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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! And a great quote to think about while trick or treating.

10/31/2013

Halloween is our prime walking holiday! To all you trick or treaters: enjoy an easier walk around your neighborhood than last year when roads were strewn with downed electrical lines and trees in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy.

And now the quote:

"Pedestrians should be loved.

Pedestrians comprise the greater part of humanity. Moreover - it's better part. Pedestrians created the world. It is they who built cities, erected multistory buildings, laid sewerage and water mains, paved streets, and illuminated them with electric lights. It is they who spread civilization throughout the world, invented book printing, gunpowder, deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics, introduced safety razors, abolished slave trade, and discovered that 114 nourishing meals can be cooked from soybeans.

When everything was finished, when our beloved planet assumed a fairly habitable look, motorists appeared on the scene."

Ilf and Petrov
The Golden Calf
Moscow 1931

Visit the Regional Plan Association website for the full quote at the front of a 1975 report titled Urban Space for Pedestrians. This report was created by MIT and is still amazingly relevant. I am impressed by its foresight and depressed by the lack of progress in the past forty years all at the same time.

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Some old style charm in New Rochelle

10/30/2013

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In our walks around New Rochelle something I find charming are the old Residential Parks markers. Barbara Davis, our local historian, told us that these are some of America's earliest planned neighborhoods. Here's an excerpt from Barbara's notes.

"The first such development, Rochelle Park, set a high standard in the 1880s. Designed by a landscape architect, the area was carved out with an aesthetic balance of naturalistic rambles, cultivated open spaces, clear viewsheds, and tree-lined promenades that ensured a park-like setting for wholesome living. The developers ensured the concept by including deed covenants that protected setbacks and guidelines that encouraged homes to be built in the charming romantic revival styles of the day. Rochelle Park became an ideal antidote to New York City's increasing crowds, dirt and crime brought on by industrialization - particularly with its added asset of being a quick walk (or trolley ride) to and from the train station. The neighborhoods quickly attracted the new and growing class of the gainfully employed called commuters"

So New Rochelle is the original Transit Oriented Development city. Or as Peter Calthorpe, the author of the term now prefers to call it, Pedestrian Oriented Development. And this is still the case today. Recent residents have told Barbara they chose New Rochelle for its easy commute into Manhattan and for its walkability.

On Pedestrian Oriented Development, here's a quote from Peter Calthorpe: "The reality is that people get almost too focused on transit. There’s a symbiotic relationship between it and walkable destinations. You can’t have good transit if you can’t walk when you arrive. So pedestrian-oriented development is really at the heart and soul of great cities. Every city that you love is a city that you want to walk in. We travel the globe in order to walk in great cities." Click here for the full interview.

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A new find today!

10/30/2013

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A fire hydrant in the middle of a driveway! There has to be a story behind this and I'm sorry I don't know what it is. This was an odd street in another way too. It was a dead end street (not odd) with a LOT of No Unauthorized Parking signs (odd). The street appears to be a public street...well there are no Private Road signs although the houses are all similar enough to figure it was built by a single developer. Do the residents on this street pay for the privilege of stopping non residents from parking here? There are a number of apartment buildings on nearby streets, have drivers visiting or living in these buildings overflowed into this street in the past? Here's a few pictures I took feeling slightly furtive and wondering if I could be asked to leave at any moment.

I like the 10 miles per hour sign. I wish we had more streets with posted low speeds.

These residents are really serious about the parking. Signs were everywhere. "No Parking Fire Lane" was even stenciled on the road itself. Did I miss a parking war?

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Leave you feet at home - a transit center for wheels not walkers

10/28/2013

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New Rochelle is blessed with trains, buses, taxis, and rental cars and the city has celebrated this cornucopia of transport choice by building a transit center in 2004 complete with parking for those that want to drive to public transport. Unfortunately, as illustrated by the sign above, it is not so friendly for pedestrians. I see this as a flaw to be corrected and raised it at a community meeting last week run by Nelson Nygaard, a planning company hired by the City of New Rochelle to assess and make recommendations about Traffic Circulation in downtown. The transit center is an important hub so it featured in the meeting's discovery walks and the subsequent discussion.

