Covid-19 Streets: Mobility Justice and the Rapid Rollout of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Improvements

The “COVID Streets” movement may be an indicator of evolution in the transport field. But questions remain over whether this change supports more equitable planning processes that are necessary to achieve safer outcomes for all users. This research will explore the ways in which cities approached equity and public engagement in the process of planning and implementing rapid rollout pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and the impacts of those facilities, using a mobility justice framework for evaluation. The research team's primary objective is to identify, describe, and disseminate lessons from rapid rollouts that may lead to the development of more timely, equitable, and ultimately safer deployments of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in a post-pandemic future. The proposed research focuses specifically on the planning process, with a secondary focus on links among planning process, intervention design, and utility. The research team anticipates concurrent and future studies will focus on design and outcomes. Findings from this research can be used to inform efforts to shorten timelines for planning, design, and implementation of potentially life-saving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure while promoting a more equitable public process and more just distribution of benefits. The research will build knowledge on the relationships among planning process, design, and implementation of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and identify how synergies between safe systems and mobility justice can be leveraged to improve transportation safety for all users.

• Record URL:
  https://www.roadsafety.unc.edu/research/projects/2021r34/
• Supplemental Notes:
  • CSCRS2021R34

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $47149
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747113

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety

  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  Chapel Hill, NC  United States  27514
• Project Managers:

  Sandt, Laura

• Performing Organizations:

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  UNC-CH New East Building
  Campus Box #3140
  Chapel Hill, North Carolina  United States  27599-3140
• Principal Investigators:

  Combs, Tabitha

  Nordback, Krista

• Start Date: 20210501
• Expected Completion Date: 20220930
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle facilities; Cities; COVID-19; Cyclists; Equity; Lessons learned; Mobility; Pedestrian areas; Pedestrians; Planning; Street closure
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Society; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01771199
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747113
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: May 4 2021 9:46AM