Did your city’s fire marshal go to the meeting of the International Code Council (ICC) where they adopted the fire code section that bans traffic calming, unless it’s approved by the fire marshal? Did he undermine your city’s traffic safety goals?
Guess what? You probably can’t even find out.
Research shows that some US building standards drive up housing costs without increasing safety. Yet San Jose's firefighters have fought all efforts to reform them.
Why? Perhaps it's because they make so much that they don't know what it's like for a family to struggle to pay the rent.
🎁link:
"Eliminating minimum parking requirements" does not mean "eliminating parking."
After Minneapolis removed parking minimums, citywide parking ratios dropped from 1.0 to 0.73 spaces per unit. Walkable areas often built little parking, while others built closer to prior levels.
Personally, I think it was a big mistake to put fire marshals, who typically have zero training in traffic safety, in charge of critical street design decisions.
"Piercy is one of almost 400 city fire and police department employees who earned six-figure overtime sums last year..."
Costly code provisions drive up rents. SJ firefighters can afford provisions that add costs without adding safety. Ordinary families can't. Fire officials need to remember that!
Public safety overtime spending has become a growing issue for cities grappling with firefighter and police shortages.
In the United States, officials with absolutely no training in traffic safety are routinely placed in charge of crucial street design decisions. The results are bad.
Why do US cities and states put unqualified people in charge of key street design decisions?🧵
In the long run, total development cost sets a floor on prices for new homes. Homebuilding is competitive. Builders typically earn a small profit margin (7-10%). If development cost is $157/sf, builders will add supply only if they think they'll be able to sell for $157 plus ~7% to 10%, or ~$172/sf.
Yes, it's annoying that NYC does not have enough votes at the ICC. But the rabbit hole goes deeper than that!