I tend to get a little hot and bothered about the transit center because whether I exit the station at the east end, the west end or via the front of the station, I am confronted with cars and in only one location is there a crosswalk. Police stats show North Avenue (at the east end of the station) is hazardous for pedestrians. I don't know how many pedestrians are hit doing the Look Ma No Crosswalk Sprint but I've had some close calls and seen others dodging traffic in creative ways.

During the Traffic Circulation meeting we were asked to name areas of improvement. Of course I contributed improving walkability at the train station. I also put in a plug for my husband's favorite - covering the I-95 in front of the train station to create a plaza. This is in keeping with old design documents we were shown by New Rochelle's phenomenal city historian, Barbara Davis, and would be an amazing transformation of a horrible slash through our city and a dream some of us have to make the train station a meeting place and a hub of economic activity beyond just transportation. But I digress.

Once we had named our areas of concern/improvement we were given green and red dots - green to place next to items we felt were priorities and red for areas we didn't see as needing action. I need to note here that it was not mandatory to use our red dots. I was astonished to find that people had placed red dots next to my point about improving walkability at the train station. RED dots!!! It was a great reminder that while I walk around viewing my city from the perspective of a pedestrian others do not. What I regard as self evident others do not.

I have work to do!

A pedestrian in search of a sidewalk. The entry to the train station is on the left. This is one of the odder not-a-sidewalk's that I have seen. Most of it is wide enough for a sidewalk, it has a curb like a sidewalk but it has a big barrier, a no pedestrians sign, and a nipped in section where it almost disappears right in front of the train station. Pedestrians end up walking on the road because the other side of the road is not the obvious choice.

The other side of the road. There is a sidewalk but where it meets the rental car parking and the bus lanes it curves around inside the building. Pedestrians are like water, they tend to flow in the most direct route so most of us walk straight ahead rather than negotiate hoses, equipment and people washing rental cars inside a building.

The official walkway inside the transit center looking towards the train station. In case you are wondering, it spits you out in a car park.

We CAN do better!

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On the corner of walk / don't walk

10/22/2013

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Last year I asked for crash stats from the police department and was happy to find that the number of crashes - both pedestrian related and also solely involving motorized vehicles (drivers) - has been decreasing over the past three years. This said, there is more work to be done when we still have an average of more than one pedestrian being struck and injured per week.

So, how to fix it? One thing I notice on Main Street that I think is particularly lousy for pedestrians is the light sequencing that gives turning traffic priority over pedestrian movement. I've stood and watched pedestrians and note that I am not alone in looking at the lights changing and paying more attention to that than to the walk/don't walk signals. I think this is partly because the pedestrian signals are inconsistently applied. Some have them, some don't. Some push buttons are working, some are missing. So, if in doubt, some of us rely on the changing lights. That said, if the light changes and drivers of vehicles coming around the corner are given a green arrow before pedestrians are given a cross signal then stepping onto the crosswalk at this point is not a safe move. Far safer would be to change the sequencing to give pedestrians a head start in the phasing. This also signals to drivers that they need to be aware of pedestrians rather than rushing to catch a green arrow.

In addition, the standard length of time given to pedestrians to get across a crossing is 4 feet per second. Studies have shown that some pedestrians move at as little as 1 foot per second. I blame the decision to set the sequencing at 4 feet per second on young to middle aged with full mobility male traffic engineers who fail to understand that elderly and people pushing baby strollers or holding the hands of toddlers need more time. I haven't timed the lights on Main Street but suspect it is shorter than ideal.

On the positive side I am pleased to see the occasional 'yield to pedestrian' sign on crosswalks. I think this is a good reminder and also creates another obstacle for drivers to maneuver which acts to slow them down.

