ASTA | Safe Streets and Unwanted DOT Projects (Jun 18, 2025)

Session Overview

🚸 What can local advocates do when a DOT project threatens their neighborhood?
This ASTA session digs into the hard work of resisting unsafe road projects and re-imagining streets for people. 

We spotlight Ellen Brabo (North Carolina) and the 15th Street Coalition, unpack strategies for countering harmful DOT initiatives, explore the role of speed limits in human-scaled design, and show how storytelling wins hearts and minds.

Resources Mentioned 

1. How to Make a Street Safer Before the Kids Go Back to School – Practical, low-cost design tweaks (removing centerlines, tightening corners, adding crossings) can re-humanize fast residential streets. The article gives a before/after worksheet you can copy in your own neighborhood. strongtowns.org
2. School Trails & Maps – Winnipeg Trails Association – Winnipeg parents, schools, and volunteers co-created printable walking/cycling maps so kids can choose safer, more active routes. The project shows how DIY maps spark community momentum without waiting for city hall. winnipegtrails.ca
3. Want to Build Community on Your Street? Just Hit “Print”! – A block-party flyer, literally printed and stuffed into mailboxes, catalyzed 40+ neighbors to reclaim their street. The story illustrates the “small bet” mindset Strong Towns champions. strongtowns.org
4. Maximum Impact and a Low Price Tag: Paint & Planters in Edmond, OK – Edmond residents transformed a hostile arterial with paint, planters, and pop-up curb bulbs for pennies on the dollar. Their tactical pilot persuaded officials to fund permanent upgrades. strongtowns.org
5. The Technical Brush-Off (and How to Fight It) – Explains the common bureaucratic tactic of dismissing citizens with jargon and outlines scripts for pushing back. A must-read when agencies say “That’s outside our scope.” strongtowns.org
6. Accidentally on Purpose – Deconstructs media language that frames crashes as unavoidable “accidents” instead of the product of design choices. Offers tips to reframe the conversation locally. strongtowns.org
7. Pittsburgh’s Leaders Made Streets Safer—Your Officials Can Too – Shows how decisive mayoral action plus data-driven quick builds cut serious crashes city-wide. Provides a playbook for persuading electeds elsewhere. strongtowns.org
8. Pittsburgh’s Low-Cost Traffic Calming Is a Model for Every City – Highlights Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program: resident-requested, rapid, and under $25 k per block. Demonstrates how small wins add up to systemic change. strongtowns.org
9. Cincinnati DOT Establishes Pedestrian Safety Team – Press release describing how Cincinnati created an internal unit to fast-track crosswalks, daylight corners, and respond to resident requests. Good precedent to cite when lobbying your own DOT. strongtowns.org
10. Beyond Complete Streets (2014) – Chuck Marohn critiques “complete streets” checklists that still prioritize cars and urges a productivity-first lens. Useful historical context for policy debates. strongtowns.org
11. Checked Boxes and Propaganda: The Next Barrier to Strong Towns – Warns that agencies sometimes cherry-pick Strong Towns rhetoric to rubber-stamp status-quo projects; offers safeguards for advocates. strongtowns.org
12. Traffic Engineers Blame You for Their Mistakes – Examines how professionals shift responsibility to road users while ignoring unsafe geometry; gives talking points to flip that narrative. strongtowns.org
13. Crash Analysis Studio (“Beyond Blame” Toolkit) – Free Strong Towns tool that teaches residents to analyze crash locations, map patterns, and propose design fixes—no advanced GIS needed. strongtowns.org
14. How Street Design Shapes the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Fatalities – Case-study of Memphis’ Union Avenue shows why wide lanes and curb radii kill; pairs design diagrams with reform steps. strongtowns.org
15. Strong Towns Memes (Action Lab) – Download-ready graphics for social media that distill core Strong Towns principles—handy when you need a quick visual to rally neighbors. actionlab.strongtowns.org
16. Getting Kids to School More Safely and Actively (Local-Motive Course) – On-demand class with Uytae Lee and Norm, packed with tactics to replace school drop-off lines with walk-bike culture. Includes CE credit. academy.strongtowns.org
17. 15th Street Coalition (Website) – Coalition hub detailing the community’s campaign, data dashboards, and their “Wake Up Washington” podcast episodes. Use it as a template for your own issue site.
18. Bushnell Velocity Speed Gun (Amazon) – Affordable radar gun (~$120) recommended in the chat; perfect for citizen speed studies when seeking hard evidence.

Voices From the Chat 

• Loni: “Listening is the ST way!”
• Ellen: “Our City Manager told us plans don’t have to be followed, they are just suggestions…”
• Michael: “Only 2 ways to make streets safe for all users — 1 slow down traffic so mistakes are not fatal 2 provide barricades so mistakes are contained within those barricades.”
• RL: “Improving streets for people… if you don't know… start with who oversees the street?”