Toole Design Group’s Post

💭 Imagine living in a place where everything you and your family needs is within a safe 15-minute walk or bike ride. As we embark on our first-ever comprehensive city plan, Pittsburgh can make this a reality. How the 15-Minute City Can Unlock Pittsburgh’s Potential for Better Connectivity, Equity, and Safety: https://lnkd.in/eNVNnfeq

Suburban developments are increasingly trying to mimic the walkability and vibrancy of urban neighborhoods, writes Alan Ehrenhalt in Governing. Is this a purely aesthetic shift, or is it a real movement toward more sustainable suburbs? In Tempe, Arizona, 10 miles from Phoenix, a new community called Culdesac opted to remove private cars, offering access to transit, shared micromobility, and rental cars instead. According to Robert Steuteville, removing the need for car infrastructure inside the development “allows for a porous, fine-grain urban pattern with a network of narrow, shaded pedestrian-only paseos, intimate courtyards and a central plaza.” However, limited transit options mean that residents will often have to drive when leaving the community.

Suburban developments are increasingly trying to mimic the walkability and vibrancy of urban neighborhoods, writes Alan Ehrenhalt in Governing. Is this a purely aesthetic shift, or is it a real movement toward more sustainable suburbs? In Tempe, Arizona, 10 miles from Phoenix, a new community called Culdesac opted to remove private cars, offering access to transit, shared micromobility, and rental cars instead. According to Robert Steuteville, removing the need for car infrastructure inside the development “allows for a porous, fine-grain urban pattern with a network of narrow, shaded pedestrian-only paseos, intimate courtyards and a central plaza.” However, limited transit options mean that residents will often have to drive when leaving the community.

Oxford Street East progress update Our campaign to Build a Better Oxford Street is bearing fruit! https://lnkd.in/gU8MZBJu The recently-published consultation report shows overall support for the project from 2,130 submissions. The level of support varied by the response method. The main feedback channel – the online survey – resulted in 57 per cent in favour. https://lnkd.in/gTzc-4i8 Design work continues. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for detailed concept design plans, despite promises from TfNSW that these would be shared in late 2023. This new graphic demonstrates how the cycleway will contribute to a green and liveable urban environment. Because of course, the proposal for Oxford Street is not just about bikes. It is an opportunity to reconfigure the street, diversify its transport mix, improve the urban environment and transform Paddington. Businesses, residents and visitors will benefit from widened footpaths, lower speed limits, reduced through traffic and upgraded public spaces that prioritise entertainment, dining and people rather than cars. Oxford Street will be a healthier, happier and livelier place. https://lnkd.in/g9H9xzk7 Thank you to everyone who joined our campaign! If you haven’t yet signed the petition or written to your local MP, please take a few minutes to help keep this project front of decision-makers’ minds. https://lnkd.in/guvYDKMf Artist’s impression of the proposed cycleway on Oxford Street, Paddington. (Image: Transport for NSW) Bicycle NSW Transport for NSW Jo Haylen John Graham #BIKEast #BIKESydney #advocacy #oxfordstreet BetterStreets #walksydney

As I was reminded while walking here earlier today, the sidewalk on Edgewood Avenue is way too narrow. Folks regularly have to step into the roadway to pass others. It shouldn't be like this anywhere, but especially not on the streetcar route. We're missing an opportunity to match transit investment with great pedestrian conditions. Please look into redesigning this as a shared street, Atlanta! This is an incredible success story waiting to happen. Some people complain that the streetcar "doesn't go anywhere people want to go," but I see the problem as being that we have 2.7 miles in the middle of the city that can be described by too many as a place they don't want to go. What we should be asking is: how many people are we delivering to the streetcar by way of a combination of rail-supportive land use that puts an appropriate density near the stations -- and excellent pedestrian conditions that help alternatives to driving be competitive. We're failing on all those fronts, but we can turn this ship around. We're capable of succeeding in Atlanta and becoming a city that truly supports alternatives to driving (like the streetcar) through our urban design and policies. Every little piece of that puzzle matters, including the design of every block of street on the streetcar route.

