Roland Beinert

I am aware of the bike wars, but don’t think they are quite as bad in Boise. That’s more of a Portland thing. Please remember I never said there shouldn’t be bike lanes on 35 mph roads. Also remember that most people who criticize bikers are not even trying to help them get bike lanes.

I think it depends on the street. If you’re talking about a residential street like the one I live on, then no, there is no need for a bike lane. It gets maybe one car an hour. If you’re talking about a highway that passes through the city, then yes you definitely need a bike lane. It all depends on the purpose of the street. Some streets are used…[Read more]

I know bikers can be obnoxious, but I don’t think that’s the norm. Would you say those near accidents I had were my fault? I wasn’t even in the street!
I still think drivers and bikers can mix. I’m not talking about highways or huge city streets with speed limits above 20 mph. I think obstacles to drivers are a given in cities, even without…[Read more]

The thing is that separation is just an ideal in cities. Even with sidewalks and bike lanes there will still be people running across the street without a cross walk and bicyclists going around cars parked in bike lanes. Drivers are led to believe that they have the road to themselves or that they theoretically should. So they assume it’s ok to…[Read more]

I’m defending the concept of shared streets, not saying we should do away with sidewalks and bike lanes. Sidewalks and bike paths are left out of a lot of development, because people are too cheap to build good public infrastructure, not because of ideas about shared streets. I’m all for sidewalks and bike lanes on most streets.
Most streets…[Read more]

Trace, I guess this is somewhat off-topic, but I want to address what you said about areas where pedestrians and bikes share the street with the car.
Shared streets are a tough sell for Americans. The concept seems very counter-intuitive to us. Oddly enough, people don’t seem to object much at all after they are installed, though. There’s a small…[Read more]

Based on a quick google search, my guess is that the term progressive urbanism is a general term for places that are walkable, bikable, etc. It seems to be close to the same thing as new urbanism, but new urbanism tends to concentrate more on small towns and neighborhoods designed to be like small towns. Progressive urbanism seems to describe any…[Read more]

I still think the ASLA could probably accomplish something along with other professional organizations (AIA, APA). So it’s not limited only to individual action. Any one out there know what the ASLA is doing to address this? The Sustainable Sites Initiative is certainly a step in the right direction.

It sounds like there’s more we can achieve as a group (ASLA) on this issue than as individual landscape architects.
The argument that nothing can be done until the price of oil goes up worries me a bit. I’m not sure people who use that argument realise the scale of the problem. None of the alternative power sources will ever equal oil in terms of…[Read more]

Out of curiosity I just looked up Groningen in the Netherlands (mentioned in the article ben posted) on Google Earth. From the pictures of some of the streets, it looks like it is 90% car free, but a very vital city.

Bikes are a good replacement for how a lot of people currently drive. If you drive by yourself and don’t have to haul a lot, you could easily switch over to bikes or public transit. There are even some pretty good bike trailers out there. In Boise there’s one or two bike taxis. Cars don’t have much advantage in speed in Boise, either. I’ve seen…[Read more]

I recently found out about a concept called bicycle boulavards: http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/guidebook.php
Essentially, it’s a shared street with an emphasis on bikes. Cars are allowed, but low speeds discourage drivers who aren’t residents of the neighborhoods. It sounds a lot like a woonerf to me. It may be the sort of thing they have in that…[Read more]

I don’t know of any examples I could give you, but maybe there’s a conservatory or museum somewhere that might have a display like that.

I’m still having trouble envisioning this, too. Could you use berms to add height instead of a retaining wall?

Here’s a good quick read on dogs and landscaping: http://landscaping.about.com/od/lawns/a/dog_landscaping.htm . With your budget, I doubt you can do everything they say (hardscaping is probably out of the question, for example).
I think we need more info, like Nick said. What’s the existing site like?

The time-lapse photography is what I found fascinating, too. Attenborough’s documentaries usually have a very different way of looking at things than the average nature documentaries.

Andrew,
You’re assuming some of us to be more extreme than we actually are (something which we are all probably guilty of on this forum, including myself). I don’t think Ben or anyone else is arguing that everyone should grow their own food. We are arguing that it will be harder for us to have a lot of our food grown several hundred mile away. I…[Read more]

I don’t think anyone is actually encouraging people not to take part in the economy, Andrew. I’d even argue there’s no such thing as not taking part in the economy, unless you’re homeless. No one is 100% self reliant. But there’s two ways to look at being green, the cheap way and more expensive way. You have a job. If you ever decide you want to,…[Read more]

Take a look at this website: http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
It’s probably the best site I’ve found on the subject of peak oil.
Landscape architects can contribute to a world without oil, but only when other people are on board.

Good question, Nick. I’d say the client’s objectives aren’t always initially in line with the end users or site, but that good design is about creative solutions that sidestep conflicts. I know that sounds idealistic, but maybe good design implies an ideal solution can be achieved. Since the client is paying for the project, we have to do what he…[Read more]