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Desire lines in snow

2/5/2014

One of my favorite blogs Price Tags recently posted an item from Darren Proulx who has been looking at the desire lines created by cars in the snow to show where space is being wasted and could be reclaimed as sidewalks and pedestrian islands in the middle of crossings.

On a recent New Rochelle walks we found one of our own.

While this may not look very dramatic, a pedestrian desire line can also be seen and this corner is at the point where Wilmot Road splits, where cars are travelling at speed and pedestrians have a hard time staying safe. So any additional pedestrian space would be welcomed. Below are a few shots of a couple of women we saw walking along the edge of Wilmot Road and yes, this is a bus route. The first photo on the left shows the space they had to walk along and the image below that includes the side we were walking on which was extremely muddy so neither side was a great option.

This particular walk took in part of North Road, Wilmot Road, Weaver Street and Quaker Ridge. We had decided to knock off a few arterials at a time we hoped people were indoors gearing up for the Super Bowl (we were wrong) and it was one of the most unpleasant walks we've had. These are busy roads with bus routes and schools so WHY are they so poorly designed for pedestrians?

And to make matters worse we found a number of places where large stones have been placed on the berm probably to discourage cars from parking but an absolute nightmare for pedestrians. We were left wondering just how much of these strips is owned by the city and where the actual property boundaries are. Could some of these be reclaimed for pedestrian space? Perhaps the city could spread wood chips to provide mud free walking if it won't make pedestrian safety enough of a priority to formalize sidewalks.

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6,000 mile interview

2/5/2014

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Princeton University Press has included a link to an interview with sociologist and author William Helmreich by WNYC. Well worth a listen as he discusses some of his observations from his 6,000 mile walk through New York City's five boroughs.

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Park and Dodge

1/28/2014

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It's a funny thing about parking lots. They tend to be all about the cars and very little about pedestrians. I am constantly amazed that the design of most parking lots seem to give no acknowledgement that once people have parked their cars they get out of them. And once out they need to WALK to a store, a cafe, a theater...some destination.

There are various specifications on the internet about parking lot specifications. The city of Medford Wisconsin manages to write 16 pages about how to construct a parking lot without a single mention of pedestrians. They have quite a bit about landscaping and they do cover the need for handicapped parking. The University of Houston on the other hand devotes 60 pages to parking in its Campus Design Guidelines and Standards, and pedestrians are upfront and center in the first section beyond "General". I love that the section heading is "Pedestrian and Vehicular Circulation". People first! Nice!

Here's a short news piece from late 2013 claiming that in Montgomery County, Washington DC 80% of the crashes involving pedestrians are caused by driver error. Myparkingspace blog gives some stats although I suspect that not all injuries incurred are recorded as parking lot related. This is one of the issues generally with pedestrian injuries and deaths, not all hospitals have the same recording categories and many are recorded under categories where it is unclear if they were pedestrian related. That said, myparkingspace blog does note "an average of 206 people (drivers and pedestrians) were killed each year in work-related parking lot accidents" (I assume this is in the US). Work related accidents are one of those categories that generally do get well recorded but it make me wonder how many not work related crashes in parking lots involving pedestrians happen each year. The blog goes on to say that one of the main causes of these crashes is drivers pulling cars in nose first and then having to back out of spaces. So, where possible everyone, we should back into spaces (pedestrians are less likely to be in a parking space than they are to be in the traffic lane so this does make sense) and I am grateful for my reversing camera which lessens the chance of hitting a child, too short to be seen using mirrors or looking out the back window. And crash numbers are going up! While I don't have any stats to back up my hypothesis I strongly suspect this is related to texting - by both pedestrians and drivers.

And what of parking lot designs? So many have no pedestrian crossings, no walkways, nowhere in fact for pedestrians to walk except in traffic lanes. Why is this??? And often where there could conceivably be a pedestrian walkway it is used to meet landscaping requirements. Greening of lots is important but it should not be an either/or but rather a both/and. Some greening, some pedestrian walkways, and preferably permeable surfacing.

On the plus side, if you do get injured, parking lot regulations require handicapped parking.

And just for fun.....

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Update on our New Rochelle Walk Your Community Challenge

1/26/2014

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We started out to walk all 175 miles of streets of New Rochelle on August 4, 2013. I am happy to say that after six months we are over half way and while the winter weather has shortened our walks it has not stopped us.