#CompleteStreets is a strategy to keep people safe whether they’re walking, biking, rolling, or driving on their city streets and sidewalks—and when done right, it serves every member of a community. But how can policymakers and advocates put a strong Complete Streets policy in place? With this Policy Action Guide, developed in partnership with CityHealth, you can learn from cities that have already implemented successful Complete Streets policies, gain insights from city planning experts, and follow prompts to help you draft your own policy. Explore the guide here ➡ https://lnkd.in/e7d3tFBC

I am ecstatic to read about Columbus Downtown Development Corporation/Capitol South's new 'Capital Line' development. Where do I even begin? 😁 . . . This is *precisely* the sort of human-centric infrastructure that Downtown sorely lacks. Despite what many may think, it is a matter of providing safer alternatives to driving, not eliminating it entirely. 🚲 🚶♂️ . . . As a #SouthSide resident, I think the 'wheel-in-spoke' idea for future growth of this development will also be a key to Columbus' long-term growth. Reconnecting Downtown with its surrounding communities will go a long way to help mend the harmful effects of 'redlining' neighborhoods from the 1950's. ⚖ . . . By far the most exciting implication is the European-style 'Christmas Market' concept shown in one of the renderings. 🎄 . . . Now, if only we could get some weight behind developing a local, light rail system we'd have it made! Maybe someday we will see a return to traditional modes of transportation, before cars took over. A man can dream, can't he? 🚉 #DowntownColumbus #development #pedestrian #CityPlanning #transit #InvestInTheFuture #bike #NewUrbanism #15MinuteCity #Columbus #Ohio https://lnkd.in/g6ackkGF

Courtenay Place Redevelopment With the shambles of Thorndon Quay as the closest thing the WCC has as a success, and the uncertainly of the future of the Reading Centre hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles, I say go slow before making a big blunder. I dread how much ratepayers' money will be spent before we know who the new owner is and what they want to do with the site. Imagine the ratepayers' fury if it all has to be dug up for the new owner, or closed off while they do their construction. With the economy turning the corner next year, and the Police doing foot patrols again, Courtenay Place may heal itself. If Council must do something let it, for now, be the minimally viable product. We may have to put it all back next year. https://lnkd.in/gP479P-5

I am trying to create a simple summary related to the concept of a walkable city based on two books. Jeff Speck's "Walkable City" emphasizes the importance of making cities more accessible to pedestrians. Allan Jacobs' "Great Street" highlights the characteristics that make streets attractive and comfortable to use. Both works underscore the significance of creating urban environments that are accessible and comfortable for all users through good design and supportive policies. Speck's approach simplifies the understanding of a walkable city by outlining that it will be successful if a person's journey involves four key elements: an interesting walk, a safe walk, a useful walk, and a comfortable walk. References: 1) Jacobs, A. B. (1995). Great Streets. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 2) Speck, J. (2012). Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

A bit of a tangent - a new historical city-builder called Memoriapolis is in early access and I'm pretty sure the city-building algorithm uses a gravity-based accessibility model. The model is even credited to an urban planner! Each building you place has different levels of attraction. The larger and more important the building is, the stronger it attracts residents. As you place more and more buildings, your city develops naturally around the places with the highest attraction - where opportunity to access these buildings is strongest. Different types of factions value different opportunities - so your city evolves into quarters over time as they choose the spaces most suited to them. This is an interesting change from catchment-based city-builders like SimCity 4 and Cities Skylines, where you try to cover every inch of your city in your service building buffers (whether basic or network-based buffers). It's less deterministic than either of these games, both of which assume all pops develop the same needs as they get wealthier / more educated. It's also a great parallel to new access models we're building at HSR. As we're building out the transit network, we're aiming to maximize relevant opportunities for different communities across Hamilton. Each community has unique needs - some value access to jobs more than access to schools, and others need quick access to healthcare over recreation. And of course, no community is a monolith! So rather than take the SimCity 4 approach, placing bus stops to make everyone within 400m happy whether the bus goes somewhere useful or not, we're reverse-engineering the Memoriapolis approach. We know where the most attractive opportunities are and where Hamiltonians locate to have easy access to them - our job now is to build up the transit links so that reaching these opportunities doesn't rely on a car! #memoriapolis #citybuilding #accessibility #hsr #hamilton #transit https://lnkd.in/gat5Yr3p