New traffic map

I've started a new map that will show where incidents happen. It's far from exhaustive right now, but is more of an exercise to see what could be helpful in illustrating these events. Crosses indicate injuries, triangles with exclamation points indicate fatalities. Bicycles show incidents with cyclists, but without major injuries. Likewise male and female icons will indicate incidents with pedestrians without major injuries.

View Chattanooga Streets Blog Map in a larger map

A Bicycle Friendly City: Q&A with Outdoor Chattanooga

Chattarati recently sat down with Outdoor Chattanooga's Bicycle Coordinator, Philip Pugliese, to discuss cycling in our city. Definitely see the full article, "A Bicycle Friendly City: Q&A with Outdoor Chattanooga"

Here are a few of the points I found interesting:

Philip Pugliese: I do not believe that the situation in Chattanooga is fundamentally different from many other cities. The vast majority of cyclists and motorists co-exist daily without incident. However, the presence of cyclists on the roadway does engender a response with many motorists that is disproportionate to the potential delay that a cyclist may cause. This sense of entitlement to roadways and the “need for speed” colors the view of many motorists. At the same time, for a variety of reasons, many cyclists routinely do not follow the letter of traffic law, which certainly does not help the situation. Either that or it simply comes down to a hatred of lycra.

[...]

Cyclists are often seen as an “indicator species” for the general quality life of a community. Communities where people can walk and bike safely create a positive environment for business, recreation and life. Increased cycling in our community can have direct impacts on our environment, energy demand and health.

[...]

All of the E’s (Engineering, Encouragement, Education and Enforcement) must be advanced to bring about change in our community. I firmly believe that the adoption and implementation of a complete streets policy would be a great start toward creating a walkable, bikeable and livable community.

Looking for a Silver Car w/ Broken Rear View Mirror: $2,500 Reward for Arrest in Recent Hit & Run

Think you know more about the hit and run I mentioned the other day? If so, there's a $2,500 reward out for information leading to an arrest. From the Chattanoogan:

A group of local bicycle riders are announcing a $2,500 cash reward to the first person providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of a hit and run motorist.

On Monday, July 20, about 1:40 p.m., two bicycle riders were riding south on U.S. Highway 41 about two miles south of Haletown heading toward Chattanooga when a motorist, driving a silver car, left the passing lane and struck one of the riders in the slow lane. The impact broke the leg of one rider and knocked him into the second rider, who was also injured.

The impact broke the driver’s right side rear view mirror, which was recovered at the scene by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which is investigating the case.

Information identifying the driver and the car should be communicated to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Chattanooga Headquarters, at 634-6898. The information provided is privileged and confidential.

For additional information about the reward, please contact Gary Humble at 596-3156.

New Urbanism: Rx for Healthy Places?

Amidst the ongoing debates in Congress and across the nation today on health care reform, I can't help but think that much of what we're debating would cease to be an issue if we learned how to build healthy cities. I think the Congress for the New Urbanism does a great job of succinctly describing the benefits:

Increasing scientific evidence suggests that community design -- land use, design character, transportation systems, sustainability, and density -- can promote physical activity and lifelong communities; lower the risk of traffic injuries, obesity, heart disease, and hypertension; improve air quality, affordability, social equity, connectivity, mental health and long-term value; increase social connection, sense of community and healthy food access; and reduce crime, violence and contributions to climate change.

Check out CNU's interesting new video, promoting the upcoming CNU 18 in Atlanta, coming up May 19-22, 2010:

I'm definitely going to have to try to make it down to Atlanta for this conference. What do you think? Can all these claims be true? Is this something that would work for Chattanooga?

Why add more suburbs to the city of Chattanooga?

There's a great comment from "TheBrainofBrainerd" on timesfreepress.com today. In reference to the Mayor's attempts to annex more suburban areas outside the central city, this brainy guy (or gal) writes:

Mayor Littlefield should at least have the decency and honesty to not insult the intelligence of the citizens of Chattanooga and the City Council with such a ludicrous and border line delusional statement about Volkswagen choosing Chattanooga because of our Fire Department.

Just how naive do you think the people of Chattanooga are?

Volkswagen chose Chattanooga because of the huge tax incentives both the City and County offered to VW.

The areas you are proposing annexing are huge tracts of residential suburbs.

The idea that they need to be annexed, in case something else like VW comes along, is absolutely ludicrous,-- unless your planning on rezoning thousands of families out of their homes in favor of new businesses?

The only reason to annex the proposed areas, is to pass the losses from the huge tax incentives given to VW onto City and County residents. In addition, the City will inevitably have to raise the tax rate on all City residents in order to fund services to the areas you are seeking to annex.

Annexation is a lose-lose proposal for both City and County residents, for it will only put further strains on the city budget and degarde the quality of already stretched too thin city resources and services.

Read the comment and the rest of the article (there's not much) on timesfreepress.com >

There are a couple great points here:

1- VW came to Chattanooga because of the economic incentives. I'm (tentatively) happy they're here, but we do have to understand that there's a very real cost involved in being generous with tax incentives.

2- By annexing more suburbs, and providing them with city services, we're straining already strained public agencies and resources.

We're all going to have to pay for this. Lower density= more money spent per person to create and maintain roadways, storm sewers, public water and other services. Higher density= more efficiencies and less cost to ourselves & the environment.

Littlefield is obviously fulfilling his campaign promises to focus on "neighborhoods" after what he perceived as an undue focus on downtown during previous mayor's terms. Personally I think he's wasting all of our money and ought to focus on sustainable increases in density instead of spreading city services across more land area.

