Americans have had a long love affair with the automobile.
Since its invention in the last century, city streets were designed to the automobile through an area as quickly and safely as possible. Until recently pedestrian and bicycle travel has been an afterthought. Many U.S. streets still lack safe cycle tracks but those that do often design bicycles paths between the road and the sidewalk, protected from cars by some type of barrier. In the past, if the new streetscapes included trees at all they were planted and constrained in small sidewalk "pits" that stressed the trees and lowered their chances of survival.
The article I have linked below wants planners to opt for trees in a new way. This article claims that research shows bicyclists prefer street trees, especially between the bicycle lanes and traffic and further claims they can improve streetscapes for all users.
Photomontage of Western Avenue in Allston, Massachusetts, with trees separating the cycle track from the street and curb separating cycle track from sidewalk. (Source: Anne Lusk)
Since its invention in the last century, city streets were designed to the automobile through an area as quickly and safely as possible. Until recently pedestrian and bicycle travel has been an afterthought. Many U.S. streets still lack safe cycle tracks but those that do often design bicycles paths between the road and the sidewalk, protected from cars by some type of barrier. In the past, if the new streetscapes included trees at all they were planted and constrained in small sidewalk "pits" that stressed the trees and lowered their chances of survival.
The article I have linked below wants planners to opt for trees in a new way. This article claims that research shows bicyclists prefer street trees, especially between the bicycle lanes and traffic and further claims they can improve streetscapes for all users.
Photomontage of Western Avenue in Allston, Massachusetts, with trees separating the cycle track from the street and curb separating cycle track from sidewalk. (Source: Anne Lusk)trees making bicyclists and our cities safer.
Comments
Post a Comment