opportunity,’ Van den Berg says, but ‘you can’t cover it all with electric mobility. You also need to think about biking, walkability, proximity, and density of services.’ When the urban design of a city changes, so do the people living there. Copenhagen wasn’t always dominated by bikes; now two-thirds of residents bike to work or school. After Paris started aggressively redesigning city streets, it now looks more like Copenhagen."Image: NYTimes
-
WHAT TO DO ABOUT AMERICA'S KILLER CARS
“The next time you are stuck in traffic, look around you. Not at the cars, but the passengers. If you are in America, the chances are that one in 75 of them will be killed by a car—most of those by someone else’s car.The Economist has found that, for every life the heaviest 1% of SUVs or trucks saves in America, more than a dozen lives are lost in smaller vehicles. This makes traffic jams an ethics class on wheels.”
“In America the first step should be to re-design the road system. In the early 1990s the French were about as likely as Americans to die in a car crash (which worked out as being about twice as likely to die per mile). Now they are three times less likely. Driving in Mississippi is four times as dangerous as in Massachusetts. In both cases the design of roads explains much of the difference.”
-
Boring Cities Bore People
“Hannah Kosoff and colleagues explored the relationship between urban design and boredom in a recent paper that outlines how impactful – for boredom – our design choices can be.”
“In public spaces we open ourselves up to the possibility of the spontaneous and the serendipitous, two things sure to keep boredom at bay. Cocooning ourselves in our cars prevents the unexpected from ever intruding into the routine. By design, our car-centric neighborhoods prevent us from discovering things we never anticipated coming across our radar.”
Psychology Today -
Denver's $1,400 e-bike rebate
Denver’s e-bike rebate program has already added nearly 8,000 electric bikes to city streets since its inception in 2022, thanks to vouchers ranging from $300 all the way to $1,400. All available vouchers have been snapped up within minutes of their release every two months.