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good traffic.
good traffic. episodes
- 41 / Five under-the-radar reasons a walk might feel safer.
Recently, my partner Aly reflected on our walks in Columbus (OH) feeling safer than elsewhere in the states. We discussed the why behind this perceived feeling, and articulated the claim into five attributable rationales. We decided to rehash those, here.
As planners, designers, and urbanists get deeper into the technical, it's important to keep the way that a place or piece of infrastructure simply feels top of mind.
20 min - 40 / A new creative industry town? / with Rob Parker
Rob Parker — president of the Town at Trilith — is in good traffic this week to share on constructing a walkable town around creatives and the film industry. 40 minutes outside of Atlanta, a 235-acre neighborhood is taking shape. It’s budding around one of the largest film studios in the U.S., and is looking to become a cradle for creatives, on the way to establishing a revamped, stronger model of an industry town.
Even amongst all of the glitz and glamour of movie studios — simple, practical walkability is top of mind.
We discuss:
00:00 Centering a town around a leading Atlanta movie studio (the home of multiple Marvel productions).
01:44 Building and curating a walkable community, specifically designed for creatives.
07:20 Intentionality in crafting diverse, ‘missing middle’ housing options.
11:53 New, greenfield development that doesn’t feel fake, cheap, or cookie-cutter.
15:14 Challenges and solutions of a ‘new urbanist’ development project.
29:28 Connectivity and transportation between suburban and rural towns.
37:37 Balancing cars and walkability.
42:28 Wrapping up.
Further context:
The Town at Trilith.
The studio.
Connect with Rob:
On LinkedIn.
Connect with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn.
46 min - 39 / Single occupancy vehicles, heavier cars, & transportation inefficiency.
Musing from recent neighborhood walks. Notably: counting single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) entering and exiting the city during rush hour. Surely, some of these are coming from — and going to — similar areas of the metro. There has to be a better way. And, they're all driving increasingly-large SUVs, too.
Bigger, heavier cars. More inefficient, wasted space.
There is much we can glean from a basic neighborhood wander. This is one such observation; what is one of yours?
We discuss:
00:00 Observations from neighborhood walks, amongst rush hour commuters.
04:27 The inefficiency of single occupancy vehicles.
11:28 The exploding popularity of larger vehicles in the U.S. (SUVs, trucks, etc.).
16:44 More on inefficiencies in American cities.
21:30 What have you noticed in your neighborhood?
For context:
U.S. commuter data (via CSIS).
Market share by vehicle type, 1975-2021 (via Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan).
Cost of empty airline seats (via Forbes).
Most popular vehicle type in each state (via iSeeCars).
22 min - 38 / Why walkability matters in commercial real estate (an excerpt from the Real Finds podcast).
This is a brief excerpt from my appearance on the Real Finds podcast, last week. Within, we examine why walkability, livable neighborhoods, and human-scale environments should be top of mind for commercial real estate professionals and business owners.
Find the full hour here.
Thanks to Gordon Lamphere for the audio.
9 min - 37 / Desensitized driving — the lost meaning of speed limits and stop signs.
Road signs seem to get read less than a seventh-grade history textbook. Even the most ubiquitous, exact signs like — STOP — are seemingly up for interpretation (everyone is an artist now, or something). Unfortunately, we're not obeying those crafty yard signs that encourage slowing down, either. Signs that give dynamic feedback — thanks to a radar function that feeds a display board — do make an impact, but not enough. Thorough, safer urban design is the way to lower speeds, and thus lower pedestrian and bike fatalities and accidents.
The bottom line: we humans aren't good at judging the proper speed at which to drive. Whatever number is listed, we add nine-ish mph. We need an environment (streets) that demand driver caution, care, and presence.
Also, data to follow up on last week’s Tara Hill Drive conversation. Hint: traffic calming measures work (see links below).
We discuss:
00:00 Slow down: duck crossing.
01:38 Becoming desensitized to pedestrian safety?
02:28 Effectiveness of road signage.
07:31 Dynamic, electronic feedback signs.
10:07 Why we need urban design and traffic calming infrastructure.
10:59 Data on speed and fatalities on U.S. roads.
16:59 Case study follow up (from last week): traffic calming in Dublin, Ohio.
23:47 The new studio, soon.
25:57 Wrapping up.
For context:
On street sign design (via Behavioral Scientist).
On the chance of being killed by a car, correlated with vehicle speed (via ProPublica).
On the efficacy of radar speed signs (via Radarsign).
NHTSA speed data (via The League of American Bicyclists).
Tara Hill Drive (Dublin, Ohio), BEFORE the traffic calming implementations.
Tara Hill Drive AFTER the traffic calming implementations.
