"Jaywalkers" in Chicago . . .

Good news, sorta. Chicago mayor backs off plan to ticket pedestrians, but spins it as an issue of pedestrian safety rather than the original emphasis on drivers' rights and efficient traffic movement. Hmm. While I certainly don't advocate jaywalking, I side with pedestrian rights advocates on this since the crackdown seemed a thinly veiled attack on pedestrians in general and a concession to drivers who already own the road. Hope this gives more momentum to steering the discussion, pun intended, to making cities more sustainable, which means car-free or at least car-lite.

from: Spielman, Fran. "Jaywalkers safe as mayor backs off ticket plan," Chicago Sun-Times, 28 September 2005

After nearly a week of ridicule, Mayor Daley on Tuesday put the brakes on a controversial plan to ticket pedestrians who tie up downtown traffic by jaywalking and racing across streets after the light has changed.

Daley tried his best to be delicate about it. He didn't want to saw off the limb with Andrew Velasquez, the mayoral aide who oversees the Traffic Management Authority, still sitting on it. But, the mayor left little doubt that the plan to bring the hammer down on pedestrians would never see the light of day.

"I don't know about ticketing them. But, it's a safety issue. When someone . . . tries to run across, like Lake Shore Drive, and they get killed, don't blame the city and don't blame the driver,'' Daley said. "Jaywalking is very dangerous. A lot of people get seriously injured or killed. . . .

Pedestrian Critical Mass in Chicago

After Allesandra Gillen alerted pedestrianculture to this article, Ben Helphand of Logan Square Walks sent the following press release:

For Immediate Release:

Walking is Not a Crime!
Pedestrians Put Foot Down to Protect Downtown Walkers

· What: Pedestrian Rally and March
· When: Wednesday, September 28, 2005, 5pm.
· Where: Daley Plaza.
· Who: Hundreds asserting their right to walk will rally and lead a march.
· Contact: 773-252-4657 or 773-562-9942 (cell).


Foot traffic has long been a cornerstone of downtown Chicago. Imagine Michigan Avenue sidewalks without holiday shoppers. Imagine Buckingham Fountain, the museum campus, the lakefront, or Millennium Park without scores of pedestrians enjoying the view. And imagine the increased congestion of more drivers on Chicago's streets. Imagine no longer.

If Andrew Velasquez, executive director of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, has his druthers, walking won't be an enjoyable pastime for Chicago residents and visitors, but a criminalized activity, warranting fines and the watchful eye of the police.

In the September 22 Chicago Sun-Times, Velasquez identifies pedestrian traffic as a central cause of vehicle traffic congestion. He asserts the scales are "tipped too heavily in favor of pedestrians" and intends to confront the problem by "drafting legislation that would empower the city's 303 traffic control aides to ticket pedestrians, either for crossing the street outside the crosswalk or within the crosswalk but against the light."

"Pedestrians are being scapegoated for traffic jams caused simply by too many people driving," said Michael Burton of Break the Gridlock. "The bigger threat to Chicagoans are reckless drivers, not walkers. Resources would be much better spent enforcing car speed limits. Encouraging more people to bike, ride transit and walk is the solution, NOT the problem."

"I'm certainly not opposed to holding reckless pedestrians in check," says Ben Helphand, co-Chair of Logan Square Walks. "However, the notion that scales lean in favor of pedestrians simply doesn't hold up. On average 13% of traffic deaths each year in Illinois are pedestrians. Yet only 1 percent of federal surface transportation funds spent in Illinois are spent on pedestrian and bicycle facilities and safety. The Office of Emergency Management and Communications would have us believe that drivers are second-class citizens in Chicago. The reality is quite the opposite."

The crackdown on pedestrians, combined with the City of Chicago Traffic Management Authority's closure of the Queen's Landing crosswalk, which provided pedestrian access from Buckingham Fountain to the lakefront, has pedestrians "seeing red." Hundreds will gather in Daley Plaza at 5pm on Wednesday, September 28. A short program will begin at 5:15pm, featuring pedestrian advocates, urban planners and perhaps even the Queen of England herself! At 5:30pm they'll strike out on a stroll around the loop. All those who enjoy the city of Chicago on foot are invited to join the critical mass.

The Downtown Pedestrian Rally and Critical Mass is being coordinated by Logan Square Walks and Break the Gridlock. More information at http://www.logansquarewalks.org/ or 773-252-4657 or 773-562-9942 (cell).

New Urbanism in Colorado

from: Building a dream: Brother, sister plan anti-suburb in Colorado

(CNN) -- Imagine being able to live, work and play in a place where everything is within walking distance.

The brother and sister duo of Jed and Katie Selby are hoping that recreating homes that are surrounded by parks, commerce and beauty will lure people from the suburban sprawl and the comfort of their cars. South Main is where they hope to do it.

