Monday, October 1, 2018

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.