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Road Design

Talking Headways Podcast: Narrow the Lanes!

At 30 to 35 miles per hour, research shows that 12- and 11-feet-wide lanes have significantly higher number of crashes than 10- or nine-feet-wide lanes.

January 4, 2024

Feds, Advocates Talk About What’s In The New MUTCD (And What Isn’t)!

The new MUTCD isn't the revolutionary rethink advocates were asking for, but it does offer transportation officials more flexibility to design roads safely. The only question is whether they'll take it — or stick to the status quo.

December 19, 2023

New Bill Would Finally Rewrite the ‘Notorious’ MUTCD for Vulnerable Road User Safety

U.S. transportation engineers tend to treat the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices like a bible. A new bill would encourage them to treat it more like a recipe book — and sub out deadly design ingredients when they aren't safe for vulnerable road users.

November 15, 2023

Study: Wide Lanes Are Deadlier — So Why Do Many DOTs Build Them Anyway?

A 12-foot lane can expect roughly 50 percent more crashes than a 10-foot one. Yet many traffic engineers still pick the wider design.

November 13, 2023

Study: Yes, SUVs Are Deadlier Than Cars — But on Fast Arterials, Pedestrians Die No Matter What

In car-dependent Tennessee, SUVs and pick-ups aren't driving the pedestrian death surge — because roads are so fast that even the smallest cars will kill anyone they might strike.

October 25, 2023

Study: Some Paint-Only Bike Lanes May Increase Crashes

Sharrows and paint don't make anyone feel safe. But are they really worse than nothing at all?

September 7, 2023

Six Changes To Look Out For in the Next Edition of the MUTCD

The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices is getting its first update in over a century. Will it make people who move outside of cars safer, or endanger them even more?

Which Cities Have The Fewest Drinking Fountains — And What It Means For Walking and Biking

As climate change causes temperatures to climb, should cities be doing more to help people who walk and bike stay cool and hydrated?

July 27, 2023

The MUTCD Update is Late — And While We Wait, People Are Dying

Despite a binding requirement the Federal Highway Administration missed the deadline to release a new edition of America's street design guidelines by more than a month. Advocates fear the delay will result in yet another green light for increasing traffic fatalities.

July 3, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Undoing Autocentric Design in a Michigan City

A Michigan city tries to undo the mistakes of the past. It's hard.

June 8, 2023