Upcoming "Killed by a Traffic Engineer" Series Will Bookend the October 9th District 11 Book Club Discussion on "A Brief History of Motion"

In October, the District 11 Book Club read A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Car to What Comes Next (2021). A book that dives into the history of transportation, the evolution of public transit, and the ways automobiles have reshaped American cities over the past several decades.  For our next District 11 Book Club on December 11th, Stu Levitan will give an illustrated talk on Madison in the 1970s, adapted from his forthcoming book, Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 2, 1932 to 1979.

One book I had been considering for a future District 11 Book Club discussion is Wes Marshall's Killed by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System (2024). As it happens, members of Machinery Row Bicycles, Madison Bikes, and Wisconsin Bike Fed recently invited me to participate in a new book club they’re organizing next year, which will focus on this book in late January and early February. They describe their new Bicycle Book Club as a great opportunity for anyone interested in bike advocacy, especially those looking for an accessible way to get involved.

The Bicycle Book Club is free, open to the public, and will take place over three Sunday afternoons at Machinery Row Bicycles, located at 601 Williamson St, Madison, WI 53703:

• Sunday, January 26th: 4-6pm
  • We will discuss the book and our reactions to it while identifying both problematic and well-designed infrastructure in our city.
• Sunday, February 2nd: 4-6pm (Virtual option available)
  • We will discuss the pieces of infrastructure that we identified in the first meeting with engineers to explore the specific street design choices that impact the safety and comfort of people outside vehicles.
• Sunday, February 9th: 4-6pm
  • We will plan advocacy efforts around infrastructure improvements that you want to see. We’ll be drafting proposals and emailing elected officials! Bring your hopes and dreams! (and a laptop or notebook)

I invite you to join me at all three Sunday events to discuss Killed by a Traffic Engineer and what the city of Madison can do to improve our streets for all modes of transportation. 

If you want a sneak preview of the book: on December 4th, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin is hosting a webinar about the book with the author.  There is no cost to attend this webinar, but advance registration is required. Here is the description on their website:

“Marshall pulls back the glittering green curtain to reveal that the wizards of traffic engineering are not wizards at all, but just men (and they are still mostly men) who rely on bad science and sketchy data to design the streets and roads we all use. Not only that, he managed to write a 400-page book about traffic engineering that is highly entertaining, easy to read, and often funny. Register here for the Zoom call.”

The District 11 Book Club will resume in-person meetings at the Sequoya Library next year with a discussion of Charles H. Vogl's 2016 book, The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging, published by Penguin Random House. More details will be shared soon.