Trump administration reverses long-held guidance on 'road diets' for traffic safety

A stylist was conscionable starting her displacement astatine a salon successful Kansas City, Missouri, erstwhile a car smashed done the storefront model and landed successful the waiting country a fewer feet away.

Such crashes were truthful communal on 31st Street that concern owners regularly texted 1 different photos showing the damage caused by vehicles speeding on the four-lane roadworthy lined with shops, bars and restaurants, which drivers utilized arsenic a shortcut betwixt large highways.

“A wide roadworthy makes radical think, ‘We’ll conscionable thrust arsenic accelerated arsenic we privation connected it,'" said Ryan Ferrell, who owns the spot lodging the salon, a bookstore and apartments above.

When concrete sidewalk barriers didn’t work, Ferrell and different concern leaders campaigned to enactment the thoroughfare connected a “road diet."

Removing lanes has been a instrumentality galore cities person utilized for years to calm traffic, contempt absorption from immoderate Republican governors. President Donald Trump's medication doesn't similar it either.

Federal proscription officials erstwhile heralded roadworthy diets for cutting crashes by 19% to 47%, but criteria for an upcoming circular of road information grants accidental projects aimed astatine “reducing lane capacity” should beryllium considered “less favorably," the medication said.

Forcing travelers into much constrained spaces “can pb to crashes, erratic maneuvers, and a mendacious consciousness of information that puts everyone astatine risk,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said successful an email connection to The Associated Press. “The update reflects the Department’s concerns astir the information hazards associated with congestion.”

Add a state line, subtract immoderate postulation lanes

Kansas City saved immoderate wealth erstwhile it converted 31st Street successful 2022 due to the fact that a state enactment was going successful anyway. It reopened with 1 lane successful each absorption alternatively of two, a shared crook lane adjacent the signalized intersections, amended pedestrian crossings and protected on-street parking spaces.

Road diets are present an astir automatic portion of the process successful Kansas City whenever a thoroughfare is up for repaving. For years, federal guidelines said lane reductions were usually due connected roads carrying less than 25,000 vehicles a day. Most of the city's four-lane roads don't conscionable that threshold.

Bobby Evans, an municipality planner astatine the Mid-America Regional Council who has worked connected Kansas City's roadworthy diets, calls the strategy "a smashing success" and 1 of the astir effectual tools astatine reducing speed, crashes and injuries.

“In the architectural satellite you’d telephone it biology determinism,” Evans said. “You privation to marque it truthful they don’t consciousness comfy going excessively fast. You’re truly not slowing them down. You’re bringing them backmost to the velocity limit.”

Rethinking the request for speed

Numerous different cities person credited roadworthy diets with improving safety.

Philadelphia cited a 19% driblet successful wounded crashes. Portland, Oregon, saw a much than 70% diminution successful vehicles traveling astatine slightest 10 mph (16 kph) implicit the velocity limit. The mean velocity successful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, fell by 5 mph (8 kph) connected immoderate roads wrong months.

But Jay Beeber, enforcement manager for argumentation astatine the National Motorists Association, an advocacy enactment for drivers, said astir roadworthy diets correspond an ill-advised effort to unit vehicles disconnected the road. The fig of vehicles whitethorn diminution connected dieted roads, but past surrounding roads person to sorb the traffic, helium said.

“Those cars person to spell somewhere,” helium said. “Cars are similar water. They question their ain level.”

Leah Shahum, who directs the Vision Zero Network, a nonprofit advocating for thoroughfare safety, said roadworthy diets are inexpensive and supported by years of research. Cities successful Republican-led states are among the converts and Shahum isn't definite if the Trump administration's caller guidance volition marque them reconsider.

“I surely anticipation that does not bleed implicit into indirectly discouraging communities from utilizing this proven information countermeasure,” Shahum said. “That would beryllium a existent loss.”

No antagonistic interaction connected exigency vehicles

Trump’s proscription section cited transportation and exigency vehicles among its concerns.

When University of Iowa researchers surveyed first-responders successful Cedar Rapids, their survey published past twelvemonth recovered nary noticeable quality successful effect clip erstwhile a roadworthy fare was successful place. There was, however, a perceived request to amended drivers astir what to bash erstwhile an ambulance uses a halfway crook lane to pass.

Cara Hamann, an subordinate prof of epidemiology who co-authored the study, said she recalled nary large examples of EMS oregon occurrence trucks being incapable to get through.

“The roadworthy fare didn’t origin a level of congestion that slowed them down,” she said.

Road fare absorption earlier Trump

Even earlier Trump, skepticism was increasing successful immoderate reddish states.

San Antonio spent years readying to repurpose a formerly state-owned information of its Broadway Street by removing conveyance lanes and improving a agelong for bikes and pedestrians. But Texas abruptly reclaimed the roadworthy successful 2022 and nixed the task arsenic GOP Gov. Greg Abbott ran for reelection and called for an extremity to anti-car policies.

“They fundamentally utilized Broadway arsenic a governmental football,” said Bryan Martin, proprietor of Bronko Bikes, an electrical motorcycle repair shop.

Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure past twelvemonth a 180-day reappraisal play and different galore steps earlier a section authorities tin destruct a lane. He said it would forestall activists from intentionally clogging roads to dilatory vehicles.

Not each the pushback has travel from Republican-led states. During the pandemic, Culver City, California, implemented a roadworthy fare to prioritize walking, biking and transit. But erstwhile cars returned and postulation backed up for miles, the metropolis reversed the plan.

Some residents sued successful Vancouver, Washington, saying the metropolis should person enactment its roadworthy diets up for a nationalist vote.

“I’ve seen radical passing successful the enarthrosis oregon the motorcycle lane,” said Justin Wood, 1 of the opponents. “It creates much accidental for conflict.”

Evans, the planner successful Kansas City, said roadworthy diets can't halt each reckless drivers.

“If you are bound and determined to spell 12 miles implicit the velocity bounds connected a three-lane road, you’re going to person to prosecute successful immoderate stupid, unsafe driving,” Evans said.

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