We have noted a lot of different design features, and some areas due for improvement, on our city streets related to walkability. We have also been lucky enough to talk to a variety of people, hear some of their stories, their reasons for living in New Rochelle, and their views on walking. We have also been on a couple of organized walks with the city historian and taken part in the annual Arts Festival - both walking and helping out on the trolley. We have learned about building uses both current and past, and changes to the topography including the filling in of a lake and the construction of a sub-division on a wetland (with obvious ramifications for both the new home owners and the City). I hasten to add that the subdivision happened a long time ago and I would like to think that it would not occur today.

We have also done some foraging - mulberries, mushrooms and ginkgo seeds to name a few of our edible finds - and also bringing home useful items including old insulators (they make great candlesticks) and other small useful items left curbside for the taking.

So....to mention it once again....set yourself a walking challenge. Decide the parameters of the community you would like to walk, and a goal about what you would like to focus on (or not) and get out there and walk it! If you are looking for inspiration get yourself a copy of The New York Nobody Knows or A Walk Across America, or one of several other books celebrating walking, and/or check out some of the websites about walking, for example America Walks. If your purpose for walking is more for fitness than exploration America's Walking is a PBS series with some ideas to get you started.

One word of caution, if you google 'Walking Books' to find some inspiration, the first item that comes up is The Walking Dead. Might be best to skip that one.

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Now HERE'S a Challenge!

1/23/2014

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Four years, 120,000 city blocks. A life long New York City resident, Sociologist William Helmreich decided to systematically walk all the city streets of all five boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx. His newly published book The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6000 Miles in the City chronicles his journey. An Atlantic Cities review gives some background including a great quote from Helmreich “ 'Every block can be interesting. It’s not just about covering ground, it’s about how you cover ground.' ”

Helmreich takes his students out to walk neighborhoods "teaching them to use its neighborhoods as a sort of living laboratory".

I haven't read the book yet but it is on the top of my reading list. Published by Princeton University Press it is available on their website, also through academic sources on line such as JSTOR for those with access, and of course through Amazon both in hardcover and as an e-book.

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If I were in charge....

1/5/2014

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....I would make sidewalks a priority on main roads, particularly when those roads are bus routes and/or have schools along them. We walked along Beechmont Avenue recently and it was downright scary. Of course it was not helped by snow but cars really barrel along this road with scant attention paid to road markings. When I look on the map of New Rochelle, schools seem to cluster on or near our busiest roads...or maybe the roads are busy because this is where the schools are? And naturally the bus routes tend to be along these roads too. So why aren't we making them safer for children to walk to school, commuters to walk to the bus stop and wait at a safe and sheltered

And I'd lower and enforce the speed limit. The sign on this photo may show a 20 mile corner but no one was paying any attention. Knowing the odds of pedestrian survival skyrocket as speed goes down, I'd make all residential areas 20mph zones. And drivers were consistently on the shoulder. I don't blame the drivers for this but the roading engineers, there is something about this stretch that just lends itself to hugging along the shoulder. Not sure if it is the width of the road, the camber, the sight lines?

This issue of sidewalks brings me to another point. While I am a huge advocate for sidewalks I also worry about the ever expanding asphalt and non permeable surfaces in our urban areas. As we live on the edge of Long Island Sound I think New Rochelle needs to be particularly aware about runoff, both the amount (there is a limit to what our storm drains can handle) and what is in it that ends up in our waterways. One option is to increase the amount of permeable paving on our streets and in our car parks. I spoke with someone at City Hall last year who said there has been some use of permeable paving but I don't know how many places it has been tried, where it is currently, or what the results have been. Wikipedia has a lot of useful information about options and lists managing runoff, pollutants control and better growing environments for trees as some of the advantages but is also quick to say that it is only one partial solution to a complex issue when it comes to run off and that no one knows for sure if trees really benefit. I am also unsure how costs compare between permeable and non permeable. Still, it is a start. And as William McDonough and Michael Braungart, creators of Cradle to Cradle put it - we need to start where we are and seek continuous improvement. For anyone unfamiliar with Cradle to Cradle principles I urge you to take a look. It breaks everything down into 'food' either biological or chemical. The aim is to be as abundant as nature while making sure that nothing is wasted, that everything is endlessly reused even as it changes form. I don't yet know if there is a permeable pavement that has Cradle to Cradle certification but if not, it is something for us to work toward. What I particularly like about Cradle to Cradle is it is not just about the environment. It is about a "triple top line" Equity, Ecology, Revenue Generation, and companies are finding that by using C2C design they are saving money while making products that are not just 'not bad' but are beneficial - adding value to the planet and to society.

