Walk and Roll: Active Transportation News Round-up May 5, 2020

Most recent editions: April 27, 2020 and April 13, 2020. We generally alternate between this type of news round-up and a focus on resources/trainings.

--------------------------------------

COVID-19 and Active Transportation

This round-up isn’t exhaustive, but gives you an idea of the conversation playing out. We'll adjust headings over time as themes emerge and evolve. Previous editions that included this: April 27, 2020 and April 13, 2020.

Resources for Washington State

• NEW: COVID-19 Transportation System Safety Performance Dashboard
• NEW: COVID-19 Multimodal Transportation System Performance Dashboard
• Washington State Coronavirus Response official site
• Guidance on Cloth Face Coverings from the Washington State Department of Health (PDF)
• Information on COVID19 from DOH available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Russina, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese

Resources

• Populus Open Streets Initiative: Apply by May 15, 2020 to partner with Populus to design and implement new street policies. Article
• Slow, Shared, and Safe: Closing Streets to Thru-Traffic During the Coronavirus: NACTO webinar archive
• Complete Streets responses to COVID-19: Smart Growth America webinar archive + recap
• Resources to Build Back Better: World Resources Institute roundup of webinars, articles
• Principles For Equitable Public Outreach & Engagement During Covid-19 and Beyond

Infrastructure Responses

International

• 40km of corona cycle paths in Brussels immediately
• Encourage cycling and walking after lockdown, UK mayors told
• London Mayor’s Streetspace Plan could see cycling increased tenfold post-lockdown
• Lewisham's COVID-19 Transport Response (London)
• France’s plan to push pedal power to keep post-pandemic pollution levels low
• Coronavirus: France offers subsidy to tempt lockdown cyclists
• Paris Has a Plan to Keep Cars Out After Lockdown
• European cities bet on pedal power after lockdown

USA--General

• NACTO COVID-19: Transportation Response Center
• How cities are reshaping streets to prepare for life after lockdown
• Open Streets, Shared Streets, Healthy Streets—Creating Mobility and Physical Activity Solutions Now and for the Future
• How cities can use streets to bolster social distancing
• Cities Close Streets to Cars, Opening Space for Social Distancing
• Rethinking Sidewalks and Streets in the Midst of COVID-19

USA--Cities and States

• LA Times Opinion: Coronavirus shutdowns are making it undeniably clear how toxic our car culture is
• Tampa closes streets, opens space for restaurant seating
• Kansas City closes 2.5 miles of roads to provide outdoor space during COVID-19 crisis
• New York City Is Latest To Close Some Streets To Cars, Making More Space For People
• Portland, OR Plans To Close, Modify Streets For Social Distancing
• Portland launches 100-mile ‘Slow Streets Safe Streets’ COVID-19 response effort
• Kansas City closes 2.5 miles of roads to provide outdoor space during COVID-19 crisis
• To curb speeding, Palo Alto may ban cars on some streets during pandemic

Washington State

• Some trails, closed amid statewide parks shutdown, will reopen for day use Tuesday
• Seattle: Get Ready! 11 More Miles of Stay Healthy Streets Coming Your Way
• Seattle’s Densest Neighborhoods Need Open Streets Too
• Crowdsourced map highlights 130 miles of potential Stay Healthy Streets
• While coronavirus keeps everyone off the trails, see Seattle on these 5 street-cycling loops
• Talking with Barb Chamberlain of Washington State Department of Transportation
• King County Parks to re-open parks and trails on May 8: ‘Recreate Responsibly!’

Resilience and Recovery

• BIKES (!!) for Transportation, Climate Action and Resilience
• Preparing for the day after: How can micromobility get communities moving post-COVID-19? Webinar video and blog post. Presenters include WSDOT Active Transportation Division Director Barb Chamberlain.
• The world is on lockdown. So where are all the carbon emissions coming from?
• Coronavirus has shown us a world without traffic. Can we sustain it?
• Coronavirus and the Fragility of Auto-Centric Cities
• What could public transport look like after COVID?
• Bike Lanes Can Benefit Local Businesses (!), According to This Study
• Closing Central Madrid To Cars Resulted In 9.5% Boost To Retail Spending, Finds Bank Analysis
• Street Food: Close the roads. Reclaim the parking lots. Put restaurants outside.

Participation

• Bicycling Booms During Lockdown—But There's A Warning From History
• The bike as COVID-19 solution
• Volunteering in a Crisis: Saris Delivers Food to Families in Need

Equity

• Friends of the Parks discusses the need for green space during COVID-19 and beyond (Chicago)
• Policing During the Pandemic Shows That a Hands-Off Approach Works
• Who’s left riding public transit? Hint: it’s not white people.

--------------

National and Local/Regional Surveys on COVID-19 and Active Transportation

• Local Actions to Support Walking and Cycling During Social Distancing Dataset: Open-access dataset invites people to submit information about their communities’ efforts to rebalance streets for walking, biking, and other forms of travel while promoting social distancing.
• Smart Growth America survey Complete Streets + COVID-19 on community responses
• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy survey about trail management experiences. 
• American Trails survey to quantify the effects of the pandemic on the trails and outdoor recreation industry.
• Safe Routes During COVID-19: Resource Tracking Document for ideas to engage youth and families while schools are closed
• Cascade Bicycle Club survey Biking, Walking, and Rolling During COVID-19
• Seattle Neighborhood Greenways survey Safe Streets in an Era of Social Distancing
• Duke University teleworking survey
• Know of a survey related to active transportation inviting data from people in Washington state? Send to barb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov with dates it's open and we'll share in the next Walk and Roll E-News.

--------------

If you read this far, thank you! You're finding something of value here and you know someone else who should receive this kind of news and learn what's happening with the state Active Transportation Plan. Forward WSDOT Walk and Roll to others and share the subscription link on social media (tag it #WSDOTactive).