Fire departments often oppose urban infrastructure like roundabouts and road diets, citing access and equipment size.
My FD in Carmel, Indiana? No problem. We’ve got nearly 160 roundabouts, bike infrastructure, and road diets — they handle it just fine
My FD in Carmel, Indiana? No problem. We’ve got nearly 160 roundabouts, bike infrastructure, and road diets — they handle it just fine
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I feel like the Japanese might have swung the needle too far the other way though.
I came across that a lot when studying urban planning & sustainable architecture. Fire prevention, safety, access & response were just afterthoughts if not outright dismissed. My favorite were "lets get rid of helo pads on skyscrapers & put solar panels/green roofs!" Because evac ain't a thing.
The one thing America does right is we don't have the structure fires that Europe and Britain have. But the downside is those same fire codes make it so the only high density housing we can legally build is 5 over 1s
Palo Alto CA has a maximum building height based on their fire trucks.
https://bsky.app/profile/lauragmitchell.com/post/3lcjnhyzbyk2k
Reason: Their trucks could not handle them...
The Truck...
We have a roundabout up here in Sonoma County in downtown Healdsburg, not perfect but it works.
Tram lanes, bike lanes, they all become fire lanes.