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By Andy Clarke (with apologies to United Airlines)
I was in the Silicon Valley for a training course for the staff of six Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) selected to implement a series of eight Walkability Audits in their local communities. Sponsored by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center and managed by Walkable Communities Inc., the grant program is jump-starting Walkability Audits (an evolution of the Pedestrian Roadshow pioneered by the Federal Highway Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in MPOs. Six
Successful MPO's
Caltrain
Service
Most of the bikes are tagged with their origin and destination to help fellow riders stack their bikes alongside those with a similar or later destination, and as the train rolled through the Silicon Valley an increasing volume of riders got on and off. At each station, a well-rehearsed dance was played out: As the train nears a station, riders gather to unhook their bikes; fellow passengers helpfully hold one or more bikes while others are maneuvered into place to disembark. Riders wait for other passengers to get on and off before exchanging places with the cyclists waiting on the platform, and the bikes are hooked into the appropriate stack of bikes. Always, riders are helping each other to make the system work. At the Mountain View Station the conductor announced that the car was full (24 bikes) while at least one rider remained on the platform. A woman on board quickly counted the bikes and argued that there were only 22 bikes and thus space was still available�but the train hade moved on, leaving the stranded rider with a 20-minute wait for the next train.
A quick round of introductions revealed wide geographic and organizational diversity, but a remarkably similar list of questions, concerns and desires from the training. In an MPO covering dozens of jurisdictions, how would we choose just eight to get one of the workshops? What was the appropriate role for regional planning agency in something as local and detailed as improving conditions for walking? How did these "audits" work and who was it most critical to get to attend? What if an agency wanted to do more than eight? And what makes an environment walkable anyway? Two and half days later, instructors Peter Lagerwey and Dan Burden (with the help of encyclopedic local color commentator, Patrick Siegman) had answered all these questions and many more that the enthusiastic MPO staff hadn't even thought of. Site visits, a community workshop, a walking audit, a bike ride, and a "survivor"-like test ("we're gonna drop you off here, you have to find your own way to the hotel by 7.00pm") taught us all about in-fill development, "scrapes", the best size for tree-wells, the difference between roundabouts and traffic circles, the pros and cons of angle-parking, the astonishing cost of housing in the region, and why curb-and-gutter is better than rolled-curbs. What
Are Walking Audits?
b) a local presenter who describes particular local problem or situation c) a walk in the community to identify good and bad conditions d) a discussion of people's observations on the walk, and e) agreement on possible action items and/or proposed improvements Even though this was primarily a walking visit, I had heard so much about the Caltrain service for bikes that I couldn't resist the chance to see it in operation for myself. So I climbed aboard a free Valley Transportation Authority shuttle to Caltrain, paid a whopping $2.00 for my peak-hour, 30-minute ride from to Palo Alto, and joined two cyclists and about 20 passengers at the Santa Clara station. When the 8.02am train pulled up, the two cyclists waited for other cyclists and passengers to get off the train before climbing aboard and strapping their bikes to the 20 or so already inside the purpose-built cars. [Add a box with a link to http://www.caltrain.com/caltrain/caltrain_bikes.html and to the bikes and transit section of the website] Most of the bikes are tagged with their origin and destination to help fellow riders stack their bikes alongside those with a similar or later destination, and as the train rolled through the Silicon Valley an increasing volume of riders got on and off. At each station, a well-rehearsed dance was played out: As the train nears a station, riders gather to unhook their bikes; fellow passengers helpfully hold one or more bikes while others are maneuvered into place to disembark. Riders wait for other passengers to get on and off before exchanging places with the cyclists waiting on the platform, and the bikes are hooked into the appropriate stack of bikes. Always, riders are helping each other to make the system work. At the Mountain View Station the conductor announced that the car was full (24 bikes) while at least one rider remained on the platform. A woman on board quickly counted the bikes and argued that there were only 22 bikes and thus space was still available�but the train hade moved on, leaving the stranded rider with a 20-minute wait for the next train. While I was riding the rails, my fellow trainees and instructors were gathering at the San Jose Airport Doubletree hotel, site of many common walking problems (missing sidewalks and crosswalks, wide roads, fast traffic, and airport and hotel staff who denied it was possible to walk the �-mile between the two places) that we were to leave behind for a few days. A quick round of introductions revealed wide geographic and organizational diversity, but a remarkably similar list of questions, concerns and desires from the training. In an MPO covering dozens of jurisdictions, how would we choose just eight to get one of the workshops? What was the appropriate role for regional planning agency in something as local and detailed as improving conditions for walking? How did these "audits" work and who was it most critical to get to attend? What if an agency wanted to do more than eight? And what makes an environment walkable anyway? Two and half days later, instructors Peter Lagerwey and Dan Burden (with the help of encyclopedic local color commentator, Patrick Siegman) had answered all these questions and many more that the enthusiastic MPO staff hadn't even thought of. Site visits, a community workshop, a walking audit, a bike ride, and a "survivor"-like test ("we're gonna drop you off here, you have to find your own way to the hotel by 7.00pm") taught us all about in-fill development, "scrapes", the best size for tree-wells, the difference between roundabouts and traffic circles, the pros and cons of angle-parking, the astonishing cost of housing in the region, and why curb-and-gutter is better than rolled-curbs. Why
are MPO's Involved in Walking Audits and Walkability?
b) pick an accessible location, preferably one that does not require any additional transportation for participants to do the walk. c) ensure the venue can comfortably accommodate about 50 people and can be darkened (all the way) for slide presentations d) ensure all the audio visual equipment is working and has back ups (bulbs, extension cord etc) e) be flexible about the format. The local organizer and the folks they invite may change their minds about the focus of the meeting, and that's OK. f) work with the local organizer to identify key participants (e.g. the Mayor, head of traffic, local council member etc) and bona fide local residents! Members of the public don't have to worry about (or even be aware of) offending their boss (the mayor or head of traffic) or treading on politically sensitive issues. This openness can help move meetings along. g) the local presenter should provide useful background information about the community or specific site without droning on about meaningless committee meeting debates or presenting loads of pointless statistics about the region. h) stress that the audit is primarily designed to identify problems and issues rather than finding the perfect solution. The audits are great at raising overall awareness and showing people a range of potential solutions, but aren't usually the appropriate place to come up with a detailed solution. What
Makes a Community Walkable?
c) land use is critical. Communities with mixed-use, moderate to high densities and housing downtown were lively, thriving places with people everywhere. The single use, low-rise business parks were surrounded by big, busy and very unwalkable roadways. d) people are key. People crave interaction, even just to watch other people. Public space, whether it was the downtown plaza in Watsonville or Los Gatos or the bustling sidewalks of Palo Alto's main streets, has to be inviting, welcoming, safe and accessible for people rather than just for motor vehicles.
f) codes and manuals. Patrick Siegman's seemingly photographic memory of area building codes, zoning policies, traffic manuals, and permitting processes enabled us to realize both the tyrannical impact of codes that are inflexible and the potential for codes to enable creativity and innovation that result in more walkable and desirable development. g) connections make everything possible. Simple alleyways between buildings make parks and train stations and main streets more accessible, and even the alleys themselves can be made interesting with murals, small shops and services etc. Palo Alto's bike boulevard connects low volume residential streets and creates a wonderful, direct route through the heart of the city.
What
Happens Next? |
