On December 3, 2014, a 7-year-old girl named Destiny Gonzalez was killed while crossing State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts.
What gets lost in the shocking statistics about the number of pedestrians who die each year in traffic crashes—4,884 in the U.S. in 2014, more than 6,700 in 2020—is that they aren’t “statistics” at all, or even “pedestrians” really, but people with names, who had hopes and dreams, and family and friends forever changed by the loss of their loved one. That was certainly the case with Destiny, who was killed while leaving the Central Library with her mother and cousin. She also left behind a father, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
Something else that gets lost in these discussions is how our streets got so unsafe to begin with. Our streets, roads, and stroads are designed according to values so embedded that traffic engineers themselves might not be constantly aware of them. That’s a problem because you can’t fix something you don’t even know exists. It’s also the topic this week on the Strong Towns Podcast.
In this episode, Chuck Marohn reads an excerpt from the first chapter of Confessions of a Recovering Engineer. Chuck describes why the high costs of the North American transportation system—costs in life and injury, as well as time and prosperity—are the byproduct of the values at the heart of traffic engineering. He also explains why the values of engineers, including traffic speed and traffic volume, aren’t the values most people would prioritize.
Confessions of a Recovering Engineer is available everywhere on Wednesday, though if you preorder now you can get immediate access to Chapter One (along with these other great bonuses).
Safe and Productive Streets
Mike McGinn: Making America More Walkable
This Vancouver-Based Artist Is Writing Music…About Building Strong Towns!
Chuck Marohn Answers Your Questions
Ryan Crane: Malpractice and Accountability in Engineering—A Surgeon’s Take
An Update and the Strong Towns Strategic Plan
“How Can My Town *Not* Be Wealthy When There’s Been So Much Growth?”
Annamarie Pluhar: Shared Housing Doesn’t Have to Be Scary
The Latest Update on the Strong Towns Lawsuit
Truth in Accounting: Making Cities’ Finances Transparent for All
Jeff Speck on Confessions of a Recovering Engineer
Chuck Marohn Answers Your Questions
Jarrett Walker: ”Prediction and Freedom Are Opposites”
Peter Norton: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving
Driving Went Down. Fatalities Went Up. Here’s Why.
Tim Soerens: Reconnecting Churches with Their Neighborhoods
Two Different Languages
Which Wins Out: An Engineer‘s Discretion or a Book of Standards?
Another Tragedy at Springfield
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