So, New Rochelle, let's make some fixes and drop the crash numbers further by following through on the GreeNR stated goal of "creating and maintaining a comprehensive system of safe and accessible walking routes"!

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Past time to ditch the silos!

10/10/2013

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Here's an article linking economic revitalization with improved walkability. As it notes near the end, it is time we get people from different disciplines talking to one another.

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From the window of a car

10/9/2013

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We have been on a couple of walks lately that were very different one from the other but got me thinking about the same thing. And that is about how differently we perceive distance when travelling by motorized transport from when we are walking. Oddly, I find my perception of distance is counter intuitive. When I walk somewhere I have previously driven I am often surprised that it seems shorter than I expected. From the comments I have received from non walkers when asking how to walk somewhere I believe I am not alone in this perception. Frequently I get told something is "a LONG way" or "too far to walk" when it really isn't very far at all. So here's the two walks that got me thinking about this.

The first was during the New Rochelle Arts Fest just over a week ago. It is an annual event showcasing many of the artists and studios around New Rochelle - there is a cornucopia of them and to help people get around the venues there are a couple of jump on, jump off free trolleys that loop around the venues. These are a much loved feature of the festival and some people hop on and stay on just for the ride. I forgot to take any pictures so the photo below is from a couple of years ago but you get the idea.

For the past two years I have volunteered to ride around on the trolleys, calling ahead to let venues know we are coming, giving out information and letting people know which stop is coming up next. It is fun to do and I am always amazed how many people hop on just to ride the trolley rather than using it to get to a venue. I am sure some of these people would never ride a bus but there is something about a painted trolley that makes it seem more fun. Perhaps it is time to dress up city buses to make them more appealing. But the main point here is that when I'm riding around on the trolley it really seems quite a distance from Main Street New Rochelle to the heart of Pelham, the neighboring town. I have found myself agreeing with people that it really is more than most people would be comfortable walking. No more! On Sunday afternoon my husband and I got off the trolley in Pelham and walked back to New Rochelle despite the fact he was getting over a bout of shingles. In deference to his state of health we walked slowly and it still took less than half an hour. I was astonished. And it got me thinking about my birthday walk last month. This year my chosen walk was to take the train into Grand Central Station and walk home to New Rochelle. We figured it was about 18 miles. We were not in any hurry and dawdled along looking at things and stopping for refreshments and to dodge some rain and happily spent the whole day getting ourselves home. A week or so later we were driving along the Interstate 95 and Frank suddenly said "we walked along here" and I sat bolt upright in disbelief and responded "but we've been driving for ages!" Okay, clearly not for hours and hours but the perception of speed and time on distance traveled made it seem like a LONG way from home. So, now when I ask someone for directions and they tell me it is too far to walk I figure they are habitual drivers or users of public transportation, NOT walkers.

Here's a few of the places we walked through on our way home from Grand Central in midtown Manhattan. Note: Google says a lot of its walking directions are in Beta, do you think they'd pay someone like me to walk places to confirm and/or improve their routes? Now that would be a dream job.

Grand Central Station. Quiet on Labor Day morning but I liked the speeding bicycle. He was moving too fast to be anything but a blur.

View of the Queensboro bridge on our way to the East River Walkway. Note the gathering clouds....

Carl Schurz Park looking across to Wards and Randalls Island (two names, one island apparently joined by landfill at some point). The bridge from Manhattan to Wards/Randalls Island in the distance is the pedestrian bridge we walked over.

Squash growing on a grating in Carl Schurz Park. I assume the FDR drive is below the grating. What a great (grate?) way to stop squash from rotting on the ground! No idea what drifts up through the grating but now we don't have lead in gas it should be edible right?

Why?

Hell Gate Pathway was the best find of the walk! On Randalls Island it currently ends at a closed foot and cycle bridge but once that reopens it will be a direct route to The Bronx. The walkway sits under a freight railway that, hopefully, will eventually carry passenger trains from Queens to The Bronx. It is very underutilized and stunningly beautiful (at least on its underside).

