Bike Walk Knoxville

06/20/2026

"Rather than fighting human nature, transportation agencies can work with it by adopting approaches like Vision Zero that anticipate human error and design to minimize its consequences, instead of relying solely on compliance or enforcement; signal timing, curbline changes, and pavement patterns can work together to align street design with how people actually behave, creating forgiving streets that reduce the severity and likelihood of crashes. When public spaces are designed not around cars, but around how people are inclined to interact with and move through the world, the safest way to navigate the street will be what feels most natural."

https://ssti.us/2026/06/08/curbing-our-car-enthusiasm-streets-designed-for-people/

06/18/2026

"Although overall pedestrian deaths in the U.S. have declined in recent years, fatalities in the nation’s largest cities remain well above the number of deaths in 2009, according to a report released Tuesday by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition."

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/smart-growth-america-pedestrian-deaths-study/822409/

06/16/2026

"As transit agencies nationwide grapple with budget deficits and pulled funding, the future of basic amenities, like benches, is uncertain. Rather than accepting cuts at face-value, bus riders can lead on the growing wealth of resources to improve accessibility."

Not all heroes wear capes – some wear high-viz vests and safety goggles.

06/13/2026

"If we want a living kind of downtown, we have to choose it. We have to build for residents, not just visitors. We have to allow more housing, more small spaces, and more everyday life. And that requires political will."

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2026-5-28-people-want-urban-playgrounds-not-cities

06/11/2026

"We can think about congestion not as a phenomenon in need of reduction but rather as an experience that should be optional. Congestion becomes optional if we provide good alternatives to driving."

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/05/13/opinion-its-time-to-rethink-our-congestion-obsession

06/10/2026

Bike Walk Knoxville was proud to join AAA and other roadway safety partners last week to launch the "E-Bike Ready" safety campaign!

https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/06/02/aaa-launch-e-ride-ready-safety-campaign/

06/09/2026

"Many coordination failures in infrastructure projects persist because no single person with enough authority over all the parties involved has chosen to make them their problem. When that person shows up, such as a premier, a minister, or a mayor with genuine clout, problems that festered for years can sometimes be resolved in days or hours. The history of successful large infrastructure projects is very often a history of someone deciding that the human obstacles were their personal responsibility to clear."

Perhaps sometimes we really should just phone it in

06/06/2026

"We design wide roads that encourage speed. We prioritize vehicle throughput over every other public priority. We build intersections that are forgiving to drivers and hostile to everyone else. We clutter the roadway with signs and allow distractions to multiply. Then, when the predictable happens — when someone is injured or killed — we treat it as a failure of individual behavior. If only the pedestrian had been more alert. If only they had made eye contact. If only they hadn’t assumed the driver would stop. It’s a subtle but powerful shift. The responsibility moves away from the system and onto the person most exposed to its dangers."

How public safety messaging shifts responsibility away from the systems that cause harm.

06/04/2026

"Drivers are stunningly oblivious to their role in America’s road safety crisis — and empathy, not enforcement or traditional education, may be the key to getting them to change their ways, a new study suggests."

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/04/30/survey-says-empathy-is-the-key-to-getting-motorists-to-drive-safer

06/02/2026

Electric bicycle education and advocacy is so important to advancing e-mobility options and opportunities. We were happy to speak at the AAA Tennessee Press Conference!