Happy Election Day! Here’s what the Triangle Blog Blog crew is reading while waiting for primary results to roll in.

Downtown Portland created a “Car Master Plan” – and gave us a master class in advocacy.

Excerpt:

“Why make a Car Master Plan? SO WE CAN SEE CARS. We don’t see what we don’t measure. We can’t plan for a future without looking at where we are now. And where we are now is in a city of cars. Whether it is a bike plan, a transit plan, a freight plan or a parking plan, every transportation plan now is a car response plan. Every street is a car street. Every bit of our shared public space is dedicated to car parking, car movement, or preventing car parking and car movement. Portland thrived in the past without cars and can thrive again without many cars in the future. But we can’t plan for that future without understanding how cars came to dominate our cities and our lives. All cities need Car Master Plans.

Why make a Car Master Plan? So we can understand how drivers use cars now. “Four Kinds of Drivers” is a model that may help to shape different messages for different kinds of people who drive. First of all, though, we need to acknowledge that car use privileges people with access to cars, and acknowledge there’s a current systemic transportation bias against the 40% of people who are not drivers at all. Future transportation plans need to help the Reluctant Drivers and Habitual Drivers find alternatives to driving, and control Entitled Drivers with street engineering and meaningful legal sanctions.

Why make a Car Master Plan? So we can honestly assess how cars now are bankrupting people, cities, states, and nations. Cars are a hugely impactful expense for people with limited means. Repairing roads and bridges for cars is unsustainable for city budgets. Continuing to build and fuel cars (including EVs) will cause a global climate breakdown. We need to stop planning as if cars are inevitable and necessary and start planning for a resilient future.

Why make a Car Master Plan? So we can plan for the future. Cities have set aside 20% or more of public land as streets. An amazing variety of land uses will happen and cities will flourish when streets are not dedicated to private car parking and private car movement. Streets are land banks.”

 

Responding to the White House’s announcement on actions mitigating the housing supply shortage,  curious minds want to know why some communities restrict the size of Accessory Dwelling Units but not the size of single-family homes. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

https://twitter.com/geoff_green/status/1526262030130356225?s=21&t=UfSS40Aq7qxllLPWZMFl4Q

 

The News & Observer summarized an interesting proposal from Shaw University in Raleigh to rezone the 28-acre campus located between Wilmington, South and Person streets and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Share your thoughts on this in the comments!

 

The Daily Tar Heel created a guide for students for getting around town. Check this out if you’d like to learn more about options for traveling beyond campus.

And don’t forget to vote! Polls are open TODAY, 6:30 AM – 7:30 PM.

Be sure to check out our endorsement guide and these TBB pieces from Melody Kramer on Carrboro’s town council primary before voting:

Five differences between Eliazar Posada and Aja Kelleher

Carrboro town council race: Aja Kelleher

Need more voter info?

Orange County Election Day Information

Durham County Election Day Information

In the last municipal election cycle, we helped increase turnout by over 20 percent. We're all volunteers who care deeply about Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and we're working to make Chapel Hill and Carrboro more vibrant, accessible, fun, and sustainable.  Please consider a small donation to help us keep our digital lights on, host events, and hire students to do data deep-dives.

Caroline Dwyer, AICP (@plan_splaining) lives in Durham with her spouse, teen, and cat. Caroline earned her Master's Degree from UNC Chapel Hill's Department of City & Regional Planning in 2014 after...