South Main is a city concept created by the Selbys. Its on the edge of Buena Vista, Colorado, and will be a mixed-use development of homes and business space for all walks of life. . . .

"[South Main] is built on the principles of new urbanism, which are nothing new," Jed said. "It's essentially built around basic human needs, including places to work, places to shop, places to gather. The difference is that they're all within walking distance."

the death of cars in New Orleans . . .

. . . so, why not keep it that way? According to this guy, however, "normal" means lots of cars being able to go wherever they need to go.

from: Vartabedian, Ralph. "At an impasse inside disaster," Los Angeles Times, 21 September 2005.

NEW ORLEANS — If you have a tendency to drive the wrong way on one-way streets, park in the middle of the road or blow through intersections controlled by signals, then you might fit into the disorder and chaos of New Orleans in recent weeks.

The emergency workers and remaining residents here have faced countless challenges to their health and safety in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dealing with a dysfunctional highway system is a relatively minor issue. But anybody used to the systematic order of an American city's road network is left dumbstruck driving through this historic city in the weeks after the Aug. 29 hurricane and the flood that followed.

One hint of trouble might have been the dead alligator I saw on the interstate while approaching the city two weeks after the storm. Only a few miles from downtown, the interstate abruptly and without warning plunged into the murky brown floodwaters of Katrina. Despite the back and forth of residents, first returning and now fleeing Hurricane Rita, traffic remains relatively light. Streets empty for a 6 p.m. curfew each evening. Streetlights are out, and a drive down historic St. Charles Avenue at night is an eerie excursion into the desolation of a remarkably beautiful neighborhood. There are no pedestrians. No lights. No cars. . . .

Think it's bad here? Try walking in Moscow . . .

from: Murphy, Kim. "On Moscow's Mean Streets, Every Automobile Is a Dodge," Los Angeles Times, 21 September 2005.

MOSCOW--On the streets of Russia's capital, it is the loser who ventures out without a weapon. Once the armament of choice was a small Lada. These days, it's likely to be a 3-ton Mercedes. Yet the dynamics of battle remain the same: The front bumper trumps the pedestrian, who is sent somersaulting over the hood almost every time.

So frequently do automobiles and pedestrians come into contact that a body at the side of the road covered with an overcoat barely draws a crowd. Elderly women, faced with a green crossing light, break into clumsy sprints with the help of their canes; students gather in packs like nervous gazelles before dashing across crosswalks in carefully timed streaks.

Last year, 34,506 people were killed and a quarter of a million injured in road accidents in Russia — nearly double the rate in the U.S. In Moscow alone, more than 14 cars a day hit pedestrians; 300 have died this year. . . .

Rhetorics of Place

Here is an issue of Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture dedicated to place. I've only been able to skim a few articles, but so far so good!

Reconstruction 5.3 (Spring 2005): Rhetorics of PlaceGuest Editors: Michael Benton, Melissa Purdue, and G. Wesley Houp

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editorial
Michael Benton, "Rhetorics of Place: The Importance of Public Spaces and Public Spheres"

Articles
Joy Ackerman, "A Politics of Place: Reading the Signs at Walden Pond"
David Burley, Pam Jenkins, Joanne Darlington, Brian Azcona, "Loss, Attachment, and Place: A Case Study of Grand Isle, Louisiana"
Patrick Howard, "Nurturing Sense of Place Through the Literature of the Bioregion"
Bruce Janz, "Whistler’s Fog and the Aesthetics of Place"
Joy Kennedy, "The Edge of the World"
Michael Kula, "What Have Bagels Got to Do With Midwesternness?"
John Shelton Lawrence and Marty S. Knepper, "Discovering Your Cinematic Cultural Identity"
Harry Olufunwa, "The Place of Race: Ethnicity, Location and 'Progress' in the Fiction of Chinua Achebe and Ralph Ellison"
Anthony M. Orum, "All the World's A Coffee Shop: Reflections on Place, Community and Identity"
Lynda H. Schneekloth and Robert. G. Shibley, "Placemaking: A Democratic Project"

Review Essays
Danny Mayer on Ethan Watter's Urban Tribes: A Generation Redefines Friendship, Family and Commitment
Matthew Ortoleva on McComiskey and Ryan's City Comp: Identities, Spaces, Practices
Rania Masri on Joel Weishaus' Forest Park: A Journal
Christine Cusick on Joel Weishaus' Forest Park: A Journal
Matthew Wolf-Meyer on Cadava and Levy's Cities Without Citizens

Reviews
Marilyn Yaquinto on Peter Bondanella's Hollywood Italians: Dagos, Palookas, Romeos, Wise Guys, and Sopranos

Bikers, walkers driven to unseat motorists

from: Alvarez, Fred. "Bikers, Walkers Driven to Unseat Motorists," Los Angeles Times, 16 September 2005.

