BrentToderian

BrentToderian, 6 days ago to random

The Dutch invest €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart govts do the math on investing in better mobility.

Let’s be clear — it wastes public money to NOT do it.

#CityMakingMath HT @modacitylife

BrentToderian, 10 days ago to random

Are you STILL being told there just isn’t enough space on your streets to make them enjoyable for walking, biking, transit or simple civic life? The REAL “capacity” of streets is fundamentally about our PRIORITIES. Are streets for cars, or for everyone? HT cartoon by @IanLockwoodPE

BrentToderian, 13 days ago to Oslo

“They cut speed limits, changed street design, removed space for cars…Now it appears that work is paying off. #Oslo and #Helsinki are reaping the rewards of committed action on making their roads safer, reducing pedestrian fatalities to zero last year.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/how-helsinki-and-oslo-cut-pedestrian-deaths-to-zero

BrentToderian, 14 days ago to random

“Scooters, sidewalk chalk and laughter have replaced idling cars outside a central Hamilton elementary school. It’s called a ‘school street,’ and it’s the city’s first.”

“I like how everyone can just play.”

Fewer cars, more movement. #SchoolStreets
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/the-kids-are-happier-car-free-zone-at-hamilton-school-gets-high-marks-from-parents/article_6ef1178b-d68a-5c21-bb4a-a95d00369e71.html

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BrentToderian, 15 days ago to canucks

Having our Vancouver #Canucks arena in our downtown filled with high density housing & public transit means playoff hockey is a local amenity. Most can’t afford playoff tickets but anyone can join the party for hours outside. Our boys are loving the #StanleyCupPlayoffs next door!

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BrentToderian, 17 days ago to random

NEW & COOL: @humantransit & the National Transport Authority of Ireland have teamed up to produce a guide for city planners & decision-makers on how to plan better for buses! It’s called “Planning Cities and Towns for Successful Bus Services.”
https://humantransit.org/2024/04/32037.html

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BrentToderian, 19 days ago to random

REMINDER: Paris has released a new 5-Year Pedestrian Plan!

• 300 million € to be invested by 2026
• 100 new hectares of pedestrian space
• 100 more “streets for kids”
• Focus on 0 pedestrian deaths #VisionZero
• Longer pedestrian cross times geared to seniors
  HT @david_belliard

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BrentToderian, 19 days ago to random

Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users.

ALL ROAD USERS.

And painted bike-lanes? No safety improvement at all. For sharrows, it’s safer to NOT have them.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/05/29/protect-yourself-separated-bike-lanes-means-safer-streets-study-says

BrentToderian, 23 days ago to random

"Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity." - Lewis Mumford in 1955.

We’ve known this for a LONG time, but we’ve put massive energy, money, space, and time into pretending we don’t know it.
#InducedDemand #lawofcongestion

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BrentToderian, 24 days ago to random

“We found there’s this perfect one-to-one relationship. If a city increased its road capacity by 10%, then the amount of driving in that city went up by 10%.” Still one of the best articles on why building bigger roads leads to more driving. Via @WIRED https://t.co/mZbJ0vNhsH
https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/

BrentToderian, 29 days ago to random

READ: It’s a pretty big deal when this KEY MESSAGE is in Scientific American. It suggests a bigger tipping point. “We Need to Make Cities Less Car-Dependent: Reducing the need for car travel is better for health, the environment and public safety.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-need-to-make-cities-less-car-dependent/

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

Vancouver’s Seawall is arguably our best public amenity, a wonderful linear people-place, and a fantastic resource for recreation/public health…but it’s also a busy transportation route. We use it a lot to transport our kids to clubs & classes, taking vehicle trips off streets.

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BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

This part of the Strand in London used to be a congested road for cars. Now it’s a magnetic place for people.

Good trade.

It can feel hard to muster the vision and leadership needed for smart urban change. But it pays off with a better city. Gorgeous pic by @livinglondonhis

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

So much opposition to new & better ideas in city-building comes down to some version of “Our city can’t ever be a different way, even if we know it needs to be a different way, because being a different way would be different than the way our city is now.”

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BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

This is really important.

The main thing that makes it hard to achieve nature and green in cities isn’t density of buildings or density of people — it's density of cars. And the more well-designed density of people and buildings you achieve, the fewer cars you need or want.

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

I’m still active on Twitter/X because of the audience I’ve built there, & despite the many ways Elon has made the platform so much worse. Now, ironically right after giving me the blue check back (I didn’t pay for it), they seem to be making my account invisible in a number of ways. For instance, my account doesn’t come up in searches, but fake accounts do.

I wonder why…

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

NEW: Vancouver City Council has passed a motion directing staff to report back with analysis of the benefits and potential funding sources for a citywide speed limit reduction to 30km/h from 50 on local level streets.

Good move, long overdue. #SpeedKills
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-considers-30-km-h-limit-on-all-local-streets

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

“Bankrupting municipal budgets, creating epidemics of preventable diseases, and helping to cause climate change — that’s how you start a conversation about why the suburbs need to change, and why more of our growth should go to infill and transit-oriented development. The argument is not ideological, it’s mathematical.”
https://www.vox.com/2017/6/23/15815510/toderian-suburbs

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

Never forget, when you’re being asked to prove that safe bike-lanes or pedestrian crossings across unsafe conditions are ‘needed,’ it's hard to justify a bridge by the number of people swimming across a raging river.

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

READ: “3,337 Parisians were equipped with GPS trackers to record their journeys…for journeys from the outskirts of Paris to the center, the number of cyclists now far exceeds the number of motorists, a huge change from just 5 years ago.” Via @carltonreid
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2024/04/06/french-revolution-cyclists-now-outnumber-motorists-in-paris/

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

"If you really want to reduce traffic congestion, only pricing mechanisms can do it, combined with smart investment to make transit, walking & biking alternatives more attractive & enjoyable." — @BrentToderian translated from Spanish in @eltiempo @BogotaET
https://www.eltiempo.com/bogota/por-que-bogota-es-la-ciudad-con-el-peor-trafico-del-mundo-y-que-hacer-573135

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

“Over the course of a month, a cyclist or pedestrian will spend 40% more than a motorist. Improvements to the public realm that facilitate pedestrian or cyclist access can increase retail sales by as much as 30%.”

Debunking 3 big bike-lane myths, via TVO
https://www.tvo.org/article/debunking-three-big-myths-about-bike-lanes

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

“Local stores next to the protected bike lane have seen a 49% increase in sales, compared to an average of 3% for Manhattan as a whole.”

(Among MANY public benefits.)

Want To Make Money? Build A Business On A Bike Lane. #CityMakingMath
https://www.fastcompany.com/90182112/want-to-make-money-build-a-business-on-a-bike-lane

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

The bank of the Seine in Paris. This used to be surrendered space for cars. For several years now it’s been a special place for people. All it took was leadership. Including fighting and winning a court battle when that leadership was challenged. HT @EmmanuelSPV for the great pic.

BrentToderian, 1 month ago to random

What if this kind of change was business-as-usual for cities? It would save lives & reduce crashes for everyone, improve public health & livability, decrease pollution & climate change emissions through increased walkability, & much more. HT @pinoyurbanist for image.

It wouldn’t take much. Just leadership.