MetaFilter posts tagged with Pedestrian

Mexico City gets the hero we all deserve

Etrigan — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:34:47 -0800

You know how it feels when you're trying to cross the street and a driver comes through the intersection as if you’re not even there? Like he’s muscling through with that big box of metal as if to say, “Hey, get out of my way, you little flesh-and-blood weakling!”

Wouldn’t you just love to have a superhero sweep down, stand up to the jerk behind the wheel, and block the car so you could cross safely?

Enter Peatónito, the masked Mexican defender of pedestrians!

Why We Abandoned the Public Realm, and Why We Need It Again

the man of twists and turns — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:16:42 -0800

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Great Public Spaces

Walking as a liberative experience

skepticallypleased — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:15:47 -0800

Writer decides to walk for a week in a place where cars are the rule. Also nice historical perspective on walking and related current statistics about it.

America's Pedestrian Problem

parudox — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:24:56 -0800

Tom Vanderbilt on walking in America, in four parts: The Crisis in American Walking, Sidewalk Science, What's Your Walk Score?, and Learning to Walk. (Previously on jaywalking and on cities for people.)

Works on low-talkers too!

scalefree — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:59:33 -0800

Having confronted the problem of how to walk past someone without running into them, it's time MetaFilter dealt with another pressing social issue: How to deal with slow walkers (SLYT).

Crosswalk to Nowhere.

schmod — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:14:55 -0800

What do you mean the building codes require us to install handicapped-accessible crosswalk? Fine. Here's your fucking crosswalk. Eyesore of the Month previously on Metafilter. Greater Greater Washington weighs in, and speculates on how this could have happened, and how to fix it.

Cities for People

parudox — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:38:08 -0800

Danish architect Jan Gehl on making cities safe for people, the art and science of designing good cities for walking, and how to plan good cities for bicycling.

And the winner for highest pedestrian danger index goes to... Orlando!

desjardins — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:05:44 -0800

Dangerous by Design: an interactive map of pedestrian fatalities in the United States "From 2000 to 2009, 47,700 pedestrians were killed in the United States, the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of passengers crashing roughly every month." How the U.S. Builds Roads that Kill Pedestrians

"Nah, don't feel threatened. I don't have a gun today."

ShawnStruck — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:38:35 -0800

Tourist Lanes & New Yorker Lanes One afternoon, field agents of Improv Everywhere "...created separate walking lanes for tourists and New Yorkers on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk. Department of Transportation 'employees' were on hand to enforce the new rules and ask pedestrians for their feedback on the initiative."

Bryant Gets Away With Killing Bicyclist

GregorWill — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:59:01 -0800

Charges dropped against the former Attorney General of Ontario despite video evidence showing Bryant first striking the bicyclist with his car and then attempting to get away. Previously Bryant didn't even have to take a breathalyzer test. Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent in a similar case, the defendents got the maximum sentence.

They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway...

2bucksplus — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:18:32 -0800

On Sunday New York City closed two of the busiest sections of perhaps the most famous street in the U.S. to traffic and created pedestrian plazas in the "Crossroads of the World" (and also in Herald Square) [brief plan / NYCDOT detailed plan]. Spearheaded by Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan (featured in an excellent New York Magazine article) and the Bloomberg Administration as part of the "Green Light for Midtown" program, the pedestrian malls are ostensibly a pilot program to determine the feasibility of permanent conversion later this year, with the stated goal of increasing traffic flow through midtown (warning PDF). Criticism from motorists, especially taxi drivers (New York Post), and for the quality of the chairs and planters used in the conversion aside (New York Times Architecture Review), the urban plazas have received generally favorable reviews (New York Times YouTube channel, NYDailyNews.com, AMNY) and national attention.

A History of Pedestrian Crossings

Armitage Shanks — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:31:31 -0800

A history of pedestrian crossings. Complete with exciting Flash simulations! More exciting histories here.

Wingman For Grandma

meddeviceengineer — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:43:58 -0800

When you drive on local streets you can be a Wingman for Grandma. Help make Grandma safer when she goes out for a walk. Drive the speed limit on local streets. Help set the pace for your community. Small increases in vehicle speed increase the threat to pedestrians. By helping to calm your local streets you can make it safer and more pleasant for you and your family.

New take on traffic calming

ObscureReferenceMan — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 15:16:58 -0800

Calm down. A new, humorous, attempt at "traffic calming". I know, I know, a lot of it was previously discussed. Some think it's a good idea (hey, we've even got some in my neighborhood!). But there are others who disagree. I never thought it would be such a heated topic! (or noteworthy by Wired, even.) Aaaah... the hell with it. Maybe the way to go is NO RULES.

Seamless City

mnology — Wed, 20 Nov 2002 10:14:01 -0800

Seamless City is a project made possible by proliferation of gigabytes of affordable disk space, digital cameras, photo composition applications, and a lot of time. Take a 30 mile pedestrian tour of San Francisco.

Bikes and cars don't mix.

RakDaddy — Wed, 24 Jul 2002 10:51:14 -0800

Bikes and cars don't mix. At least, according to the author of this column. As someone who cycles for fun and commuting, I was alternately amused by his anti-bike spewing and terrified that he's a case of road rage waiting to happen. Remind me never to bike in Pittsburgh.

Pedestrian Killer

Su — Sun, 23 Dec 2001 13:02:25 -0800

Pedestrian Killer Pointless bloody fun. Zoom around a patch of roadway, squishing people as they try to make it across.