The parking lot at the Ventura fairgrounds was virtually empty Thursday for the start of California's major conference to promote bicycling and walking. But that's exactly what event organizers expected.

Scores of participants hiked, pedaled and skateboarded to Walk and Roll California 2005, a two-day strategy session aimed at getting people out of their cars and on their feet or bicycle seats.

"We practice what we preach," said conference organizer Gail Payne, a Berkeley-based transportation planner who specializes in cycling and pedestrian issues. "Our mission is to make sure bicycling and walking are safer and more accessible throughout California."

In a land where the car is king, that is no easy task. But conference organizers say their efforts have been aided lately by skyrocketing gas prices and an emerging battle against obesity, issues that have made cycling and walking more attractive to the public.Still, those gathered Thursday at the oceanfront fairgrounds say they have plenty of speed bumps to maneuver. . . .

Planning for a Greener L.A. River

from: Hymon, Steve. "Planning for a Greener L.A. River," Los Angeles Times, 12 September 2005.

Is it the city's most prominent gutter or a river waiting to be reborn?

Residents of Los Angeles will soon have a chance to discuss the future of the city's namesake river.

Today, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilman Ed Reyes plan to announce 18 public meetings that are a prelude to a massive — and thus far largely unfunded — public works project to clean up the river, build parks along it and restore some sections to a more natural state.

"What we're doing here is discovering a new resource — the L.A. River," Reyes said. "How we go about it will establish the new face of the city."

One key item up for discussion: whether it's possible to remove portions of the river's concrete lining, installed beginning in the 1930s to keep low-lying areas from being inundated during winter storms.

As industry has left the core of many cities in the United States, there has been a push to revive urban waterways. . . .

Boston, from an angry driver

Not the most balanced article ever written . . .

from: Allis, Sam. "Road wars: Hub pedestrians rule the streets these days," Boston Globe, 11 September 2005.

One of the defining characteristics of urban life is the endless war between drivers and pedestrians for control of the streets. It is a battle of nerves that ebbs and flows over time. The two agonists in Boston are well matched. The only thing worse than a Boston driver is a Boston walker.

Drivers used to career around Boston with impunity while walkers sashayed anywhere they damned well please. Many on both sides still do. Yet anything approaching a balance between these Hatfields and McCoys is in shreds. The walking movement, with a sympathetic City Hall, has built a hegemony over traffic flow -- pedestrian and automotive -- that is breathtaking.

''We're not going to jeopardize safety for speed," vows Jim Gillooly, the estimable deputy commissioner for engineering and planning of the Boston Transportation Department.

Of course not. But that's a canard. No one's pushing speed. At issue is the decent flow of traffic around our city. Cars and trucks need to move smoothly through Boston. Forget about yuppies cruising Newbury in Beemers, I'm also talking about the goods and services that fuel our economy whose delivery on a timely basis saves money. Boston does not thrive as one giant parking lot.

''It's already difficult to drive in Boston," notes David Luberoff, executive director of Harvard's Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. No fan of urban autos, he still wonders, ''Where is the tipping point that would make people stop driving but not take public transit -- they just wouldn't come into the city?"

Let's be clear here. Boston, like, Florence, is a spectacular walking town. The size is right and the rewards fabulous for perambulators. Natives and tourists alike should be able to enjoy these pleasures without fear for their lives every time they cross a street. Walking should be encouraged: it's good for your health and, to the best of my knowledge, does not require infusions of petroleum at $3.59 a gallon.

That said, there's an attitude in Boston today that dismisses the very idea of drivers's rights as an obscene notion. To many hardcore walking activists, drivers are pond scum only a mother could love. To drive a car in the city -- to the movies or the emergency room with a sick child, auto haters can't tell the difference -- is to wallow in evil. The inherent righteousness of Walking Nation is self-evident.

''They force their views on people who drive," says Ivan Sever, a lobbyist for the National Motorists Association, who has been the target of ''nasty e-mails" from members of WalkBoston, the nonprofit that has spearheaded walker power here. . . .

Backpack generates power from walking

An example of a technology that's not quite there yet. I mean, who walks with 85 pounds in a backpack? Still, pretty cool. What about a backpack made of solar photovoltaic cells?

Backpack generates power from walking

Friday, September 9, 2005; Posted: 10:06 a.m. EDT (14:06 GMT)

WASHINGTON
(Reuters) -- A backpack that converts a plodding gait into electricity could soon be charging up mobile phones, navigation devices and even portable disc players, U.S.-based researchers said on Thursday.

Their backpack design converts mechanical energy from up-and-down movement of the backpack's cargo to electricity during normal walking.

The backpack is deliberately designed to shake around a bit. The up-and-down movement of the backpack's cargo compartment against the frame of the pack turns a gear connected to a generator. . . .

Humping along just under 85 pounds (38 kg) of weight in the backpack can produce up to 7 watts of electricity, Lawrence Rome and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania report. . . .