Despite offering a good starting point, there’s still plenty of information missing when you look at the Walkscore of a specific location. As has been pointed out plenty of times there are some serious limitations when it comes to the most prominently cited rankings of a neighborhood’s walkability. In addition to not considering factors like [...]
Posts Tagged ‘pedestrians’
What’s the true measure of a city’s walkability?
Posted Friday, February 22nd, 2013Does jaywalking enforcement encourage ‘victim blaming’ mentality when it comes to pedestrian deaths?
Posted Thursday, January 31st, 2013An article from the DC Area blog “Greater Greater Washington” posed an interesting question about whether a recent pedestrian enforcement campaign is essentially “blaming the victim” by targeting the wrong people for the wrong types of behavior. The sign (pictured to the right) encourages pedestrians to avoid distractions, always use a crosswalk, and obey the [...]
SFPD ramps up traffic enforcement, targets right-of-way infractions against pedestrians
Posted Thursday, January 3rd, 2013Thanks to a $140,000 federal grant, the San Francisco Police Department will be stepping up traffic enforcement efforts in 2013. SFPD plans to focus on some of the city’s most vulnerable areas, including schools and senior centers, cracking down on traffic violations that threaten pedestrian safety. Drivers failing to adhere to pedestrian safety laws will [...]
Take SFMTA’s customer satisfaction survey, give your opinion on street safety
Posted Wednesday, September 12th, 2012The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is polling Bay Area residents on their customer experiences. The short survey asks for feedback on a variety of topics, from the timeliness of busses, cleanliness and availability of cabs, to street safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Results of the survey will be published later this year, and [...]
New poll shows SF pedestrians want increased safety, more traffic enforcement
Posted Thursday, August 23rd, 2012A recent survey conducted by the Bay Citizen is showing that despite being considered one of the top U.S. cities for walking, San Francisco pedestrians don’t always feel safe on city streets. The survey found that nearly half of the 98 respondents wanted increased enforcement from police when it comes to ticketing drivers and cyclists. [...]
Why Pedestrian Safety Matters: A Look at the Numbers that Shape San Francisco’s Streets
Posted Friday, July 20th, 2012Much has already been written about the cuts to pedestrian related projects in the new Federal Transportation Bill. Fortunately, there are still people out there actively campaigning for pedestrian safety and better streets, not just for vehicles, but for everyone. As part of our ongoing partnership with Walk SF, we’ve developed the following graphic that [...]
Moreno Valley launching a pedestrian safety campaign
Posted Wednesday, May 30th, 2012Yesterday Moreno Valley, California police passed out flyers promoting pedestrian safety in Riverside County. According to the Press-Enterprise, a pedestrian is injured or killed in California every hour, and in 2009 pedestrians comprised almost 1 out of 5 deaths from traffic collisions, which is 58% higher than the national average. Moreno Valley hopes to bring [...]
City of Vancouver finds ‘jaywalking’ rarely the cause of pedestrian accidents
Posted Thursday, May 10th, 2012A new study using accident data from Insurance Corp. of B.C. and the Vancouver Police Department determined that nearly 75 percent of all pedestrian accidents occur at intersections, with relatively few caused by jaywalkers. Of the just over 3,000 pedestrian accidents reported between 2005 and 2010, the vast majority involved vehicles making left or right [...]
Portland continues to invest in biking amid ongoing budget constraints
Posted Thursday, April 26th, 2012Portland, Oregon has been a bit of a punchline city in recent years, especially due to the popularity of IFC’s quirky TV show Portlandia, in which Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein make fun of the area’s quirky hipster characteristics. However, one thing the city is doing right is its growing emphasis on biking–Portland has the [...]
Cause Marketing Case Study: Walk to Work Day
Posted Friday, April 20th, 2012Friday, April 6th was the 8th Annual Walk to Work Day and GJEL partnered with pedestrian activist group Walk SF to promote the event and bring attention to pedestrian safety throughout the Bay Area. Campaign Goal: The goal of the campaign was to not only encourage people to commute on foot, but also get them [...]
235 People Participate in Walk to Work Day Contest, GJEL Donates $2000 to Walk SF
Posted Tuesday, April 17th, 2012On Friday, April 6th, GJEL partnered with the pedestrian safety advocacy group Walk SF to encourage Bay Area residents to take part in Walk to Work Day and share their participation online. The goal of the campaign was to not just get as many people walking to work as possible, but also to find a [...]
