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Spain's Happy Little Carless City

Will Doig

October 11, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, Pontevedra

In Pontevedra, Spain, the city has taken incremental action to reduce cars and congestion in the city center. As the city is small and walkable on foot, walking has become the foremost transportation option, not through extreme regulatory hurdles, but by engaging business owners, providing short-term parking and even free parking on the edge of town, and making sure pedestrians feel front and center. Through slight design changes, local government and citizens alike have been able to reimagine what a walkable city looks like, then put it into effect with great success.

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Street by Street, Amsterdam Is Cutting Cars Out of the Picture

Feargus O'Sullivan

October 07, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

In order to cut back on automotive emissions and traffic within the city center, Amsterdam has introduced road-dividing "cuts" - called "knips" in Dutch - along major roadways to make travel in the city center easier for pedestrians and public transportation users. These cuts consist of barriers set to close off short sections of a street, therefore disabling through-travel to cars. The city notes that a "knip" effectively cuts automotive traffic on a blocked-off road by 70 percent.

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Lessons From a Car-Free Street Fight in London

Laura Laker

September 27, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: England, London

In an effort to promote safe streets and bicycle and pedestrian safety, Officials in Tower Hamlets, an East London neighborhood, closed down a main community road to car traffic - and it didn't go well. But local officials learned from the pilot, recognizing a need to better prepare the community for any road closures as well as plan for alternative routes for car traffic.

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Vandalism Raises Questions About Loop Garage Security

Tim McNicholas

August 15, 2019 |

WBBM-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Some public parking garages in Chicago are taking added measures to ensure the cars parked inside remain safe. In such easily accessible places, making sure the right people get in is important, which is why some garages have installed pedestrian doors that won’t unlock without the parking ticket issued at arrival. While most garages have security cameras, with unsecured spaces that are open 24 hours, taking added measures is becoming increasingly needed.

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Got a parking ticket? In some cities, you can pay for it with school supplies or cat food.

Marisa Iati

August 13, 2019 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Muncie, Indiana

Across the United States, cities are letting residents pay off their parking tickets with donations to local organizations. For set periods of time, cities like Muncie and Las Vegas write off traffic tickets – as long as they aren’t related to public safety – when residents donate things like cat food to the local cat shelter, or school supplies to educational organizations. The initiatives have been such a success that people from around the country are sending in their donations, even without the trade-off of a paid parking ticket.

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The schoolchildren confronting speeding motorists

Dougal Shaw

June 28, 2019 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

In London, a new initiative called Junior Roadwatch is engaging children as traffic safety enforcers. Around one particularly busy and dangerous section of road, drivers who are caught speeding have two options: get a ticket or be questioned by a group of school-aged children. While newly developed, the initiative, devised by The Met Police and Transport for London, has stopped over 90 individuals for speeding, all of whom chose to answer questions from children about the consequences of their actions.

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This is how the state plans to keep drivers safe in dust storms on Arizona roads

Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Andrew Nicla

June 18, 2019 |

AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

Arizona’s Department of Transportation is taking steps to reduce dust-related car crashes with the help of over $50 million in federal funding. Changes include making the highway wider, improving radar detection of dust, and decreasing the speed limit in the most high-risk areas.

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Paving, rumble strip installation underway at site of fatal May 5 crash

Carl Hunnell

June 12, 2019 |

Richland Source |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Shelby, Ohio

A rural intersection in Shelby, Ohio has received a safety makeover: new paving and rumble strips. The intersection was the site of a fatal car accident in May 2019 and Josh Boggs – a father who lost family members in the accident – took it upon himself to demand action. By contacting the county’s commissioner, engineer, and a state representative, he hopes this will be the first of many intersections receiving added safety measures.

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People Are Helping Animals Cross Highways — That's Great for Humans, Too

Monica Humphries

June 10, 2019 |

NationSwell |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Gainesville, Florida

Across the United States, cities are designing ways for wildlife to cross major roadways. Whether they’re overpasses crossing highways or tunnels under freeways, these helpful pathways are strategically placed to help save the most wildlife. Seeing huge successes, including a casualty rate decline of close to 94% – conservationists are calling for more legislation to help protect and maintain such efforts.

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Oakland's 'Pothole Vigilantes' Take Street Repairs Into Their Own Hands

Sonja Hutson

May 20, 2019 |

KQED |

Radio |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

In Oakland, CA, two men deemed the Pothole Vigilantes have paired up to fix every pothole in the city. Made possible by crowdfunding the venture, the two have now developed public meetups to teach others how to fix potholes themselves. This has caught the attention of city officials, who, partly because of this effort, have passed a $100 million plan to repave Oakland streets.

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