[sustran] US article - "Cities in region want to make mean streets safe for pedestrians"

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We have been speaking with John Whitelegg about doing a special issue of the
Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice on the topic of The
Pedestrian Friendly City, and so when the following reference came through
the Net I immediately had a look and pass if along for your information.

In the meantime, I would also like to invite you to have a look at our
almost completed major rehab of the World Transport Web site at
http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp -- and if you have any thoughts for us on the
Pedestrian Friendly issue, or more generally on either articles or themes
for future issues, this is the place to turn.

Regards,


= = = = =
Eric Britton

ecopl at n ___  technology, economy, society  ___
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Cities in region want to make mean streets safe for pedestrians
By Gordon Smith
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
August 28, 2000

http://www.uniontribune.com/news/state/20000828-0010_1n28peds.html



""But throughout the Los Angeles area, officials are taking sides like never
before with the neglected peons of the traffic world: pedestrians.
In Santa Monica, engineers are installing "smart" crosswalks and other
improvements designed to make it easier and safer to cross streets on foot.
In Santa Ana, a task force is focusing on safety education in neighborhoods
whose Latino residents are especially vulnerable to pedestrian accidents.
Meanwhile, Glendale, Redondo Beach and other cities in the region are
increasingly using "stings" involving pedestrian decoys to nab speeding
drivers. Sometimes, cops also zero in on pedestrians who dart into streets
or jaywalk far from crosswalks.
In these cities and many others, officials are buzzing over the "three E's"
that they believe will improve life for people on foot: engineering,
education and enforcement.
If Los Angeles -- the nation's car capital -- can turn itself into a
pedestrian-friendly metropolis, some experts say, other cities around
Southern California and the West will follow suit.
But the efforts, though numerous, are scattered and poorly coordinated. They
also point up the difficulty and expense of trying to retrofit an urban
landscape for pedestrians when cars have been king for decades. ..."

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