27 min - 36 / Calming traffic, on the road to safer American streets.
Reflecting on traffic calming infrastructure seen this week in suburban Dublin, Ohio, on Tara Hill Drive.
When car-dominated suburbs build infrastructure like neighborhood traffic circles, it's an acknowledgment that we surely know how to design safer streets, and thus every street designed on the contrary is an active choice against resident livability.
The road to stronger, safer, and more livable neighborhoods is not a mysterious one.
In addition, we briefly touch on an impactful Twitter thread from the week. It's on road accident death rates, how we compare to Russia (not good), and how to operate amongst the attributable dangers here in the states. The credit belongs to Mark Abraham, and you can find the thread here. It's worth your time.
We discuss:
00:00 Live from the new home: Columbus, Ohio!
02:27 Traffic calming measures spotted in suburban Columbus.
04:00 We know the proper way to design safe streets.
10:54 Rising traffic deaths in the U.S. (we've passed Russia).
14:21 Wrapping up.
Thanks for bearing with me during our studio move. Apologies for any sub-optimal sound, this week.
15 min - 35 / Intercity v. intracity transportation (live from a cross-country move).
Live from the move from Tempe, Arizona to Columbus, Ohio: noting constant roadway maintenance, contextualizing intercity v. intracity transportation, and looking forward to getting out of this car.
Also, just a tad bit of CNU Cincy FOMO.
17 min - 34 / Healthspan, active transportation, & practical mobility / with Steve Nash & Ryan Johnson
Steve Nash — NBA hall-of-famer and founder of BLOCK training — is in good traffic to chat on the concept of healthspan, and how quality of life and neighborhood design interconnect. We talk baking mobility and movement into everyday life, training intentionally, and stacking habits in a scalable way. Steve shares the framework and ethos behind his current endeavors with BLOCK, and origins in mobility training during his playing days and childhood.
Culdesac founder Ryan Johnson is also back on the show this week — he shares perspective on building walkable places in the U.S. that prioritize the health and habits that Steve champions.
We discuss:
00:00 Steve Nash and Ryan Johnson are in good traffic.
00:58 Healthspan definitions and pillars.03:18 Healthspan in daily life.04:28 The role of walkable communities in enhancing healthspan.05:04 Moving from hall-of-fame pro athlete to founder of BLOCK training.07:11 On the daily eight’ health habit builder.18:08 The community element of BLOCK training.25:42 Reflections on movement, mental health, and longevity.29:16 Stress and coping mechanisms in professional sports.32:39 How Steve Nash led through physical touch in the NBA.41:03 Political polarization and walkable neighborhoods in the U.S.57:05 Reflecting on walkable commutes.Further context:
BLOCK training, Steve’s current project.
Healthspan, explained.
Some Steve Nash highlights, for good measure.
The study on Steve leading the NBA in physical touches with teammates.
Connect with Steve:
On Instagram.
On LinkedIn.
On Twitter.
Connect with Ryan:
On LinkedIn.
On Twitter.
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn.
1 hr - 33 / Girls on trains / with Aly Marchant
Aly Marchant — my transit-taking girlfriend and a good traffic regular — is back for a walkthrough of being a women on public transportation. She shares recent challenges, protocols to help avoid and navigate uncomfortable situations, our collaboration towards mitigation as a couple, the role of young men, and optimism for female riders.
For context:
Gender distribution of public transit travelers in the United States (via Statista).
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn.
33 min - 32 / Induced demand, Jevons paradox, & wider bike paths.
Expanding highways and adding lanes doesn't solve traffic. If it did, the cities that have been doing so for decades would have fixed their traffic woes. But, they're worse than ever.
Through the continuously misguided approach to transportation, we've learned a lot about the principle of induced demand, and Jevons paradox. In short, when we increase capacity in the name of efficiency, what we actually increase is demand and use. Thus, efficiency actually goes down.
What if we were to induce the demand for other methods of transportation? With more and better bike infrastructure, would we not see a rise in those biking? Paris has done just this, and it is working. Biking has now passed driving in the city, as a means of transportation.
Your move, *insert name of American city*.
For context:
A great walkthrough on why expanding highways doesn't solve traffic (via Business Insider).
Increased roadway capacity induces additional vehicle miles traveled in the short-run, and even more in the long-run (via National Center for Sustainable Transportation).
Shots of the Salt River Shore and Rio Salado Pathway in Phoenix, Arizona (via AllTrails).
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn.
28 min
About good traffic.
From the publisher's feed
A workshop for American urban design + urban planning. Join a prolific collective of neighborhood staples as we look to better brand American urbanism.
New conversations, each week.
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