Congratulations to South Bend on the 4 to 2-lane road diet that will be comfortable to walk & bike, help local businesses, be beautiful, increase safety, & reduce car dependence. A win for the community, the City, & the planet!

If you want to understand how traffic engineers who are also urbanists think, this is one of the best things you can find online or in print. Listen to Charles Marohn & Ian Lockwood PE on the Strong Towns podcast. podbean.com/pu/pbblog-bnwk…

Great opportunity to learn from Ian Lockwood PE! Design Training for Safe, Walkable and Accessible Communities sponsored by @WSDOT Active Transportation Division 6/21 in Olympia or online fmdata.wsdot.wa.gov/LTAPtraining/r…. #WSDOTActive #infrastructure #transportation

"The traffic we observe at any point in time is not a fixed and inexorable amount that must be “served,” but is simply the behavioral response of humans to the set of transportation choices available to them." usa.streetsblog.org/2023/06/13/so-…

It seems like keeping I-95 may not be as necessary as conventionalists claim. How great would Philly be with an accessible, quiet, unpolluted, vibrant, and safer waterfront? Perhaps it is time for city-friendly infrastructure to replace the old highway.

Incredible transformation in South Bend!!

My friend Ian Lockwood PE, in his genius way, points out the circular logic forced on parents by many/most school districts. Is this the outcome we want? No, it's not.

Fantastic pedestrian safety and comfort elements being installed as part of South Bend's LaSalle Avenue streetscape project Raised crosswalk with median refuge island at East Race Trail crossing; raised crosswalk at Sycamore Street

I can’t wait until Spring, when the trees are planted and growing. Looking great already!

What would happen to a designer and public agency if they knowingly designed & maintained public schools, playgrounds, plazas, and parks that killed & injured hundreds of people annually? Yet with public streets, it’s o.k. because driving fast is popular.

I love it! Families out walking, dressed comfortably for the season, and enjoying themselves! I think I’ll have to do the same later today.

Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Highways in cities harm cities. So some DOTs disguise widening projects. Others bribe the loudest opponents with a cap. Others promise better outcomes. The result is the same: a deeper hole of car-dependency for the next generation to solve.

Maybe limit speeds to the speed LIMIT? Either way, it would improve driver behavior, car design, climate outcomes, enforcement, insurance costs, noise levels, public health, fatality stats… Counter points: less speed/risk means less fun and less profit for Motordom industries.

For anyone who cares about taxes, equity, car-dependency, and financial solvency of cities and metro areas, take 10 minutes and watch this video. Spoiler alert: low density, car- oriented, suburban expansion is bad public policy on all counts.

Cities that are strapped financially, car dependent, & struggling to attract investment/people, should visit South Bend IN to learn what good land use & transportation planning can accomplish in just a decade. The ideas & principles are transferable & will help.

Congratulations to Sarah Lockwood on accepting an Assistant Professor position at USF Criminology Dept.. We are so proud of the incredible work Sarah has done during her time as a PhD student at Northeastern, and wish her the best of luck in her new role!

Everyone involved in the highway removal movement should listen to this podcast. Even if you are just curious about the potential benefits for your city with fewer highways in it, listening is worth your time. If you want more information, buy the book, CIty Limits!

Perhaps Joni Mitchell could write a sequel to her epic song about putting up a parking lot to celebrate cities, like South Bend, who do the right things, like replacing parking lots with homes, road diets, 2-way street restorations, interchange removals, traffic calming, trails…

South Bend began implementing a pro-city & pro-community vision under Mayor Pete Buttigieg. That momentum continues to this day via its current leadership & enlightened staff. If your city is not improving, then consider visiting South Bend & see what they are doing.

This comic from Ian Lockwood PE of @TooleDesign is a simple visualization of walkable streets, and happens to also apply to a core tenet of our approach: Rely on small, incremental investments (little bets) instead of large, transformative projects.