What if you build it and they DON'T come?
Yesterday morning I took a pleasant one-and-a-half-mile walk. It was a great day for a walk-sunny, low humidity and temperature in the high 60s. The route was a loop in our suburban neighborhood which I took on in clockwise fashion. The streets are one auto-lane in each direction with speed limits of 30 mph. The streets also have clearly marked bicycle lanes on both sides and bus stops every block or two. Our city has provided a nice wide sidewalk on both sides of the streets. To my left, outside my walking loop, were mostly single family home neighborhoods. To my right, inside my walking loop, there was a mix of rental apartments, condominiums, townhouses, duplexes, a few single family homes, and commercial establishments.
While, for the most part, everything is single story, unlike cities of a century ago, there is a pretty good mix of housing, retail and service in this area. Residents and visitors are offered a bank, a credit union, a loan company, Gold's Gym, a Walmart Super Center, Walgreens, a coffee shop, an ice-cream parlor, a Whataburger, an american restaurant, an oriental restaurant, a greek restaurant, two or three traditional Mexican restaurants, a taco and fruteria stand and a modern tex-mex cafe. There is a family medical clinic and a dental clinic and an optician along with specialty care for cancer patients and those seeking to escape from addictions. Seekers can find insurance agents, a massage day spa, barber and beauty shops and nail parlors. There is a clock/watch repair shop and at least two churches. For the auto-oriented there is a small used car lot and a tire shop. There is also a cocktail lounge outside my defined “loop” but just across the street at one point.
While, for the most part, everything is single story, unlike cities of a century ago, there is a pretty good mix of housing, retail and service in this area. Residents and visitors are offered a bank, a credit union, a loan company, Gold's Gym, a Walmart Super Center, Walgreens, a coffee shop, an ice-cream parlor, a Whataburger, an american restaurant, an oriental restaurant, a greek restaurant, two or three traditional Mexican restaurants, a taco and fruteria stand and a modern tex-mex cafe. There is a family medical clinic and a dental clinic and an optician along with specialty care for cancer patients and those seeking to escape from addictions. Seekers can find insurance agents, a massage day spa, barber and beauty shops and nail parlors. There is a clock/watch repair shop and at least two churches. For the auto-oriented there is a small used car lot and a tire shop. There is also a cocktail lounge outside my defined “loop” but just across the street at one point.
My walk took about 35 minutes mid-morning on, as mentioned above, a beautiful day. During my walk I saw one other human. A grizzled older gentleman who ignored my nodded greeting. I saw no one on bicycles, scooters, or skateboards. I saw no one boarding or exiting a bus. Keep in mind that this is in a fairly densly populated area as suburban areas go. Keep in mind there are wide sidewalks and marked bicycle lanes. More than half the route is nicely tree-lined. Also note that the businesses described above all seemed to be relatively busy and prospering.
This seems to be a neighborhood in which people would walk more than most modern suburban areas. But nobody was walking. If people won't walk where it is easy to do, usable destinations are close, and the weather is perfect, how will we get people to walk?
This seems to be a neighborhood in which people would walk more than most modern suburban areas. But nobody was walking. If people won't walk where it is easy to do, usable destinations are close, and the weather is perfect, how will we get people to walk?
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