9-year-old pedestrian hit and run on 12th Avenue

A recent pedestrian hit and run left a nine-year-old girl in stable condition, likely with a broken leg:

A nine-year-old girl was struck by a car just before 7 p.m. Wednesday after the child attempted to run across the street.

According to police reports, the girl was outside playing in the 4200 block of 12th Avenue when she apparently ran out into the street behind an SUV.

Full story on The Chattanoogan.

View Larger Map

Van Townsend struck by hit and run driver near Raccoon Mountain

Local cyclist Van Townsend was injured by a hit and run driver Monday afternoon near Raccoon Mountain and Highway 41. He sustained a broken leg and other injuries. This is particularly sad given the recent death of friend and fellow cycling advocate David Meek. Ronald Driver, owner of River City Bicycles, reported the incident to The Chattanoogan:

He said, "It was a two lane road and they were going uphill. The driver should not have been anywhere near that close to them. There was no reason for him to be hit."

He said the bicyclists were side by side.

Mr. Driver said, "Van is a real up and coming member of the Chattanooga bicycle community and this is another blow to us - following the death of David Meek."

Full story online.

The map below is approximate:

View Larger Map

14-year-old East Ridge Bicyclist Injured; fails to yield at stop sign

A 14-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when he was struck while riding his bicycle in East Ridge on Tuesday afternoon.

At approximately 4:15 p.m., East Ridge Police and Fire/Rescue responded to the 900 block of Belvoir Avenue.

Emergency personnel arrived at the scene of the collision in one minute.

The initial investigation shows that the boy failed to yield to a stop sign at the intersection of Woodard Circle and Belvoir Avenue, police said.

The passing motorist was unable to avoid the collision, it was stated.

The boy was transported to Erlanger Hospital with serious, but what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

Charges are not expected to be filed against the driver, a 39-year-old Chattanooga man.

From The Chattanoogan

View Larger Map

Legalize Neighborhood Density

Roger Valdez of the Sightline Institute offers an interesting article about Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle's attempts to increase density in single-family neighborhoods without changing the character of those neighborhoods. The article, "Legalize Neighborhood Density" explains some recent efforts by planners, designers, and architects in these cities to influence the city code to allow for accessory dwelling units:

There are ways to create more diversity and choice in single-family neighborhoods—accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can mean mother-in-law apartments, garages converted into detached housing, or rooms for rent. All of these are good growth strategies for cities, providing families and property owners with more options, and maintaining the character of some single family neighborhoods.

Increased density has all too often been associated with high-rise projects, and has at times yielded anomalies like the building now called "The Pinnacle" atop Stringer's Ridge here in Chattanooga. I remember a similar project from the same period in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, and it stood out in a similar way as an odd addition to a neighborhood that had been mostly single-story, predominantly single-family homes.

While I like what the developers have done with The Pinnacle and think that it's actually a valuable addition to Chattanooga's downtown living options, it's important to know that higher density can be accomplished without sacrificing the character of a neighborhood, and need not use the high-rise model. I would have opposed the development were it proposed today. Unfortunately, many American cities' zoning regulations and building codes have been solidified during previous eras, when "density" was a bad word.

I live at Battery Place in Chattanooga, a historical neighborhood with the accompanying protections from development, but also a neighborhood that has increased density over many generations with various degrees of success and failure. More about that in future posts, but I think you have some good examples of how to preserve a neighborhood's character and add density.

Valdez speaks of Seattle's attempts to reconsider the townhouse, noting that "they have generally been resisted by single family neighborhoods because of the increase in density but also because they are seen as ugly. " And so many of them are. Townhouses have too often been used as quick ways to turn a buck on a small plot of land, so neighbors are right in being hesitant to allow them.

What's interesting about the current discussion is the emphasis on good design. Valdez mentions Portland's courtyard housing design competition as an example. Interestingly, none of the winning designs could actually be constructed without changes to the law.

For too long our city codes have been based on concrete facts like the size of a development, the number of dwellings per acre, and similar statistical constraints. New neighborhoods adopt covenants with minimum square footage requirements, lest some redneck cousin show up and build a shack across the street, dragging the entire suburb's values down. While effective to some degree, these measures overlook the qualitative concerns that truly define a neighborhood: what does the neighborhood look like? what materials are often used, and how are they combined? how do the buildings relate to the street, and to each other? what accommodations are made for accessibility, walking, public transit and the like?

There have been efforts to dictate these qualitative factors in city code, to essentially make them law in the same way less helpful constraints become part of city code. The town of Davidson, North Carolina, for example, made a conscious decision to remain a town, even as density increases due to pressure from a growing population statewide as well as the sprawling city of Charlotte. City code, along the lines of Duany Plater-Zyberk's New Urbanist model, dictates everything from choice of materials to a building's distance from the sidewalk and the amount of open space in a development. Their commitment to retaining the town model has become part of their mission statement, right in there with treating people with respect and keeping citizens safe:

Davidson’s traditional character is that of a small town, so land planning will reflect its historic patterns of village-centered growth, with connection of neighborhoods, reservation of rural area, and provision of public spaces. [Full statement]

I do often wonder if a town would have any chance of passing such planning guidelines without the presence of a world-class college faculty present. Nevertheless, the takeaway here for me is that cities and towns are not accidents; they are designed. The come about because people care about their quality of life, they care about the character of their place, and they give freely of their time and talents to help shape the future of their public and private spaces.

I've been encouraged in the past few years as a small but active group of Chattanoogans have given a great deal of time, effort, and money to help us all imagine a better city for ourselves. We've seen variances in city code granted for waterless urinals, as well as the state's first LEED-certified shopping center, a development that makes good use of the land and enlivens an area previously made up of industrial buildings and empty space.