Reader Severin Martinez sent in a snapshot of the Berkeley campus (my alma mater...go Bears!) near the Campanile. A campus is a great example of a pedestrian-centric urban development, if you think about it. Roads are narrow, there are plenty of facilities for bikes and people (park benches, water fountains, shaded paths, cafes, bike racks, even emergency police call boxes), and the pace is generally slower and much more pleasant than the freaky nonstop Death Race 2000 happening right outside its gates. This road has sharrows to remind drivers of its mixed use nature, and it's only wide enough to let two cars pass, no wider — a bigger street would only invite speed.
Successful models for "car-light" urban design exist all around us (think outdoor shopping malls or even movie studio lots), and there's no reason we couldn't apply the same design patterns to everyday streets.
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