Can you say “tipping point”?
Both the Oregonian and the Trib have articles on safety on MAX today, and Fred Hansen is quoted as saying he will speak to the future of Fareless Square during his City Club appearance next week.
Archive | November, 2007
Coming Up on the KBOO Bike Show: Women for Bikes
The KBOO studios just might catch fire with all the powerhouses on air for this month’s KBOO Bike Show featuring the Women for Bikes program.
Guests include Alison Hill-Graves from the Community Cycling Center, Janis McDonald from the City of Portland and Barb Grover from the Bike Gallery.
9-10AM, Wednesday, December 5th
KBOO FM 90.7
Streamed live at KBOO.fm
Podcast here later that day
Hillsboro Argus / Oregonian Blog Entry on today’s Transit Safety Summit
Menacing behavior and disorderly conduct are more persistent public safety concerns on the region’s light rail system than the threat of violence on board, Gresham leaders and Portland police officials told the TriMet transit agency Thursday.
But there are too few police officers on the light rail system to deter or interrupt threatening behavior that make families feel unsafe riding the system, Gresham Chief Carla Piluso said. “Those quality of life crimes that are keeping people off the trains,” Piluso said.
“We’ve had a steep increase in complaints about that in the last 18 months.”
Discuss.
The first of two safety summits was held today — the Hillsboro Argus reports: “Quality of life crimes” keep riders off MAX, police say
Excerpt:
Menacing behavior and disorderly conduct are more persistent public safety concerns on the region’s light rail system than the threat of violence on board, Gresham leaders and Portland police officials told the TriMet transit agency Thursday.
But there are too few police officers on the light rail system to deter or interrupt threatening behavior that make families feel unsafe riding the system, Gresham Chief Carla Piluso said. “Those quality of life crimes that are keeping people off the trains,” Piluso said.
“We’ve had a steep increase in complaints about that in the last 18 months.”
Discuss.
Upcoming professional development opportunity: Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility
The Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (ibpi) is sponsoring an upcoming professional development course on pedestrian accessibility.
This course, developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP), teaches participants how to apply the guidelines and policies of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to public rights-of-way. The course will examine range of pedestrian disabilities, how people with disabilities use pedestrian facilities, and how restrictive designs affect mobility and safety.
1. Accessibility guidelines and requirements of the ADA
2. Characteristics of pedestrians and the pedestrian environment
3. Legal requirements and funding opportunities (US DOT and FHWA)
4. Obligations to evaluate practices, policies and activities for discrimination and to remove barriers
Participants will learn how to enhance pedestrian mobility, independence and safety through accessible design and the accessible design elements of the pedestrian corridor, including:
1. Accessible driveways and curb ramps
2. Street crossings, including crosswalks, overpasses, underpasses, medians, and islands
3. Intersections and roundabouts
4. Pedestrian signs and signals, including accessible pedestrian signals
5. Temporary facilities and construction site safety
Who should attend?
Urban and transportation planners, landscape architects, designers, engineers, advocates, and others with responsibility for designing, planning, and/or building pedestrian facilities in the public right of way.
Instructor AIDA BERKOVITZ
In 2007, Aida Berkovitz retired from the Federal Highway Administration after a 32-year career as a traffic engineer. For five of those years she worked with the San Francisco Regional office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, coordinating the safety programs of both agencies. Aida has provided technical assistance and taught courses on pedestrian safety and design for FHWA and APBP. Aida was elected to the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Board of Directors in 2002, and served as APBP’s President in 2005.
For more information
Contact the IBPI at 503-725-4024 or ibpi@pdx.edu
Sponsored by
This course is sponsored by the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (ibpi). The IBPI’s purpose is to enhance policies, programs, and projects that promote pedestrian and bicycle travel through research, education, and outreach.
Registration
The fee for this professional development course is $295. This includes morning coffee, snacks, lunch, transportation, and course materials. The fee does not include travel, lodging or other meals while in Portland. To register for the program please use the form linked below and fax or mail it in to our office. Registration deadline is January 25th.
Full information about the course can be found here: http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/accessibility.php
And the registration form can be downloaded here: http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/media/ibpi accessibility course flier and form.pdf
A Coming Future When Cars Are Not Privately Owned
Via Planetizen: During a speech on next-generation fuels, the Chairman of Ford Motor Company addresses the problem of traffic congestion and likens it to another long-time concern about automobiles, saying congestion will “soon be just as critical of a vehicle issue as emissions are now.” He even goes so far as to suggest that the privately-owned automobile may not be the wave of the future anymore.
Fifty years ago Henry Kaiser said that the only limiting factor on auto sales would be the presence of enough roads to drive them on. Even more telling is when Mr. Ford states that the current model of the privately owned automobile will change.
“Pointing to efforts under way in India and South Africa to encourage consumers to use bicycles, mopeds and public transportation instead of automobiles, Mr. Ford said, ”The idea of individual car ownership as we know it today will change, too.”
Ford wants ”to be part of that — not to be frightened by it, but to participate in it,” he said.”