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Walking the brainstorm

1/3/2014

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I just watched Susan Cain's TED Talk about The Power of Introverts and that it is in solitude that we often come up with our best ideas. What better way to do this than walking? Labyrinths have long been used as a structured form of contemplation and meditation but I find city streets can be a great place to think. I have come up with some of my best ideas while walking and also had some wonderful discussions walking with others. And of course Walking Meetings provide an excellent environment for problem solving and decision making.

Walking as contemplation is a great way to take time 'out' in our busy lives in a way that is (mostly) considered a valid use of our time. I find it extremely sad that we are often so driven to look consistently busy that contemplation is seen as unproductive. Walking allows us to take the time to review, think, problem solve, while doing something physically good for us as well as adding to our mental and emotional well being. Next time you are sitting behind your computer stuck on a problem, get up, go out, walk around the block. And remember that the best solutions often need to mature just like good cheese. There's a reason why people say they want to sleep on a problem. But, don't just sleep on it, WALK on it!

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Incomplete crossings

12/17/2013

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New Rochelle seems to have a penchant for three sided pedestrian crossings on four corner intersections. The more I walk my community the more of these I see. Why? I've looked at the Federal Highway Administration's guidelines and see some great information about improving pedestrian safety and nothing about three sided crossings. Is it a move by New Rochelle to save paint? How many pedestrians standing on corner A wanting to get to corner D are going to wait for the light to walk from A to B and then wait for the light to cross from B to C and then wait again to get from C to D? Not this one. I'm going to walk across the street from corner A to corner D even if it doesn't have a crosswalk. I know this increases my risk of getting run over, particularly in these days of texting drivers. I know a driver wanting to turn and having a green light and seeing no pedestrian crossing is going to figure s/he has right of way. Just as I also feel I should have the right to walk across the street without completing three sides of a square and waiting for traffic signals on all three sides.

What three sided pedestrian crossings create is confusion and conflict between transportation modes. I suspect there is a misguided belief that pedestrians will use the crossings and leave the unmarked side open for drivers turning, thereby keeping the traffic flowing. That faceless all important 'traffic'. Once more making it clear that in the land of engineers, a person in a car is more important than someone on foot. Enrique Penalosa would call this flawed democracy.

Please, can we have pedestrian crossings on all four sides?

And while we're at it, can we do something about improving sight lines for drivers so they don't consistently stop across pedestrian crossings in order to see what is coming when they want to legally turn while on a red light?

This intersection has traffic lights but no crossing lights for pedestrians, a curb cut with lawn and pedestrian crossing markings on three sides (two visible in the photo). If I was standing on the corner with the tree wanting to get to the house across the street am I really going to walk around three sides of the intersection to get there? I don't think so.

Here's a corner I was almost run over on. This intersection has one crossing marked (on the left of the photo) so even with the best will in the world crossing safely is not easy, especially if, like me, you are unwilling to wait for several light sequences to avoid turning traffic. I was crossing from left to right and drivers coming from the right and turning left made it very clear I should NOT have been on the street crossing where they were turning. Aggressive and territorial are the words that come to mind to describe their driving style.

The bike lane here is also incomplete. Now you see it.....and now you don't. It does not continue on the other side of the intersection. Would I bike here? Not a chance!

This is the same road as above but a couple of blocks along from the previous photo. This was taken very close to a shopping center where it would make good sense to have easy walking and cycling. But instead the cycle lane and the sidewalk both disappear. And yet there is road reserve up there in the distance that could be used. Did it get too hard? Did the traffic engineer's budget run out? Design like this seems to me to be more dangerous than doing nothing. Now pedestrians and cyclists are lured in to thinking they can safely get from here to there but nope. They are spat out into traffic.

This is a three sided intersection on Pelham Road. There are some good features here. Note the island on the left where pedestrians can safely wait if they get stranded in the middle of a very long intersection. Unfortunately there is no crosswalk in front of the bus by the bank and look ma, no pedestrian signals!

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It's snowing!

12/17/2013

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A thank you to whoever is in charge of clearing the snow by the train station. It was great to walk along Division Street and find the curb cuts cleared. So often the snow plows clear the roads by piling snow up along the curb making it hard for pedestrians to cross from block to block.

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"We humans are pedestrians"

12/9/2013

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" We humans are pedestrians. Just as fish need to swim or birds need to fly or deer need to run, we need to walk." a quote from a recent TED Talk by former Bogata Columbia mayor Enrique Penalosa. 14 minutes of inspiration about democracy through equitable transportation choices.

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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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