Saturday, March 12, 2016

Team Gahan's walkability gap (3 of 3): "A Playbook on the Politics of Better Streets." WE NEED IT.


Previously at NAC:

Get your copy now: "Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution."


Sadik-Khan makes two points that Team Gahan probably won't ever grasp: Transportation is multi-modal by definition, and restoring streets as a means of transit by all users need not be expensive.

But this is precisely why any future effort aimed at walkability in New Albany is dead to the mayor if it can be done inexpensively.

How can Jeff Gahan fund his election campaigns via efficiency of expenditure?

You need grease. Lots and lots of grease.
A Playbook on the Politics of Better Streets, by Richard Florida (City Lab)

In conversation with former New York City transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

 ... In her new book Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution—written with her longtime colleague and chief media strategist Seth Solomonow—Sadik-Khan tells the story of how she made it happen, offering a roadmap for making cities and neighborhoods safer, more sustainable, and more connected. And she argues this can be done without spending huge sums of money. By emphasizing fast, easy-to-implement, “do-it-yourself” solutions, Sadik-Khan makes the case that being smart and creative—not having access to a hefty budget—matters most.

The crux of it:

Biking is transportation. Walking is transportation. Buses are transportation. Where bikes are perceived as a nuisance it’s often just a symptom of outdated street designs, which ultimately serve no one well. All these modes can play well together if they’re not forced to fight over the scraps of road left over after room is carved out for cars. Reclaiming road space for bikes, pedestrians, and buses isn’t a mere amenity, it’s an infrastructure and economic investment whose effects are felt far beyond the lane. So if you want better streets for everyone, you can start by building a bike lane.

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