Perils For Pedestrians 264: Silver Spring

We visit Silver Spring, Maryland.

• The Dale Drive Safety Coalition wants sidewalks and crosswalks.
• We look at pedestrian problems along Georgia Avenue in Montgomery Hills.
• Forest Glen is also divided by Georgia Avenue.
• 16th Street needs sidewalks.

Perils For Pedestrians 263: Boston

We visit Boston, Massachusetts.

• We talk with the chief engineer about sidewalks,
• We learn about WalkBoston and pedestrian advocacy,
• We drop in on the Liveable Streets Alliance,
• We look at the Smoot and the nature of distance,
• We stroll along the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Perils For Pedestrians 262

• We visit Helena to learn about Bike-Walk Montana.
• We talk with the director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
• We talk with the greenways coordinator in Cheyenne.

Perils For Pedestrians 261

• We visit Jackson, Wyoming, to learn about Wyoming Pathways.
• We look at a key trail connection in Great Falls, Montana.

Perils For Pedestrians 260: Alberta

We visit High River, Alberta:

• We talk with Alberta Health Services about walking.
• We learn about Our High River.
• We look at levee trails and city sidewalks.

Then we visit Calgary:

• Alberta Health Services helps many towns work on walkability.
• We look at the impact of dogs in public space.

Perils For Pedestrians 259: Calgary

We travel to Calgary, Alberta.

• We learn about the local organizing committee for the Walk21 conference.
• We talk with the Mayor of Calgary.
• We meet the Chief Urban Designer for Calgary.
• What did a transportation planner learn when she had her first child?
• We talk with Jim Walker, the Director of Walk21.
• We take a quick look at the +15 walkway network. 

2019 Conference List

An eclectic list of meetings that have come to my attention. Please let me know of any additions or corrections.

Thank you.

John Z Wetmore
john@pedestrians.org
www.pedestrians.org
www.gofundme.com/pedestrians
www.youtube.com/pedadvocate
--------------------------

2019 Conference List  v. 1.0.0

January

9-11  National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; Arlington, VA
13-17 Transportation Research Board (TRB); Washington, DC
20-23 National Asphalt Pavement Association; Marco Island, FL
21-25 World of Concrete; Las Vegas, NV
23-25 Conference of Mayors; Washington, DC
28-29 ASTM F13 Pedestrian/Walkway Safety and Footwear; Houston, TX


February

6-8 Winter Cycling Congress; Calgary, AB
8-12 ATSSA - American Traffic Safety Services Assn. Convention and Traffic Expo; Tampa, FL
9-12 National Sheriffs Association Winter Conference; Washington, DC
10-13 National Conference of Regions; Washington, DC
10-13 National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), Winter Policy Summit; Washington, DC
12-14 World of Asphalt; Indianapolis, IN
13-15 Active Living and Environment; Dunedin, New Zealand
17-20  Active Living Research; Charleston, SC
23 Alumni Day; Princeton, NJ
24-28 Public Lands Alliance; Denver, CO
26 - 3/1 AASHTO Legislative Meeting; Washington, DC


March

1-2 Center for Media and Social Impact; Washington, DC
2-6 National Association of Counties Legislative Conference (NACO); Washington, DC
3-6 Engineering New Zealand Transport Group; Wellington, New Zealand
4-6  Public Private Partnership Conference (P3C); Dallas, TX
9-12 National Bike Summit; Washington, DC
10-13 Congressional City Conference; Washington, DC
13-15 National Environmental Justice Conference; Washington, DC
15-17 North American Handmade Bicycle Show; Sacramento, CA
17-19 American Public Transportation Assn. Legislative Conference (APTA); Washington, DC
21-22 Smart Urban Future; Melbourne, Australia
25-26 ICoRSI International Symposium on Safety of Vulnerable Road Users; Changsha, China
25-27 Main Street Now Conference; Seattle, WA
26-29 Society for Public Health Education; Salt Lake City, UT
31 - 4/2 Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities; Louisville, KY
31 - 4/3 The Play Conference; Clemson, SC


