How much space we design for cars

#1

While this is tangentially related to the parking post I made a while back, it speaks more about the space we dedicate to moving single-occupant vehicles.

I love that Heritage has gotten some upgraded sidewalks and curb ramps recently. I hope with any of the changes or developments coming our way in the next years that we can prioritize the pedestrian and cyclist experience, by reducing curb cuts and reducing set backs and placing entrances near to the sidewalks instead of parking lots.

This article talks about an illustration that was commissioned by the Swedish Road Commission to show how little space pedestrians are allotted compared to cars.

Europe’s largest car-free space is Venice’s Centro Storico, a 3-mile-long medieval city that has managed to stay pedestrian-centric. But that type of of urban plan is not the norm. Modern cities are generally designed to favor personal vehicles rather than public transit or pedestrians.

Jilg’s illustration suggests a different way of understanding how public space gets divided.

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#2

That illustration captures the lack of security we often feel as pedestrians. Using a wood plank to represent a crosswalk is appropriate: when I cross Lamar at 34th I feel very vulnerable, having to look for inattentive drivers making unprotected right or left turns.

This is equally true of bikers. Even on streets with protected bike lanes, the many curb cuts we have on our streets are each a place where a driver could come out through the bike lane.

For decades Austin has made placed the convenience of cars highest over all things, and I agree that new development should prioritize pedestrians and cyclists. Is there anything in CodeNext that does this? Density is important indirectly in making it feasible to live car-free and encourage walking, biking, and mass transit, but as you note there are other design factor such as curb cuts that are important.