Cities are Making Left Turns Safer with ‘Wedges'

Sweden's "Vision Zero" program has used a comprehensive approach to infrastructure and regulation to drastically reduce traffic-related deaths, making Swedish roads the safest in the world.

A program in Kansas facilitates meetings between the survivors of those killed and the people who brought this pain into their world. This article delves into just one of these stories to explore how a couple reconciles with the man who got drunk, stole a truck and killed their son in a horrific crash. It looks at the impact on the perpetrator as well and how this meeting helped him understand the full scope of what he did so he could get sober and start healing.

Copenhagen is a highly livable city, thanks to policies that focus on making streets safe and convenient to walk. The bigger the city, the worse it is to design urban spaces only with cars in mind, says planner and architect Jan Gehl. His top advice is to gather data about people and their movements, making pedestrians as visible in city planning as automobile traffic.

The World Health Organization estimates that $200 billion worth of productivity is lost every year due to untreated poor eyesight. Several organizations, such as EYElliance and Aravind Eye Hospital, are working to combat this problem by administering free vision tests and helping people who need glasses get them at an affordable rate.

Radar, lidar, and sensors guide the world’s first autonomous tram across Potsdam. While not yet commercially viable, the tram is an advancement in driverless technology. It can respond to road hazards faster than a human and runs on energy from wind and solar.

U.S. Highway 97 is one of the highest travelled roads through Washington, but it is also one of the most dangerous due to wildlife crossings. Taking note of successful initiatives in other states and countries, Washington is making moves to implement underpasses which will reduce the rate of accidents and cut down on medical and vehicular collision costs.

In Washington State, wildlife overpasses and tunnels across I-90 are going a long way to reduce traffic collisions with animals. Even before its completion, coyotes and other animals are using one overpass to cross safely. These corridors have broad support across the country, though such projects can be expensive.

In London, a new initiative called Junior Roadwatch is engaging children as traffic safety enforcers. Around one particularly busy and dangerous section of road, drivers who are caught speeding have two options: get a ticket or be questioned by a group of school-aged children. While newly developed, the initiative, devised by The Met Police and Transport for London, has stopped over 90 individuals for speeding, all of whom chose to answer questions from children about the consequences of their actions.

In Pontevedra, Spain, the city has taken incremental action to reduce cars and congestion in the city center. As the city is small and walkable on foot, walking has become the foremost transportation option, not through extreme regulatory hurdles, but by engaging business owners, providing short-term parking and even free parking on the edge of town, and making sure pedestrians feel front and center. Through slight design changes, local government and citizens alike have been able to reimagine what a walkable city looks like, then put it into effect with great success.

Bellevue’s pilot bike lane project is starting slow and ready for feedback. By beginning the project with less than a mile of bike lanes downtown, the city made sure to brand it as a pilot, hoping to measure results and adapt accordingly. Also, the Bellevue Downtown Association had a clear voice in expectations for any bike lane project, all of which were met in the initial pilot. The city hopes that bringing on board urban planners, city council, and the downtown association will increase chances of long-term success.