Happy Feet! A skater I presume but these stencils always make me think of someone wearing baseball gloves instead of shoes.

Westchester Avenue in The Bronx. Bustling with some amazing buildings. This was a new area for us to walk through and we loved the busy-ness but it wasn't overly pedestrian friendly in places.

The Bronx has some great buildings. And the photo below shows the usual noisy and pedestrian unfriendly elevated subway (now there's an oxymoron) but in this instance enhanced with some splendid artwork!

And those ominous clouds did finally turn into a bit of rain. This awning proved to be better than no shelter....just.

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Back to the New Rochelle Walking Challenge

10/1/2013

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It has been a while since I gave an update on how we're doing with our challenge to walk all the streets of New Rochelle. Despite my lack of reporting the walks have been continuing! Some of our more recent walks took us into neighborhoods between Beechmont Lake and the city border with Larchmont. Larchmont Woods is one of these and is notable for its big trees and lack of sidewalks. As an avid pedestrian my usual knee jerk response is to shriek about the absence of separated pedestrian space but after spending time ambulating through the streets of this neighborhood I find myself thinking that sidewalks would detract from the charm of some of the streets. The charm comes from the style of properties, the trees, and the older homes. In fact there appears to be a correlation between the age of the homes and whether there are sidewalks. This is an as yet untested hypothesis on my part but I plan to find out if there were common periods of city development when sidewalks were or were not included. Our observations were that neighborhoods that appear to be close to one hundred years old have no sidewalks, the 1930s to 1950s developments have sidewalks and then 1960s to 1980s don't. If anyone reading this has more information about whether this is a general pattern I'd love to hear about it. Meantime I'm off to talk to the City Historian, Barbara Davis at the New Rochelle public library to learn more and will report back.

So, in the meantime, back on the topic of the lack of sidewalks in some charming neighborhoods. My desire to not disturb the current layout does not mean that I condone the current situation. The first sign we found as we crossed the Larchmont border into New Rochelle on Barnard Road was......

And yes, for those of you outside the United States, that sign is 30 miles an hour not 30 kilometers. NOT a pedestrian friendly speed. Especially on relatively narrow roads with no sidewalks.

There are some clues that speed is of concern. Signs alerting drivers to watch for pedestrians.....

And a sudden brief appearance of sidewalks outside the school. Some of this looks recent and I expect it has limited functionality as the sidewalk ends less than a block from the school in either direction.

Walking east from the school

And heading west from the school

So, what to do? There are various forms of engineered traffic calming such as speed bumps and chicanes that focus on forcing traffic to slow down through constructed barriers. These can be impediments for emergency vehicles and would detract as much or more from the charm of the area than sidewalks. Instead of relying on engineering solutions I'd like to see the neighborhood declared a pedestrian priority zone. Different countries use different names: Home zones in the UK, Complete Streets in the US, Woonerven (plural of woonerf) in Holland. Regardless of name, these areas give right of way to pedestrians and cyclists and restrict the speeds of drivers of motorized transport. Under Article 44 of the Dutch traffic code for example, motorized traffic in a woonerf is restricted to walking pace. This may be more of a restriction than many US drivers would tolerate but a major slowdown would encourage more residents to do more of what we already saw in this area - people walking, cycling, skateboarding and standing on the street socializing with neighbors. There is no reason that I can see for setting traffic speeds in a quiet residential neighborhood at 30 miles an hour. Perhaps implementing complete streets here would encourage the owner of this skateboard to come back and give it another try....

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Author: Nina Arron

I am an enthusiastic pedestrian, urban planner, and project manager currently living in New Rochelle, New York. I am grateful to be living in a walkable city with affordable easily accessible public transport (both trains and buses). My appreciation became even greater after spending three years back in New Zealand where it was much harder to fit daily walking into my life in what is considered one of the great natural, green environments in the world.

Author: Nina Arron

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