Some pretty cool stuff!
A little update on what’s going on over at old 3MPH HQ in the great city of Cleveland.
Our second year of business got off to a slow start thanks to corona related school closures and then a bout of pretty serious winter weather.
But now we’re back in the office things are starting to get busy again. We’re working on a couple really exciting things I wanted to share in part because they have the potential I think to really advance traffic safety and sustainability mobility in important ways, on opposite ends of the country.
Healthy Streets LA
There is a very exciting campaign underway in Los Angeles, which we all know as a famously congested/car-centric city.
A group called Streets for All is trying to hold the city’s feet to the fire when it comes to implementing its groundbreaking Mobility Plan 2035, which calls for overhauling 1,500 miles of streets to make them safer and more people friendly.
Some of these important safety projects have run aground from NIMBY opposition and political stonewalling. So this initiative — Healthy Streets for All — led by citizens, has launched a petition effort to gather 68,000 signatures and bring the measure before voters. It would require the city to implement its plan, rather than get bogged down in lengthy public engagement processes that are ignored or dominated by a few wealthy special interests.
I recently published an article in Bloomberg Citylab that has all the details, including this wild quote from advocates in the city of Cambridge, Mass. (whose Safe Cycling Law is what the referendum is modeled on).
The Crash Victims Rights and Safety Act (New York State)
The amazing team at Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets is at it again in New York State. This legislative session they hope to pass the Crash Victim Rights and Safety Act, a package of eight bills aimed at reducing traffic deaths and injuries and shoring up the rights of those affected.
The bill includes measures that would:
-Incentivize complete streets (including providing more $$)
-Require safe distance when passing cyclists
-Provide drivers more instruction about safely interacting with pedestrians and cyclists during drivers’ education
-Provide certain legal protections to crash victims, like the right to see the related police reports and the right to file a victim impact statement
-Would give localities the power to set their own speed limits
The push is being led by a diverse coalition, including organizations from around the state. And with victims from Families for Safe Street (who have lost family members to traffic violence) helping lead the charge.
It’s really an honor to be working with these folks who are fighting the good fight to improve their communities and advance sustainability and public health. I encourage you if you are interested to follow the links and learn more about the campaigns and how you can get involved and help, especially if you live in the area (New York State or California). Or if you’d like to reach out to me my email, to learn how to get plugged in, that’s okay too.
Finally, Moving Ohio Forward, the statewide sustainable transportation conference we help host is back on with a great schedule for April 21 and it’s free online. Our Keynote Speaker this year is Randall “Keith Benjamin, Associate Administrator at the U.S. Department of Transportation and he’ll be discussing how Ohio cities can best take advantage of the new infrastructure bill to boost safety and sustainability. Register here.
-Angie
