Category Archives: Road Design

Road Design

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

Public Health has its origins in catastrophe, the realization that if an out-of-the-ordinary pestilence is suddenly sickening large numbers of people there must be a general cause rather than individual failures.  In contrast to Medicine, which traditionally is about treating an individual’s existing disease, Public Health seeks to keep large groups from getting sick.  In […] Continue reading

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Public Health, Road Design, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY, Walking | Comments Off on ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

Public Health has its origins in catastrophe, the realization that if an out-of-the-ordinary pestilence is suddenly sickening large numbers of people there must be a general cause rather than individual failures.  In contrast to Medicine, which traditionally is about treating an individual’s existing disease, Public Health seeks to keep large groups from getting sick.  In […] Continue reading

Posted in news, Public Health, Road Design, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY, Walking | Comments Off on ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

Having a vision of the kind of city you want is an essential foundation for purposeful and effective governance.  Some cities do a coherent overall process, such as Somerville’s SomerVision or Boston’s forthcoming Imagine Boston 2030.  Cambridge has constructed its vision together piecemeal, through policies around a variety of quantitative and qualitative issues.  In either […] Continue reading

Posted in news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety, Walking | Comments Off on QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

Having a vision of the kind of city you want is an essential foundation for purposeful and effective governance.  Some cities do a coherent overall process, such as Somerville’s SomerVision or Boston’s forthcoming Imagine Boston 2030.  Cambridge has constructed its vision together piecemeal, through policies around a variety of quantitative and qualitative issues.  In either […] Continue reading

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety, Walking | Comments Off on QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

Every street should be safe for walking and bicycling.  This is an essential component of the Complete Streets design philosophy that has emerged in recent years as the “new normal” for roads – although the gap between policy and practice often remains wide.   Because the core issue is mobility, Advocates compliment this “everywhere for everyone” […] Continue reading

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

Every street should be safe for walking and bicycling.  This is an essential component of the Complete Streets design philosophy that has emerged in recent years as the “new normal” for roads – although the gap between policy and practice often remains wide.   Because the core issue is mobility, Advocates compliment this “everywhere for everyone” […] Continue reading

Posted in news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

It’s a pleasure to be able to praise a government agency: civil servants who try to live up to their public service mission are over-worked and underpaid relative to private sector peers – and always under appreciated! It’s particularly a pleasure to praise the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR), a woefully underfunded agency whose […] Continue reading

Posted in advocacy, Government Reform, news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE | Comments Off on PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

It’s a pleasure to be able to praise a government agency: civil servants who try to live up to their public service mission are over-worked and underpaid relative to private sector peers – and always under appreciated! It’s particularly a pleasure to praise the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR), a woefully underfunded agency whose […] Continue reading

Posted in advocacy, Commentary & Analysis, Government Reform, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE | Comments Off on PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

Stretching from the Public Garden out to Weston, Commonwealth Avenue meanders past sculptured medians, historic parks, heartbreaking hills, ponds and rivers, and an enormous number of residences and businesses. Although various crossings are frustratingly congested, in general the number of cars has been steadily dropping while the number of trolley passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and runners […] Continue reading

Posted in news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

Stretching from the Public Garden out to Weston, Commonwealth Avenue meanders past sculptured medians, historic parks, heartbreaking hills, ponds and rivers, and an enormous number of residences and businesses. Although various crossings are frustratingly congested, in general the number of cars has been steadily dropping while the number of trolley passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and runners […] Continue reading

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street