Planning
Would oil off our coast cause us to change our ways?
In the early days of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, some local media reported the Gulf Coast’s loss could be the Atlantic Coast’s gain, in the form of tourists reconfiguring their summer vacation destinations. These stories usually included mandatory expressions of sympathy for the region dealing with the environmental catastrophe. Still, the disaster was down there. … Continue reading
Local journalist makes the connection between street design and danger to pedestrians. Almost.
Local media outlets, over the last several years, have published and aired scores of stories about the dangers faced by pedestrians on our streets. These accounts usually follow the death or injury of a pedestrian and almost always include quotes from law enforcement officials warning pedestrians to use crosswalks, even when doing so would require … Continue reading
April 29 community forum examines health effects of infrastructure, transportation
Healthy Savannah is sponsoring a community forum on April 29 at 6 p.m. at the Savannah Civic Center. The forum takes an important, but not often examined (at least locally) angle on community health. Instead of focusing entirely on personal nutrition and exercise, the forum will examine the health impacts of infrastructure — specifically related … Continue reading
The usual blaming of the victim follows latest pedestrian death
This sequence of events is becoming awfully easy to predict: Pedestrian is killed or injured on a local street that’s dangerous by design. News media coverage of the incident uncritically repeats law enforcement warnings that pedestrians should use crosswalks. Readers and viewers of news media coverage jump at the chance to share stories about “stupid” … Continue reading
Series of workshops to imagine MLK without the I-16 overpass
As reported by the Savannah Bicycle Campaign last week, The Savannah-Chatham County Metropolitan Planning Commission and the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority are holding a three-day public workshop and charrette “to examine feasibility of removal of the I-16 exit ramps at Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and Montgomery Street, and to address redevelopment along the … Continue reading
Project DeRenne concept provides a vision of corridor’s future
From coverage of last night’s Project DeRenne concept unveiling last night provided by WSAV, WTOC and the Savannah Morning News, you might get the idea that the mood in room was particularly contentious. I didn’t get that impression. And I was sitting a couple chairs away from a local business owner, who rose during the … Continue reading
Project DeRenne “preferred concept” to be unveiled Dec. 3
On Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. the “preferred concept,” produced by the recent Project DeRenne charettes, will be unveiled in a former auto parts store at 131 W. DeRenne Ave. I’m interested to see what the folks from Kimley-Horne, working with city officials and citizens of all walks of life, have created. In a … Continue reading
Savannah’s Abercorn Street Extension is “Dangerous by Design”
News reports from the Nov. 17 death of a man, who was attempting to cross Abercorn Street Extension, have included a familiar reminder issued by the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, which and automatically echoed in by local media in similar reports: “Pedestrians should use crosswalks.” The police and media surely have the best intentions … Continue reading
Focusing on a single goal will not mean success for Project DeRenne
A summary presentation for the recent Project DeRenne charrette is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at 131 W. DeRenne Ave. The location, a former NAPA auto parts store, is fitting. The nearby intersection of DeRenne Avenue and Montgomery Street is—as one of the charrette facilitators from Kimley-Horne called it—one of the most … Continue reading
Changing a road that divides the city into an amenity that unites it
When a street is designed to maximize the speed of motor vehicles, the results are as predictable as they are ugly. Yet we may not comprehend how desolate the built environment becomes when it is given over exclusively to cars. Cars and trucks become a distraction, drawing our attention away from the ways that they … Continue reading
