Torontonian and Buffalo observer from afar Lorne Opler has passed along the trailer of a documentary that is moving into production after a successful Kickstarter campaign. The film takes a look at cities that are dominated by automobile traffic, and in the case of the producer, Todd Drezner, the focus is on the endless traffic that many cities generate (and what to do about the problem).
Fortunately for Buffalo, we don’t have a lot of traffic issues. What we do have however, are some city streets that were designed as heavily trafficked thoroughfares for cars, with no regard for pedestrians. Watching the trailer, the point is made that a younger generation of Americans is looking to their cities to implement road diets such as the one seen in the lead image.
Much of the time, that conversation takes place from the bottom up, with communities pushing for a certain quality of life that often leads to fewer cars, narrower roadways, slower speed limits, more bike lanes and better public transportation. Ultimately that all translates to fewer cars and healthier cities.
In Buffalo, we have seen some success stories, but if you look at Downtown Buffalo, there are still plenty of streets that need calming. I’m happy to say that Buffalo planners have been getting better when it comes to rethinking how streets integrate with our neighborhoods, thanks to initiatives such as Complete Streets (and the people who support the measure).
Viewing the video trailer was not as much of an eye opener as it was affirmation that we are heading down a better road that will lead us all to rethinking what it’s like to be a city In Transit[ion].