Network Roundup

SUVs have long been perceived by purchasers as providing added "safety," presumably by giving a commanding view through the windshield and some extra space between driver and metal shell. Of course, there are also a few downsides to driving a vehicle the size of a seafaring yacht.

If you ever have the bad fortune to be involved in a collision as a pedestrian, your chances of survival hinge on one crucial factor: the speed the motorist was traveling.

There will be fits and starts on the long journey toward overhauling transportation policy in this country. But in an era of energy uncertainty and crumbling infrastructure, the single occupancy vehicle is an unsustainable, expensive and inefficient way for people to move. Transportation reformers have the stronger arguments to be made.

They say it's a sign we're coming back to earth as a result of the recession. And perhaps it signals a growing environmental awareness. Certainly, the loss of cheap and easy credit is a factor, as well.

Can discussions of sustainability and the built environment progress without devolving into a city-versus-suburb grudge match? Over at Grist, former Streetblog Network manager Sarah Goodyear is asking that question. To say that all suburbs are bad, and all cities are good, from an environmental standpoint, oversimplifies a complex problem, and as Goodyear points out, sorting through is awfully important:

Last week, Tanya reported that many states have disproportionately raided their bicycle and pedestrian funds to pay for $2.2 billion rescinded by the feds.

Changes to the street often have a way of irritating people who were accustomed to the way things used to be, but sometimes it's surprising how seemingly minor changes can set off an angry response. In Seattle, the city's installation of bike boxes -- painted street markings that let cyclists advance to the front of an intersection and make safer turns when red lights turn green -- has prompted complaints from those who think the road belongs to the users with the most horsepower.

The new CEOs for Cities report on the misguided metrics that fuel sprawl is getting a lot of attention today on the Network and in local media.

On Monday, the U.S. DOT released a report concluding that the number of deaths caused by distracted drivers dropped 6 percent in 2009 -- from 5,838 the previous year to 5,474. The report was a prelude to the agency's second national summit on distracted driving, where the message from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was very clear: Distracted driving is preventable and enforcement works. LaHood pointed to a pilot enforcement program in Syracuse that has cut texting and cell phone use behind the wheel by about 40 percent.