"In Philadelphia, 9.1 percent of workers walk to their jobs; in Washington, 11.8 percent; and in Boston, 13 percent," notes this Baltimore Sun article. "Baltimore's walking commuters far outnumber those who bike to work, making up just over 7 percent of the city's nearly quarter-million workers age 16 and older, or about three times the statewide percentage."
"I get gas once every three months, but I don't tell people that. That's like salt in the wounds," one walking commuter told the Sun.
Most suburbanites don't have that option. But there ARE some people who, say, both live and work in Framingham. Or live close to a store, post office or library. However, even those here who do live close to work or shopping are unlikely to walk, because the pedestrian streetscape is so unappealing -- narrow sidewalks, no buffer between sidewalk and traffic whizzing by, unscreened massive parking lots or self-storage warehouses.... Most people take their cars from strip mall to strip mall along Rtes. 9 and 30, even for half a mile, or from the hotels on Speen Street to nearby stores and restaurants, because the walking environment is so hostile.
Planners know that it takes more than simply installing sidewalks to get people with the option of driving or walking out of their cars.
June 8, 2004
Case Study: How Sprawl Hurt Buffalo AND Its Inner Suburbs
One indicator of sprawl: New housing goes up faster than new households.
"In Providence, Newark and Ann Arbor, new housing goes up every day as more and more families move into the region," notes an article in the Buffalo News. "Buffalo also builds a lot of new housing, but with a difference: Here, the number of new houses outpaces the number of new households by nearly 4-to-1. ...
"[r]esearchers believe the impact of that sprawl hit hardest in Buffalo and its first-ring suburbs. They see it in the exodus of people from the city and the decline in both property values and tax base."
Declining housing prices is certainly NOT a problem we've got here in the Boston area at the moment. But it's worth keeping in mind that exurban sprawl (i.e. in the 495 region and beyond) impacts both a region's major city AND its closer-in suburbs. When once-rural town build nothing but developments of large houses, without enough commercial activity to support it, where do you think all that traffic goes when people need to get to work or go shopping?
"In Providence, Newark and Ann Arbor, new housing goes up every day as more and more families move into the region," notes an article in the Buffalo News. "Buffalo also builds a lot of new housing, but with a difference: Here, the number of new houses outpaces the number of new households by nearly 4-to-1. ...
"[r]esearchers believe the impact of that sprawl hit hardest in Buffalo and its first-ring suburbs. They see it in the exodus of people from the city and the decline in both property values and tax base."
Declining housing prices is certainly NOT a problem we've got here in the Boston area at the moment. But it's worth keeping in mind that exurban sprawl (i.e. in the 495 region and beyond) impacts both a region's major city AND its closer-in suburbs. When once-rural town build nothing but developments of large houses, without enough commercial activity to support it, where do you think all that traffic goes when people need to get to work or go shopping?
June 7, 2004
Retirees Enjoy ‘Smart Growth’ Communities
"It is the closest we could get to what we left behind," says John Hopton about retiring in a traditional neighborhood development, or TND, in Lynchburg, Va.
TNDs are a modern interpretation of an old idea: the self-contained neighborhood or small town with mixed housing types and diverse populations - much like a Norman Rockwell painting brought to life. They are characterized by high- density building; small lot sizes; and a walkable, compact size. They also feature commercial and civic components, so residents can buy what they need and take part in community activities without leaving the neighborhood.
So starts this Christian Science Monitor article, which talks about how appealing walkable communities are for older residents, as opposed to gated senior ghettos where motorized transportation is needed for every conceivable errand.
"The compact, walkable settlement pattern, with a mix of uses and a variety of housing types, is ideal for older households," Todd Zimmerman of Zimmerman/Volk Associates told the Monitor. His firm analyzed more than 200 traditional neighborhoods and urban residential neighborhoods in 42 states.
June 5, 2004
Drive More? Weigh More!
"Spending more time behind the wheel -- and less time on two feet -- is adding inches to waistlines and contributing to the nation's obesity epidemic, a new study concludes," AP reports.
"The survey of 10,500 Atlanta residents found that for every extra 30 minutes commuters drove each day, they had a 3 percent greater chance of being obese than their peers who drove less.
"The survey also found that people who lived within walking distance of shops -- less than a half mile -- were 7 percent less likely to be obese than their counterparts who had to drive."
At a U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services-sponsored conference, “Obesity and the Built Environment,” Secretary Tommy Thompson urged public health advocates “to convince city planners to provide safe streets for children to bicycle on and safe streets for people to walk on," according to an HHS statement. "Every road being built — you should be able to walk on it or ride a bike on it.”
Couldn't agree more, except to add: It should be built so that you'd want to walk or bike on it, not merely that it's technically possible (once again, think of the sidewalks on Speen Street between Rtes. 30 and 9, or along Rte. 9. Have the urge to stroll there lately?)
"The survey of 10,500 Atlanta residents found that for every extra 30 minutes commuters drove each day, they had a 3 percent greater chance of being obese than their peers who drove less.
"The survey also found that people who lived within walking distance of shops -- less than a half mile -- were 7 percent less likely to be obese than their counterparts who had to drive."
At a U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services-sponsored conference, “Obesity and the Built Environment,” Secretary Tommy Thompson urged public health advocates “to convince city planners to provide safe streets for children to bicycle on and safe streets for people to walk on," according to an HHS statement. "Every road being built — you should be able to walk on it or ride a bike on it.”
Couldn't agree more, except to add: It should be built so that you'd want to walk or bike on it, not merely that it's technically possible (once again, think of the sidewalks on Speen Street between Rtes. 30 and 9, or along Rte. 9. Have the urge to stroll there lately?)
June 1, 2004
Framingham Tomorrow Meeting
There will be a public meeting on the town's community development plan, Wednesday, June 9, 7 p.m. at Town Hall's Public Hearing Room.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council will outline results of several meetings over the past year where residents talked about housing, transportation, the environment and economic development; MAPC will present draft recommendations and solicit comments.
I attended several of these meetings, in an effort to put more attention on the issue of pedestrian friendly development -- and the fact that if you build housing downtown in places like the old Dennison complex, but then don't make an appealing walkable environment, it's not going to do much good for downtown. People will just get in their cars and drive off elsewhere for their shopping.
Reminder: We've got an MBTA train station downtown, and how much good is that doing local businesses in the area? I suspect not much, because it's an extraordinarily unappealing walking environment around there. People drive in and drive out. The mere presence of sidewalks is not enough.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council will outline results of several meetings over the past year where residents talked about housing, transportation, the environment and economic development; MAPC will present draft recommendations and solicit comments.
I attended several of these meetings, in an effort to put more attention on the issue of pedestrian friendly development -- and the fact that if you build housing downtown in places like the old Dennison complex, but then don't make an appealing walkable environment, it's not going to do much good for downtown. People will just get in their cars and drive off elsewhere for their shopping.
Reminder: We've got an MBTA train station downtown, and how much good is that doing local businesses in the area? I suspect not much, because it's an extraordinarily unappealing walking environment around there. People drive in and drive out. The mere presence of sidewalks is not enough.
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