Time Lapse of Pedestrian Movement
March 9th, 2009Today I have been doing some research on different techniques used to record pedestrian movement in the city. Often the use of time lapse video is employed and this is a nice example taken on one of Toronto’s “scrambler intersections”, which allow for diagonal crossings.
And by the way, Matthew Blackett at spacingtoronto who helped produce the video points out:
It should be noted that there was a looming rain storm when we shot this, thus the human traffic is a little light.
A little light, heh? Maybe they should abandon all of this sidewalk nonsense and invest in a network of weather-proof pedestrian tunnels. Toronto obviously could learn a thing or two about good urbanism from Oklahoma City…jk
March 9th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Wow they have sidewalks there I’m impressed.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I read that Oklahoma City residents have the longest commute anyhwere in America. Tulsa was second.
And, not to be outdone by OK City, Toronto has the largest underground pedestrian network in North America called The PATH:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_path
It should be noted that Toronto is a North American leader in pedestrian issues. It hosted the Walk 21 conference in 2007, the leading gathering of pedestrian policy wonks in the world.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Ouch, here is what is says about PATH:
“PATH is a 27 km (17 miles) network of pedestrian tunnels beneath the office towers of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. According to Guinness World Records, PATH is the largest underground shopping complex in the world with 371,600 m² of retail space.”
Okay, I humbly submit that Oklahoma City has nothing on Toronto from a pedestrian standpoint – above or below ground. BUT, we are just getting started. In a few more years (maybe decades) we will be right there with them.
Matt, seriously though, how does Toronto have such active sidewalks if it has a competing system underground? Has the PATH system had any negative affect on street life? I have never been a fan of the OKC Underground, but I am open to the possibility that it is not even part of the problem.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Matt,
I just reread your comment and am now worried that you misunderstood my tone in the post. I was actually commending Toronto on the sizable amount of pedestrian traffic that was present on “a light day.” In Oklahoma City, pedestrians have gone like the Buffalo – and are almost extinct.
Our largest investment in pedestrian related infrastructure was -sadly – in the form of our underground tunnel system referenced above. Forgive me for a miserable effort at sarcasm which is made all the more embarrassing by my failure to take note of the world record holding PATH system. (I now realize that I actually went in the PATH when I was a kid, but until now just remembered it as a large mall).
Toronto has a lot to be proud and I only hope we can adopt some of the same design and planning practices that have led to the active street life on display in the video.
Cheers.
March 9th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
I’ve heard stories of the Underground (then Conncourse) being sort of a ritzy shopping/clubbing area in the oil days. My mom remembers it as a place where she could go admire expensive retailers. I just have a hard time classifying the Underground as “good” or “bad” for pedestrian quality- on one hand, it theoretically takes people off the streets and potentially even takes retailers off the streets. On the other hand, it provides a comfortably walkable option on rainy, windy, hot, and cold days. I wonder if it matters where the walkable street life is as long as there is walkable street life?
March 10th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
“I wonder if it matters where the walkable street life is as long as there is walkable street life?”
Good question. I think with a standard mall, which is buffered by a expanse of surface parking, it clearly is not pedestrian accessible, even if the interior is very pedestrian friendly. The Underground is pedestrian accessible and weather-protected, but other than that the space may not even be considered pedestrian-friendly (i.e. I am guessing red neon was not chosen for its soothing effect).
In the end, the fact that Oklahoma City has a deficiency in public space and streets that accommodate pedestrians is demonstrated by the lack of pedestrians that use them. I don’t know if the Underground is part of this problem or not. I for one like street that are open and truly public. My biggest problem with the Underground is that it is ultimately a private space, lacking the freedom of movement and expression we expect to have in public places.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
This looks very familiar… high tech modern take on chart I think William Whyte worked up at one point. Very interesting to see it in modern context and technology.