Thursday, April 2nd, 2009...1:15 pm
Pondering walkability
Today, it’s about 65 degrees (or so), sunny and gorgeous outside, which turns my mind to — what else? — master planning.
This is the kind of day I’d like to spend outside walking wherever I go. I just drove to lunch, but to walk would have meant hiking along Route 91 in Stow, which is a little busier road than I’d like to walk.
The topic of walkability and how to attain it seems to come up with great frequency in planning meetings, and it seems to me, there are two basic purposes to walking: Getting somewhere and enjoying the scenery.
As Streetsboro residents seem to describe it, trails along roads, easements and other areas could connect different areas of the city, accomplishing both goals.
At the most recent meeting of the master plan steering committee, members discussed connecting rural properties to a (yet-to-be designed) trail network serving the city.
I suppose bike lanes and sidewalks could be strategically planned to connect disparate neighborhoods to community amenities like schools and parks, too.
But I’ve always wondered how far people would be willing to walk or bike to get to — say — a neighborhood park. Would I walk a mile to a park? A quarter mile?
And what about shopping? If I drive to the grocery store, I can lug home as much as I want with very minimal effort. Biking or walking a load of groceries home presents an obvious challenge.
I actually have shopped by backpack and bicycle at my local grocery store, which is about a mile from my home. As long as I can stay in the residential neighborhood areas, the ride is pleasant and safe, but about two-thirds of the way there, I’m forced on to the main road, a busy 25 mph, four lane street with a lot of retail.
Lacking bike lanes to use, I’m forced to share the sidewalk with pedestrians and to jump several curbs — not an ideal scenario, but also not the end of the world. This not a road where bicyclists can safely share the road with cars, in my opinion. I don’t mind this trip too much, but the ride to the library, which cuts almost exclusively through densely developed residential streets is much more pleasant.
1 Comment
July 25th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Living in the Frost Road/Route 43 area of town I see people daily walking along “sidewalkless” Frost Road and Route 43 to get to a neighbors house, a store (I see a bag in hand) or to work (why would a working-age person be walking at 7:30 AM on a weekday?).
Most of these people are teenagers and also adults that appear to be lower income residents who unfortunately do not always have access to a car. I think its unsafe and even undignified for them to be walking in muddy grass or along a ditch, they deserve better.
The development where I reside, Vantage Point Townhomes, put in a sidewalk on their portion of Frost Road, the rest of the city and its property owners needs to follow suit like the developers of many of the new communities have and start installing sidewalks along main and some of the more traveled secondary roads (i.e. Frost Road).
It’s sad that I live in a so-called “city” and can only walk or bike to two places of business in town, the CVS Pharmacy and the Circle K, both at the intersection of Frost & 43. I would love to be able to walk or bike without obstruction and any compromise to my personal safety to businesses located more to the center of town. It would be some good exercise on a nice day.
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