At Strong Towns, we're very conscious of the words we use and the way we tell stories, especially those involving car crashes. It's not because we're trying to be dramatic; it's because we're trying to change the conversation entirely. And you play an important part.
Read MoreThe Strong Towns Crash Analysis Studio is one of the toughest projects I’ve ever worked on. Analyzing crashes that ruined people’s lives is heartbreaking, especially when knowing that quick and easy responses could’ve prevented them. But it’s worth it to make those streets safer, to save lives and to shift the national conversation around crashes to be more humane and effective.
Read MoreAfter a Crash Analysis Studio was conducted in Rochester, New York, the city quickly established safer street design standards. Now, the county has created a first-in-state Community Traffic Safety Team to proactively address citizens’ concerns regarding street safety.
Read MoreTo make streets safer, we need to change the way people think about car crashes. And we need your help to do it. So, here’s the executive summary of the new “Beyond Blame” report, which shares the most important insights and recommendations from 18 months of Crash Analysis Studios.
Read MoreYamini Karandikar is the leader of Strong Towns San Antonio, a Local Conversation in Texas. She joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss her experience with conducting a Crash Analysis Studio and the impact it’s had on her community.
Read MoreIt's time to embrace a new method for creating safer streets, but it can be daunting to move from supporting an idea to actually executing it. Here are people's top three concerns about conducting a Crash Analysis Studio and why you don't have to worry about them.
Read MoreOn this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses street safety with Melany Alliston, a project manager and civil engineer with Toole Design.
Read MoreWhen analyzing car crashes and identifying ways to prevent them, local experts — residents who are familiar with the crash sites — can often identify issues and solutions that technical experts miss. Here's how technical experts and elected officials can tap into that local expertise.
Read MoreAmericans are suckers for the idea of a moonshot, of taking a big, challenging risk and earning a huge payoff. The problem is, these moonshots usually fail, especially when they're trying to fix complex, chronic problems like traffic safety. There's a better way.
Read MoreThe traffic engineering profession has three responses to fatal crashes: blame the driver, call for more engineering or conclude it was an accident that couldn't be prevented. These are understandable human reactions. Here's why they're also inadequate and what should be done instead.
Read MoreIn many cities, officials primarily rely on traffic enforcement to prevent car crashes and fatalities. This is unsustainable and ineffective. If city officials want to make Vision Zero a reality, instead of a slogan, they must address the systemic issues that put everyone at risk.
Read MoreNice, California, doesn’t have nice streets. But it could, if city planners started thinking about road infrastructure in a way that prioritizes safety and walkability over asphalt. Here are a couple of redesign options, inspired by a Crash Analysis Studio held in the city.
Read MoreWith an average of 39 collisions a day, Winnipeg, Canada, is a dangerous place for drivers and pedestrians alike. Residents have been fighting to change that for over 40 years, but progress is slow.
Read MoreWould you wait a month to fix a leaking pipe that was damaging your kitchen cabinets? No? Then why do we wait so long to fix streets where people continuously die in car crashes?
Read MoreThe driver was operating their vehicle entirely lawfully at this intersection in Grand Junction, CO—yet a person was nearly killed and the driver’s car was totaled. Who do we blame? (And what’s the point of assigning blame?)
Read MoreIf any city or county wants to be effective in creating a safer street, they’ll develop multiple responses to calming traffic, instead of relying on only one or two changes that still prioritize thru-traffic.
Read MoreIn the last three years alone, this San Antonio intersection has seen more than 20 crashes—several of them fatal. How long do residents have to wait before something is done about it?
Read MoreThere’s no excuse: when members of a community see a dangerous street for what it is, it shouldn’t take a death (or several deaths) for the city to finally take action.
Read MoreIf a roof is leaking in a public building, we know to fix it asap. So why don’t our public officials move with the same urgency when dealing with a much more serious problem: the death of a person on our streets?
Read MoreStreets are some of the most hostile and dangerous places in our built environment, causing the deaths of over 40,000 people every year. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
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