I'm posting this as food for thought. I haven't gone through his article with a fine tooth comb, but I find his ideas interesting. If nothing else, it is good practice as individuals and as a profession to go back and evaluate our base assumptions once in a while. As my signature shows, even the venerable Mr. Eno made mistakes.
Safe Streets, Livable Streets
I'd say the issue is not settled yet, and won't be until someone does an analysis as rigorous as Dr. Zegeer's crosswalk study ( Also be sure to read the counterpoint after the references.
On the other hand, the article does have some interesting ideas. Most importantly, that we (the highway engineering community) can't use the same tools in urban areas that have worked well in rural areas.
"...students of traffic are beginning to realize the false economy of mechanically controlled traffic, and hand work by trained officers will again prevail." - Wm. Phelps Eno, ca. 1928
"I'm searching for the questions, so my answers will make sense." - Stephen Brust
Safe Streets, Livable Streets
"While their model for rural areas performed as expected, with trees and other features being associated with a statistically significant increase in the number of roadside crashes, their model for urban areas produced radically different results. Not only were trees not associated with crash increases, but ... the presence of trees in urban areas was associated with a decrease in the probability that a run-off-roadway crash would occur."
(Emphasis added)
I'd say the issue is not settled yet, and won't be until someone does an analysis as rigorous as Dr. Zegeer's crosswalk study ( Also be sure to read the counterpoint after the references.
On the other hand, the article does have some interesting ideas. Most importantly, that we (the highway engineering community) can't use the same tools in urban areas that have worked well in rural areas.
"...students of traffic are beginning to realize the false economy of mechanically controlled traffic, and hand work by trained officers will again prevail." - Wm. Phelps Eno, ca. 1928
"I'm searching for the questions, so my answers will make sense." - Stephen Brust
