Density is Job One: No room in “smart streets” for emergency vehicles

Imagine biking to the café one morning in your “smart growth” community, where everything you think you need is just a few blocks away.

With a coffee and a scone in your basket, you circle back to your subsidized, compact live/work flat.

But suddenly, a bus clips tyou with its side-view mirror, sending you head-first into the curb.

Passersby hover over you as you lay dying. Some call for help. But no help will come, because no ambulance can squeeze down the narrow street to reach you.

“Smart streets,” narrow, multi-use passageways filled with pedestrians, buses and bicycles, are a key feature in the plans for human resettlement called for in the U.N.’s Agenda 21.

But emergency vehicles (whether by accident or design) will not fit down the streets planned for “smart growth” communities, the EPA now admits.

The EPA this month announced a two- year, $150,000 grant to address the concerns of police and fire officials, who have been rejecting local smart growth plans, citing the risks they pose to public safety. (See link and excerpt, below.)

It is a small amount, and perhaps indicative of the government’s concern for safety within the human habitat zones.

clipped from www.epa.gov Smart Growth Streets and Emergency Response A fundamental part of smart growth development is the design of the street network. To make the roadway system safe and inviting for pedestrians, cyclists and others, smart growth street design is typically characterized by: narrower widths, tighter turning radii, and on-street parking. Communities are also pursuing narrower street design in an effort to reduce on-site stormwater run-off and meet their water quality goals. However, in many places across the country, as developers and city officials try to design these types of streets, they are finding that local fire/emergency response officials will not approve them. Emergency responders express concern that the narrower streets may impede access and maneuverability for their vehicles and in turn, may increase response time. In some instances, communities have been unable to move forward with smart growth plans because of emergency response concerns.