Electric car benefits are great enough now (after 100+ years of history and development) that I think most car owners would be better off with an electric car. But transitions take time and can be quickened with good incentives. As we inch…
San Francisco’s Castro district will soon be home to an intersection with rainbow-colored crosswalks. The design for the historically gay neighborhood’s crosswalks was chosen by vote from amongst a number of other options — with the plan being to complete it in time for the Gay Pride march in June.
The move is part of a larger renewal initiative, one which includes: increasing the width of sidewalks, installing bike racks, improving outdoor lighting, repaving roads, and planting trees. A “Rainbow Honor Walk” will also be installed, featuring inlaid plaques with the names of LGBT civil rights activists.
Image Credit: Sean Neild via Flickr CC
All of this beautification is of course intended to improve the presentation and walkability of the district (as well as bike-ability) — something which should lead to lower levels of automobile use, and improved public health.
Speaking from personal experience, I have to say that the main thing that determines how much I walk is how nice the area and walking experience is — things that this renewal initiative are addressing. 
Something else to note about rainbow crosswalks (which are also installed in West Hollywood in LA) — many people have reported that they offer improved pedestrian visibility as compared to conventional crosswalks, perhaps helping to reduce car accidents? Hard to say, but something to keep in mind.
Do any of our readers have experience with these? What do you think?
The rainbow crosswalks will be installed at the intersection of 18th and Castro, for a cost of $37,400. So if you’re interested in seeing the crosswalks in person after they are installed, this is where they’ll be. Enjoy.
Source: Grist
San Francisco’s Castro District Getting Rainbow Crosswalks was originally published on CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 50,000 other subscribers: Google+ | Email | Facebook | RSS | Twitter.
One of the gayest districts in the world has gotten matching crosswalks. The most surprising thing is that it has taken so long for San Francisco’s Castro District to get rainbow crosswalks. Of course, there’s a whole LGBT thing to cover with regards to this, but that’s not really our beat. I decided to quickly [&hellip
San Francisco Castro District Gets Rainbow Crosswalks was originally posted on: PlanetSave. To read more from Planetsave, join thousands of others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage.
Boyd Cohen, Ph.D. recently came up with a methodology to rank large cities in the U.S. based on how much they are preparing for or trying to counter climate change. He then went on to create and publish a top 10 list of the most “climate-ready” cities. While I think the term “climate-ready” is sort of a mistake, since he focuses more on efforts to stop climate change not adapt to it (which is what I would assume “climate-readiness” would be about), I think the overall idea and methodology looks great.
An EcoLocalizer reader recently shared a great site of his, Modes of Transportation, that helps you find and compare the percentages of people that use varying modes of transportation to get to work in U.S. cities. That is, you can…
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