A Road Intervention: How to Address Poorly Designed Streets

It is commonplace in roadway design in the United States to place travel efficiency for personal transportation above all other stakeholders. Through bare-bones amenities and the façade of safety measures, streets are uncomfortable and dangerous for pedestrians and other modes of transport as they interact with the road. Fatalities involving pedestrians are at their highest rate since 1981, while the current design standards have ceded 80% of public spaces to roads. So, what is the public return on this investment? The streets provide pedestrians little to no protection from the barreling hunks of metal and give almost no amenities for the public to enjoy the ancillary space. This needs to change. The design paradigm needs to shift towards the concept known as Complete Streets, where communities can improve their roads by prioritizing the safety, accessibility, and comfortability of all users who interact with the space. Human life is invaluable, and it should not need to be argued for; this means, however, that we need to rethink the way that we approach roads as a society if we genuinely believe that human life should be protected.