Type: Tactical Urbanism Demonstration Project Series
Size: 11 Projects (6 Counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura)
Status: Complete
Street Plans, together with Alta Planning + Design, designed and implemented seven Tactical Urbanism projects as part of the Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) Go Human region-wide safety and encouragement campaign. The primary goal of the Tactical Urbanism component of the campaign was to promote region-wide walking and biking, and allow residents to temporarily experience roadways that are designed for people – not just cars. The projects were implemented in 11 cities across the SCAG region during 2016-2017. Project types ranged from open streets events to demonstration projects (such as pop-up bike lanes and temporary traffic circles or curb extensions), depending on each city’s goals.
The first of the eleven projects was completed on October 2016 in Long Beach, CA. Dubbed “Activate Uptown,” the project featured an open streets event as well as a temporary bicycle boulevard. Street Plans led design and materials procurement for the bicycle boulevard, which included art crosswalks, a traffic circle, and other features. These temporary treatments allowed event attendees to experience an enhanced walking and biking boulevard, catalyzing momentum towards permanent change in the future. The second event occurred December 2016 in Cudahy, CA. This event featured a demonstration traffic circle, temporary bikeway markings, as well as a number of pedestrian safety improvements (such as curb extensions) near a local school. The third event in Garden Grove, CA featured demonstrations of protected bike lanes, art crosswalks, and a neighborhood greenway.
On Saturday, December 3rd, 2016 Street Plans implemented the second of seven demonstration projects in Cudahy, California, which featured a temporary protected bike lane, a pop-up traffic circle, and sidewalk extensions. This project also celebrated the kick-off to the LA River Upper Segment Revitalization Plan. The street safety projects not only slowed down traffic, but also created easier access to the LA River Bike Path.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2017, Street Plans helped deliver similar Tactical Urbanism projects in additional locations including the cities of Rialto, Rancho Cucamonga, and Riverside. The project series ended in June of 2017 with an Orange County project, in partnership with OC Parks and the cities of Anaheim and Yorba Linda.
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Street Plans delivered two talks in Vancouver the week of September 12th for the Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place Conference, the premiere conference in North America for walking and bicycling professionals. Together with the San Francisco Planning Department, Street Plans presented the recently published Public Space Stewardship Guide -a new print…
Street Plans, the founder of the Open Streets Project, is thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with 8-80 Cities to advance the Open Streets Project. 8 80 Cities is a non-profit urban planning organization based in Toronto, Canada that will bring global experience to our team in the realm of advocacy for and…
From Thursday, August 18th to Sunday, August 21st, Open Streets policymakers, practitioners, health professionals, active transportation activists, and others convened for the 4th International Open Streets Summit in Portland, OR. Co-hosted by Street Plans, along with 8-80 Cities and the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation, the Summit was attended…
The draft of Plan BTV Walk Bike, Burlington, VT’s first comprehensive plan for walking and biking, has been officially released for public comment. With this plan, the city hopes to make Burlington the best small city for walking and biking on the East Coast, and provide viable transportation options…
Street Plans has joined the winning consulting team for the District of Columbia Office of Planning’s “Crossing the Street: Building DC’s Creative Future through Innovative Placemaking” initiative. Last week, the Washington Area Bicyclists’ Association, Street Plans’ partner, led a workshop in the District’s Petworth neighborhood to start brainstorming for an…
Street Plans, in collaboration with the San Francisco Planning Department and MJM Management Group, has released the Public Space Stewardship Guide, a living document that provides community groups and city leaders with models, case studies and ready-to-use tools for funding, programming and maintaining a successful public space. Successful public spaces require funding, programming, and maintenance;…
In partnership with the Greenbelt Alliance and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, and in collaboration with neighborhood groups and local businesses, Street Plans led a temporary demonstration project that transformed part of a long-neglected alley in San Jose, CA into a welcoming community gathering place. The alley makeover included an unveiling of a…
On July 20th, 2016 Mike Lydon joined Megan Barry, the Mayor of the City of Nashville, in a discussion at the New York Times’ Cities for Tomorrow conference at TheTimesCenter in New York City. Moderated by Allison Arieff, the editorial director of SPUR, Mike and Megan explored how thwarting bureaucracy can help solve urban problems.
View the 25-minute session here.
PS21, Street Plans’ partner in the recently completed Islington Street Lab Tactical Urbanism demonstration project, published a video and summary report of the firm’s work in Portsmouth, NH. The community-based demonstration project spanned five weeks in May and June, and ended with the temporary transformation of Islington Street between Albany and Bartlett Streets in the West End of Portsmouth.
Since the demonstration project, the City of Portsmouth has decided to move forward with a 30-day pilot project testing various elements– like curb extensions and new crosswalks– that were included in the project.
What are some of the best #OpenStreets programs in the country? Street Plans Principal Mike Lydon shares a few ideas with USA Today here! From the article: “Some of the world’s largest cities are saying no to cars — at least for a few hours. Open Streets programs close miles…
