Provoked by the excessively wide road in front of his home to ponder the options by which cash strapped cities might place suburban streets on road diets, land use attorney Bill Adams comes up with one possibility - give away the excess.
A fan of the narrow streets in the older neighborhood near his home but not a fan of the wide expanse of asphalt in front it, San Diego land use attorney Bill Adams ponders the benefits of narrow streets, and brainstorms a way to transform existing suburban wide streets to narrow streets - a way that might be technically, politically, and economically feasible. His solution: give away the excess road.
"Little attention has been given to street slimming retrofits of suburban residential streets. While safety is equally, if not more, imperative in such streets, it has more to do with children than bicycles. The lack of density along residential streets and the vastness of the suburban road network make public expenditures to accomplish such road diets daunting and impractical."
"But what if the excess street land was simply given to the adjacent property owners? Wouldn’t these property owners be motivated to improve their newly annexed property?"
FULL STORY: One Simple Step to Suburban Street Slimming: Give it Away!
Houston Road Safety Project at Risk
Mayor Whitmire reversed his support for a planned road safety project that includes lane reductions, putting $40 million in federal funding in jeopardy.
The Responsibility of the Building to the Street
Structural engineers are responsible for ensuring that buildings do not fall over. Mechanical engineers must ensure that people inside can breathe. But what responsibility do building designers have to the street outside?
Protected Bike Lanes, Vehicle Lane Reductions Cause Stir in Baltimore
Residents and business operators say they weren’t warned about a road diet planned for a major thoroughfare in Baltimore. Planners and advocates say the changes have been a long time coming.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal
The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.
Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification
The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.
Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation
Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service