This is a pretty shocking video showing how pedestrians are treated along a major highway in auto-focused Atlanta. What is very interesting to note is how the USA is starting to see a shift in poverty from the inner city to the outer-suburbs – reversing the trend that occurred through most of the 20th century when the rich migrated to the suburbs, leaving the poor downtown:
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A few streets in Auckland are not too dissimilar to this.
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Wow. Not quite as bad here, but some places are close. Council response time seems about the same.
I remember staying in Atlanta during a conference and had some quite scary experiences, one involved being stuck in the middle of the roawhilst crossing a pedestrian crossing, whilst carrs zoomed passed me – no one acknowledged me or seemed to think stopping was necessary – exactly as shown in the video. To be fair on Atlanta, this is a common problem all over the US, I know you found NY drivers to be courteous but I’ve found Boston drivers to be awful, never stopping at pedestrian crossings, driving through whilst your crossing – and that includes cops. I think it’s an attitude that develops when you have people like Joyce in power who merely reinforce the attitude that if you’re in a car you deserve 99% of the transport budget spent on you and all of the urban space dedicated to you. It’s quite a culture shock comparing cities in Germany or Switzerland to those in the US and the respective attitudes to pedestrians (and cyclists).
“I’ve found Boston drivers to be awful, never stopping at pedestrian crossings, driving through whilst your crossing”
I found Amsterdam drivers to be the same, even though most other Dutch towns were safe. I threw a kick at one Amsterdam vehicle as it sailed though a crossing, missing me by inches. There was a loud buckling noise as the door panel dented. I hustled down the street, hoping that the driver would decide that he didn’t want to confront an aggressive person who had just demonstrated his ninja skills.
There was no one like Joyce in power at the time. Maybe all the bicycles and drugs made Amesterdamers aggressive?
being in a car, anywhere, makes people feel invulnerable and all important… I’m sure there are petrol headed Dutchmen just as there fantacist fascist Norwegians
Reminds me of Pakuranga Highway around St Kents.
Unfortunately the video didn’t work for me, but was it around the case of the women in Marietta who got put away for vehicular homicide even though it was her and her child who got hit?
In the end she got a year’s probation for the crime of having been run over and having her son killed due to ‘jaywalking’: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gISjBinlzMeS22BA3lg0vghcG9pA?docId=6a50b6d8382646e5b7575b5468d43d04. No doubt the judge said “and don’t do it again!”
Have you seen this? People in Guadalajara built a guerilla bike lane on the side of the road. The description on Youtube, poorly translated, roughly reads:
That was cool!! We need a crack team like that here!
This is a very common scene all across the U.S.
At least we have footpaths.