Tab CombsMay 5

Copy/pasting from my far more articulate co-author, Jesse Saginor, on the linkedin:

"🚦 Are we designing for safety — or just congestion?

New research published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives reveals that Traffic Impact Analyses (TIAs) often prioritize congestion mitigation over road user safety — especially for pedestrians and vulnerable users....

https://triangletoot.party/@drtcombs/114449178787981111

Tab Combs (@drtcombs@triangletoot.party)

Traffic #congestion is a hell of a boogeyman. The impulse to reduce ‘motorist delay’ is used to justify a wide range of counterproductive policies that ultimately make city streets more expensive, more unpleasant, and critically, more dangerous. I’m over the moon to finally get to share the results of this study unpacking why we keep building city streets that get people killed: Recurrent patterns in the application of traffic impact analyses: Safety first or last? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001241 🧵

Triangle Toot Party!
Show threadTab Combs

"...In a study spanning five U.S. states, our team interviewed transportation professionals and developers to explore how TIAs are applied in practice.

What we found was striking:
🔁 TIAs often fall into two classic systems traps:

Seeking the wrong goal: Mistaking reduced driver delay for improved safety

Fixes that fail: Adding road capacity may temporarily ease congestion, but ultimately increases traffic volumes and crash risks...

May 5 at 3:25pmWeb
Show threadTab CombsMay 5

"...💡 The study proposes practical leverage points to center safety in development review processes and better integrate land use with safer transportation outcomes.

📄 Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001241

Let’s shift the paradigm — from moving cars to protecting people.
#RealEstateDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #TrafficSafety #DevelopmentReview #VisionZero #TIA #SystemsThinking "

Show threadTab CombsMay 5
And I'll add: this is the kind of work that happens at federal University Transportation Centers. Rigorous, applied research that helps state and local officials make public streets safer, make governance more efficient, make sure everyone has the ability to get to work, school, shopping, and back home again in one piece.
Show threadMarco van Burgsteden 🍋May 5

@drtcombs

An international comparison might also be interesting.

Show threadTodd NelsonMay 5
@drtcombs in my city, driver delay (aka, Level of Service) is mandated in the Municipal Code. Safety is not. Pedestrians and cyclists can die, but no response is required - only that traffic isn't delayed more than 45 seconds.