April

3-7 American Association of Geographers (AAG); Washington, DC
4-6 Mid-Atlantic Greenways and Trails Summit; Philadelphia, PA
6-7 American Bike Expo; Secaucus, NJ
8-13 Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety; Chania, Greece
9-11 SAE World Congress; Detroit, MI
9-13 Society of Health And Physical Educators (SHAPE); Tampa, FL
13-14 Global Health and Innovation Conference; New Haven, CT
13-16 American Planning Association (APA); San Francisco, CA
14-18 National Association of County Engineers; Wichita, KS
15-18 Aging In America; New Orleans, LA
16-18 Urban Land Institute Spring Meeting; Nashville, TN
24-27 Urban Affairs Association; Los Angeles, CA
25-28 World Bicycle Forum; Quito, Ecuador
28 - 5/1 International Trails Symposium; Syracuse, NY
29 - 5/2 International Association for Impact Assessment; Brisbane, Australia


May

6-9 National Outdoor Recreation Conference; Rapid City, SD
8 National Bike To School Day
8-12 American Society of Highway Engineers; Nashville, TN
13-14 National Bike Summit; Ottawa, ON
15-17 WTS International; Boston, MA
19-22 American Public Works Assn. (APWA) North American Snow Conference; Salt Lake City, UT
20-23 AASHTO Spring Meeting; Park City, UT
22-24 Eastern Video Expo (Jersey Access Group); New Brunswick, NJ
22-24 International Transport Forum (ITF); Leipzig, Germany
26-29 Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals; Calgary, AB
26-31 World Conference on Transport Research; Mumbai, India
30 - 6/2 Reunions; Princeton, NJ


June

1 National Trails Day
4-5 World Cycling Forum; Rotterdam, The Netherlands
6-8 American Institute of Architects (AIA); Las Vegas, NV
6-8 International Public Markets Conference; London, United Kingdom
9-12 International Conference on Transportation and Development; Alexandria, VA
9-12 National Association of Regional Councils; Omaha, NE
9-16 American Volkssport Association; Albany, NY
10-13 International Bridge Conference; National Harbor, MD
12-15 Congress For The New Urbanism (CNU); Louisville, KY
15-19 National Sheriffs Association; Louisville, KY
16-19 National ADA Symposium; Dallas, TX
25-27 Urban Transport and the Environment; Aveiro, Portugal
25-28 Velo-City; Dublin, Ireland
25-28 Snow and Ice Management Association; Grand Rapids, MI
26-27 Praxis Conference Pedestrian Protection; Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
28-7/1 Conference of Mayors; Honolulu, HI


July

3-4 Science and Cycling; Brussels, Belgium
3-6 Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP); Ottawa, ON
10-12 Alliance For Community Media; Portland, OR
12-15 National Association of Counties (NACO); Las Vegas, NV
12-16  Conference of Minority Transportation Officials; Tampa, FL
15-18 Automated Vehicles Symposium; Orlando, FL
21-24 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE); Austin, TX
21-24 Pipelines Conference; Nashville, TN


August

4-7 Association for Commuter Transportation; New York, NY
5-8 Nat'l Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) - Legislative Summit; Nashville, TN
7-10 International Association of Fire Chiefs / Fire-Rescue International; Atlanta, GA
18-21 International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety; Edmonton, AB
24-28 Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA); Anaheim, CA
25-28 Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals; Portland, OR


September

2 Mackinac Bridge Walk; Mackinaw City, MI
4-6 European Association for Research in Transportation; Budapest, Hungary
8-11 Rail~Volution; Vancouver, BC
8-11 American Public Works Association (APWA); Seattle, WA
8-12 Highway Engineering Exchange Program; Ashville, NC
10-13  Women's Issues in Transportation; Irvine, CA
15-17 International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA); Halifax, NS
18-21 Urban Land Institute (ULI); Washington, DC
24-26 NRPA - National Recreation and Park Association; Baltimore, MD
22-25 Transportation Association of Canada; Halifax, NS


October

2 International Walk To School Day
2-4 CIVITAS; Graz, Austria
3-4 European Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion; Luxembourg
5-9 AASHTO; St. Louis, MO
6-10 World Road Conference; Abu Dhabi
7-11 Walk21; Rotterdam, The Netherlands
9-11 European Transport Conference; Dublin, Ireland
9-12 Annual Civil Engineering Conference (ASCE); Miami, FL
13-16 American Public Transportation Association (APTA); New York, NY
14-17 Road Safety and Simulation; Iowa City, IA
17-19 Biophilic Cities Network Summit; Singapore
19-22 National Organization of Development Organizations; Reno, NV
20-23 International City/County Management Association (ICMA); Nashville, TN
21-25 Intelligent Transportation Systems World Congress (ITS); Singapore
22-25 Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO); Baltimore, MD
24-25 International Congress on Transportation Research; Athens, Greece


