Saturday, October 29, 2011

Twenty Seven Thoughts from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professional Professional Development Seminar

  1. We try to make sure every project is a Complete Streets project. 
  2. “Great” results from incrementally getting better.
  3. We love the Charlotte Department of Transportation.
  4. Whenever I run on concrete paths I think the orthopedic surgeons must have an interest in it.
  5. Communities decide the uses of a street. 
  6. Commerce happens at three miles an hour, not thirty miles an hour.
  7. There is flexibility in transportation standards if you ask the right questions.
  8. Right-size the streets.
  9. This is about creating better communities. 
  10. Design the whole street for all users.
  11. We should liberate ourselves from conventional road classifications.
  12. Communities decide the uses of a street. (See #5)
  13. Speed becomes greed when it takes away a child’s ability to choose to walk.
  14. Twenty is Plenty for US(A).
  15. Lessening the barriers to active living increases individual motivation. 
  16. “It’s my street. It’s my park.”
  17. We love the 6-Step Process for Creating Successful Complete Streets Projects. (See #3)
  18. First step from policy to practice: change procedures.
  19. Getting ALL the stakeholders involved in street planning throughout the process  makes good streets.
  20. I’m going to invite the right people to the next webinar I participate in.
  21. We should ask, “How can we help solve the problem?”
  22. Break down the silos.
  23. Engage and educate the public, don’t design and defend.
  24. Why pilot something that you know works elsewhere?
  25. Change the functional classification to lower design speed.
  26. The right combination of street classification and design speed makes great streets.
  27. Why not here?