'Betting' on Simple, Smaller Solutions.

Bigger is not always better--especially when it comes to creating a more-friendly environment in your town or city. Here are a few "small bets" your community might try:

Add pedestrian crosswalks at unmarked intersections. Pedestrian crossing areas are vital in busy neighborhoods--especially in intersections adjacent to businesses that get a lot of foot traffic. Crosswalks and crosshatched intersections improve safety for bikers, pedestrians, and drivers alike.

Add crosswalk bump-outs. Sprawling intersections with fast-moving traffic are a problem in many communities. However, adjusting the curb to narrow a street often is expensive and impractical because it requires altering existing drainage infrastructure. Nonetheless, you can make your crosswalks safer by using physical barriers to narrow the "danger zone." Experiment with temporary bump-outs and see how they work. If the project is successful, you make them a permanent part of the street.

Post visitor-friendly wayfinding signs. Wayfinding signs welcome tourists and new-comers to your community. They can direct visitors toward your town's historic district, waterfront, shops and restaurants, and other landmarks that add to the vibrancy of the area.

Widen the sidewalks. Wider sidewalks cultivate a greater sense of safety in areas with lots of foot traffic. Hoboken, N.J., experimented with this concept in a busy area that only had a narrow strip of sidewalk. The city used cones and temporary fences to create a wider path for pedestrians and cyclists, and deemed the trial so successful that they made it a permanent fixture. The best part?--simply take down the fencing and try it out someplace else.

Sponsor community art. Public art not only brightens up...