San Rafael police determine 90-year-old driver not at fault for pedestrian fatality
Posted Friday, March 23rd, 2012After striking a pedestrian earlier this year, San Rafael police determined that 90-year-old Monsie Wagner was not at fault in the incident. According to toxicology tests, the victim, 49-year-old Jose Enrique Gonzalez Lopez had a blood alcohol level of .28 percent and was crossing the street against a red light. At the time Gonzalez was [...]
New York uses poetry to promote pedestrian safety
Posted Tuesday, March 20th, 2012New York is taking a unique approach to raising awareness for pedestrian safety. As part of an art installation, poetry designed to subtly raise pedestrian awareness have been posted throughout the city. The New York Department of Transportation has posted 200 signs combining art and safety, offering up “curbside haikus” to warn pedestrians of potential [...]
Walk to Work Day and Bike to School Day right around the corner
Posted Friday, March 9th, 2012Grab that highlighter and mark your calendar because two important holidays are on the horizon. No, I’m not referring to St. Patrick’s Day or April Fool’s Day, I’m talking about the even more important Walk to Work Day and Bike to School Day. The first event is Walk to Work Day, which will be taking [...]
Headphone-related pedestrian deaths up 300 percent since 2004
Posted Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012The number of headphone-related pedestrian deaths rose from 16 cases in 2004 to 47 instances in 2011. Although the overall number is still fairly small, the increase in accidents highlights a common concern: many pedestrians with headphones just aren’t paying attention. With over half of all headphone-related pedestrian deaths involving trains, the trend suggests there’s [...]
The number of San Francisco cyclists continues to rise
Posted Wednesday, February 8th, 2012The Alliance for Biking and Walking released their 2012 benchmarking report, and with 10% of San Francisco’s commuters doing so on foot and another 2.8% opting to cycle, the city ranks third in the country when it comes to the percentage of people walking and biking to work. In addition to 2.8% of San Francisco [...]
Oakland Crosswalk Update Could Improve Pedestrian Safety
Posted Thursday, August 11th, 2011Here in the Bay Area, we’re lucky to live in or near cities that are well known for their walkability. The website WalkScore, for example, recently ranked the country’s most walkable cities, and listed San Francisco in second place, and Oakland in tenth. While this is certainly cause for celebration, it might not take safety into account, considering that it has been an awful year for San Francisco pedestrian safety, and that more than 550 pedestrians are killed each year in California alone. A new account by local blog Oakland North explains one reason why the East Bay city doesn’t live up to the walk hype: dangerous crosswalk signals.
Golden Gate Bridge Construction Raises Safety Dilemma for Pedestrians & Cyclists
Posted Thursday, August 4th, 2011An ongoing seismic retrofit project to make California’s Golden Gate more secure in the event of an earthquake has created an unexpected safety dilemma for the up to 6,000 cyclists and 10,000 pedestrians who cross the famous bridge each day. Construction crews have temporarily closed the bridge’s west sidewalk, meaning that pedestrians and cyclists alike must share the east sidewalk, which gets as slim as 5.5 feet. While there have so far been no accidents, the Marin Independent Journal reports that sharing the sidewalk has created a clear safety dilemma and sparked disputes between cyclists and pedestrians forced to share the space.
Do California Streets Need Laws Against Distracted Walking?
Posted Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011You may have seen the video of a mall shopper falling into a fountain while writing a text message on her cell phone. If not, watch it here. Pedestrian mishaps like this have led some to ask whether walkers should be subject to regulation similar to distracted driving laws that have sprouted up across the country. To most, the idea of getting a ticket for writing a text message or talking on the phone while crossing the street sounds absurd. But a distracted walking law has already been proposed in New York, and some California residents think it should be considered over here as well.
List of Fatal San Francisco Pedestrian Accidents – 2011
Posted Monday, July 25th, 2011The thought of being killed as a pedestrian in San Francisco is terrifying. Fatal pedestrian accidents happen far too often in the Bay Area, especially considering that San Francisco was recently ranked the second most walkable city by the website Walk Score. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee pedestrian safety in a busy city like San Francisco. Organizations like WalkSF have been incredible about raising awareness about pedestrian safety programs and lobbying the city to make serious improvements. But fatal accidents remain too common far in San Francisco, which has already mourned 9 pedestrians this year.
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