Angie Schmitt
Angie is a Cleveland-based writer with a background in planning and newspaper reporting. She has been writing about cities for Streetsblog for six years.
Recent Posts
Seattle Will Let Neighborhoods Design Their Own Crosswalks
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Here’s a great idea from Seattle that can help serve as a reminder that streets are community spaces — not just avenues to speed through on the way from one place to another. The city has adopted a new program that allows neighborhoods to design their own crosswalks. Tom Fucoloro at Seattle Bike Blog reports the program was inspired […]
How America’s Staggering Traffic Death Rate Became Matter-of-Fact
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How did more than 30,000 annual motor vehicle deaths become something that most Americans accept as normal? A new paper by Boston University professor Itai Vardi tries to answer that question. Vardi reviewed American attitudes toward the problem of traffic deaths, starting in the early era of automobile growth, when there was a great deal of “moral panic” about […]
Does Your Hospital Make Accommodations for Smoking But Not Bicycling?
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Recognizing their responsibility to address the chronic health problems plaguing the nation, a lot of hospitals are making internal changes to avoid contributing to unhealthy choices. The Cleveland Clinic, for example, recently banished McDonald’s from its food court. But even that hospital, like many, many others, has been slow to consider how its physical layout abets sedentary lifestyles. With enormous parking garages and […]
Why Cities Should “Steal” the Indianapolis Cultural Trail
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Indianapolis has set a great example for other cities with its “Cultural Trail,” eight miles of biking and walking routes through the heart of the city. According to a recent study, the $63 million project has been well worth it, drawing people downtown and leading to a surge in local business creation and hiring along the trail route. Alex Ihnen […]
3 Reasons Politicians Like Building New Roads More Than Fixing Old Ones
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American transportation policy places a premium on delivering big, shiny new things. As much as the big state transportation agencies and their political bosses love pouring concrete, they tend to avoid keeping the things they build in good working condition. Many state DOTs still spend upwards of 90 percent of their annual budgets on new construction, according […]
Here They Are — The Sad Benches Where No One Wants to Sit
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Last week, Gracen Johnson over at Strong Towns introduced the phrase “places I don’t want to sit” to describe the lousy, leftover public spaces where someone has plopped down a bench or two as an afterthought. The seating, in these cases, helps crystallize how unsalvageable our public realm becomes when everything else is planned around moving and storing […]
Detroit Riders Share Their Transit Horror Stories
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Detroit’s transit system is in crisis. The region’s fractious transit network was highlighted last year by the story of James Robertson — “Detroit’s walking man” — whose one-way, 23-mile commute consists of two bus routes and 10-plus miles of walking. The Detroit region has been struggling to create a unified city-suburb regional transit agency for the last few years. Next […]
Louisville Police Officer Strikes Pedestrian During City’s Big Safety Push
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Louisville is trying to get a handle on pedestrian safety. An average of 16 pedestrians are killed on the city’s streets annually, and the last few years have been getting worse. The city has received funding from the federal government for a three-year safety campaign dubbed “Look Alive Louisville.” Branden Klayko at Network blog Broken Sidewalk has been […]
“Places I Don’t Want to Sit” — A Gallery of Sad Public Spaces
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Gracen Johnson at Strong Towns has tapped into something universal with her post “Places I Don’t Want to Sit.” The above photo sums it up nicely: lousy, leftover spaces with public amenities grafted on as an afterthought. Since the whole surrounding parking lot is so hostile to people, why would anyone want to sit there? There’s an epidemic […]
Feds to Traffic Engineers: Use Our Money to Build Protected Bike Lanes
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The Federal Highway Administration wants to clear the air: Yes, state and local transportation agencies should use federal money to construct high-quality biking and walking infrastructure. State and local DOTs deploy an array of excuses to avoid building designs like protected bike lanes. “It’s not in the manual” is a favorite. So is “the feds won’t fund that.” Whether […]
FHWA Gleefully Reports That Driving Is Rising Again
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After flatlining for nearly a decade, the mileage driven by Americans is rising once again. That means more traffic overwhelming city streets, slowing down buses, and spewing pollutants into the air. But to the Federal Highway Administration, it’s a development to report with barely contained glee. This June, Americans drove 8.7 billion more miles than last June, […]
Houston Just Rebuilt Its Bus System From Scratch
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On Sunday, Houston debuted an entirely new and improved bus system. The city didn’t pass a new transit levy. Instead it put existing resources to use in a way that is designed to maximize frequent service and boost ridership. With the help of consultant Jarrett Walker (of Network blog Human Transit), Houston’s METRO changed nearly […]