November

2-6 American Public Health Association (APHA); Philadelphia, PA
4-8 International Conference on Transport and Health; Melbourne, Australia
7-9 International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI); Los Angeles, CA
12-14 Safe Routes To School National Conference; Tampa, FL
15-18 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA); San Diego, CA
17-20  National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC); San Antonio, TX
18-20 International Cycling Safety Conference; Brisbane, Australia
20-23 National League of Cities - City Summit; San Antonio, TX


December

10-13 National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Capitol Forum; Washington, DC

Urban Streetscaping FAIL

How many pedestrians can you see behind this small jungle at Elm and Woodmont in Bethesda, MD?

If you look closely, you will see a man in a white shirt waiting at the curb to cross the street, so there is at least one.  We have no way to know how many more there might be.

A car planning to turn the corner could look for pedestrians, not see any, and assume it is safe to proceed.  And then get surprised when one steps out from behind the vegetation.

A pedestrian looking over their shoulder similarly cannot see if there is a car waiting to turn.

We saw a similar problem with planters at a corner just a few blocks from here in 1997 on Episode 15.  It's part of the third segment.

The same problems keep coming back when planners and designers do not use any common sense.

Perils For Pedestrians 258

• The state highway in Battle Lake, MN, was rebuilt as a complete street.
• Art was an important part of the project.
• The police chief likes the slower traffic.
• We talk with a developer about pedestrians on Broadway in Fargo, ND.
• We look at pedestrian planning by the Fargo-Moorhead Metro Council of Governments.
• We learn about the North Dakota Active Transportation Alliance.

Here are the before and after photos of Lake Avenue (State Route 78) in Battle Lake, MN.  The road was reduced from 4 lanes to 3 lanes in a classic road diet.  The space freed up was used to widen the sidewalks.  Notice that the streetlights (which were not moved) went from being next to the curb on the old sidewalk to the center of the wider sidewalk.

Perils For Pedestrians 257

• We talk with a member of the bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
• We learn about Pedal Fergus Falls.
• The West Central Initiative helps small towns with pedestrian issues.
• We head north of the border to meet an advocate in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Perils For Pedestrians 256: St. Paul

• America Walks holds the National Walking Summit.
• We talk with the chair of the local host committee.
• We learn about Our Streets Minneapolis.
• We get the thoughts of a pedestrian advocate.
• The Deputy Mayor addresses the Summit.

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Perils For Pedestrians 255: Milwaukee

• We talk with the pedestrian and bicycle coordinator for the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• We learn about a new pedestrian advocacy organization, Milwaukee Walks.
• We talk with a blind pedestrian about getting around Milwaukee.

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Perils For Pedestrians 254

• We travel to Indianapolis to talk with the executive director of Health By Design, and learn about The Cultural Trail.
• We meet the Indianapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator.
• We learn about the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission in Springfield, Illinois.

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Perils For Pedestrians 253

• A crosswalk enforcement operation in Bethesda, Maryland.
• Topeka, Kansas, has a new pedestrian master plan.
• Topeka Metro's bikeshare system and bus stop improvements.
• Lawrence, Kansas, and the Lawrence Pedestrian Coalition.
• The impact of broken sidewalks on elderly pedestrians in Lawrence.

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Pepco Trail Groundbreaking

On January 25, representatives from Pepco, Montgomery County, and Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (M.O.R.E.) took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a trail under Pepco's high-tension power lines.

Although initially opposed to the trail several years ago, Pepco is now an enthusiastic supporter.  They realize the positive impact the trail will have on the communities they serve.

The Maryland Public Service Commission included the trail in the conditions for the merger between Pepco Holdings and Exelon.  However, the key to getting support from Pepco was in making sure that their concerns, including safety and liability, were adequately addressed.  Dozens of trails have been build under power lines across the United States, so there are many examples to look to when searching for solutions to problems and concerns.

The plans call for two trails in the power line right of way, which runs a dozen miles from Montgomery Mall in Bethesda to the Soccerplex in Germantown.  The initial trail will be natural surface.  A paved trail will be added as funding becomes available.