To the Editor:
Going by foot is the most natural, energy efficient, safe, and uncongested way to traverse an urban environment. It is overwhelmingly sociable, nonthreatening, accommodating and doesn’t require much by way of an investment to enjoy. Feet were made for walking, and people navigate even the smallest, tightest spaces best as pedestrians. And left to themselves, it is exceedingly rare to find that pedestrians are a hazard.
A recent intercept study, done for a possible transformation of the unit block of King Street, showed 80 percent of those traveling in that area were pedestrians. The remaining 20 percent of transportation modes were cars, trucks and bikes. As always, Old Town has continued to succeed as a prime example of how a dense urban environment works best — on foot. This is also what contributes to the uniquely sociable and welcoming place that is packed into the Old and Historic District. Even the Tot Park on Royal Street, where many small children and their grateful mothers talk and play, is reached on foot. Fun to speculate on just how many of these tots actually took their first steps among the tiny park’s abundance of shared toys and trikes!
The problem at the moment is that vehicles, i.e., cars and bikes, control our conversation about how to move people in ways that make everyone happy and keep them safe. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Group, even when they ostensibly speak for pedestrians, base all their advocacy on “bikes” and form all their phrases and arguments around the evils of autos. Public transportation is a complete shadow player, although arguably the best mode for moving masses of people, reliably and safely, over short periods of time. In fact, in the complete and shared streets concept the modes feature pedestrians and public transit options … buses or metros. The “Last Mile” was originally coined by Smart Growth activists to describe the lack of sidewalks to connect pedestrians with public transportation.
Global studies and projects have yet to demonstrate that designing or combining three modes (pedestrians/bikes/cars) can work without failure for one or more. Believe me, I’ve searched Japanese, Danish, American, South American, Swedish, Viennese, British, and Dutch reports. The one thing they have in common is an admission of failure to design and operate a multi-modal system, one that is safe, equitable, and free flowing for everyone. The general result seems to be that vehicles, i.e., cars and bikes, become tangled and congested; pedestrians abandon their previously safe walking routes, and accidents happen more often.
Old Town is a walkers’ paradise, because the blocks are short and have stop signs or lights on every corner. The core of the city is a dense suburbia that is shaded by mature trees and winding streets, which make it a pleasant place to walk. But as demonstrated by the recent King Street Bike Lane fiasco, implementation of a tri-modal street, undertaken without adequate research or meaningful data, is a doubtful way to move to “complete streets.” Worse, by focusing keenly on cars and bikes, we risk deep-sixing those who use the dominant mode and walk for exercise and pleasure, especially the aged.
Pedestrians are the dominant means of travel and will be for a long time to come. Instead of using bicycles and eliminating parking spaces to force change, let’s concentrate on creating an urban setting that favors the human foot on well-maintained sidewalks. Feet are probably common to 99.9 percent of the people who traverse Alexandria. Let’s re-start the city’s conversation about getting round town and put pedestrians in the lead.
Kathryn Papp
Alexandria