Orlando, FL demonstration project: Curry Ford Road

The Orlando metropolitan region has long had notoriously dangerous roadways, especially for people walking. A team from the City of Orlando dedicated to improving safety launched a demonstration project on Curry Ford Road, a commercial arterial with a history of crashes involving people walking and biking that spans both the city’s and county’s jurisdictions. By collaborating with Orange County staff and with local elected officials, the team transformed this five-lane speedway into a three-lane Complete Street with protected cycle tracks and a mid-block crossing with a painted pedestrian refuge. Although local business owners and nearby residents supported the demonstration project, people who commute through the neighborhood were resistant to the changes, which raised important questions about the necessary trade-offs between safety and speed when designing safer streets for people.

Complete Streets

Washington, DC’s “textbook example” of value capture


This month on Building Better Communities with Transit, our host Jeff Wood talks with Stan Wall of HR&A Advisors about value capture is and the NoMa–Gallaudet U station in Washington, DC. According to Stan, that station is “the most textbook, beautiful example of the possibilities in creating value and leveraging that to extreme positive benefit for a city.”

Transportation

Senate THUD appropriations bill maintains key funding for housing, transportation, and community development programs


Yesterday, the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Appropriations subcommittee’s FY19 appropriations bill. The legislation provides $71.4 billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. Departments of Transportation (USDOT) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other related agencies through the end of September 2019 and is $1.1 billion above FY18 enacted levels. 

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Building great places through small-scale manufacturing


Smart Growth America is once again soliciting applications for a new round of free technical assistance for communities interested in using small-scale manufacturing as a strategy to create economic opportunity, boost the prospects of Main Street, and build great places.

Uncategorized

Free technical assistance for small-scale manufacturing and neighborhood revitalization, coming soon


Small-scale manufacturing can be a powerful tool to revitalize downtowns of all sizes. Starting next week, Smart Growth America will again be offering another round of free technical assistance for communities interested in using this strategy to create economic opportunity and build great places. Applications open on June 5.

Economic development

How to create safer streets with fast, flexible, and low-cost demonstration projects

Through our Safe Streets Academy, teams from Orlando, FL, Lexington, KY, and South Bend, IN launched demonstration projects to transform their streets into safer places for people walking, biking, and driving. How did they do it? On June 12, we’re releasing case studies that tell their stories — stories that can help others around the country learn how to create safer streets in their own communities. Join us for a webinar on June 12 from 2:30-3:30PM ET to celebrate these projects and learn more about the cities’ experiences!

Complete Streets

House THUD Appropriations bill boosts FY19 funding for transportation, housing, and community development programs


This week, the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee released the text of its FY19 appropriations bill, which allocates funding for the U.S. Departments of Transportation (DOT), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other related agencies through September 30th, 2019.

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