And we're back!

Tweet

With some nice photos of the walkable Northwest. Here are a few streets in Oregon that caught my eye as we traveled. Note the buildings that front the sidewalk, nice street furniture, and wide area for walking in this pic of Hood River:

With a street like this in Albany, with on-street parking and a relatively narrow space for vehicle travel, a zebra crossing can be enough for a pedestrian. Note also the street trees, decorative lighting, and (again) buildings fronting the sidewalk that are "human" scale.

I liked how this pocket park in Ashland made use of what might otherwise be wasted space, and in doing so made the entire area feel like it belonged to both pedestrians and vehicles.

But it wasn't just the street design that made Oregon so pedestrian-friendly, it was the clear culture of equality between pedestrians, bikes, and vehicles. I'm not quite sure how they've managed it, but somehow Oregonians have created cities where driving is downplayed, sharrows abound, and not stopping for a pedestrian is a gross violation of social norms. Maybe they put something in the microbrew?

Not intended to be ironic, but...

Tweet

A bit of trivia from our travel route: the 1958 Oregon State Dept. of Transportation promotional slogan was "Oregon freeways...a symbol of 2nd century progress." Take off the "Oregon" and I think that pretty much sums it up.

Ten Reasons I'm Thankful for Walkability

Tweet

1. Even my most expensive pair of shoes is cheaper than new tires.
2. There are no one-way sidewalks.
3. Unlike at the gym, if the person next to you grunts or wears too much perfume, you can walk away.
4. It's better at reducing healthcare costs than Congress.
5. No one celebrates International Drive to School Day.
6. A lot of people in the street = block party. A lot of cars in the street = roadblock.
7. You can't get a ticket for walking too fast.
8. Building a sidewalk next to your community doesn't increase asthma rates.
9. Bumping into someone you know while driving isn't a pleasant surprise.
10. You don't burn off Thanksgiving dinner by going for an after-meal drive.

Great LA Walk This Weekend

Tweet

Angelenos, don't forget about this Saturday's Great Los Angeles Walk 2011. Meet other walking enthusiasts, check out some of LA's fabulous neighborhoods, including Downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, and enjoy the afterparty at Locanda del Lago restaurant in Santa Monica. If 19 miles sounds too intimidating, you can find the full route on the Walk's website and just pick your favorite segment to complete.

The Habits of the Western Jay(walker)

Tweet

Our family is spending the next few weeks on an ambitious road trip from LA to the Pacific Northwest, which leaves little time for blogging, but much time to observe the pedestrian environments and walking habits in cities along the west coast. Aside from vast differences in walkability between a city like LA and one like San Francisco, I've been particularly struck by differences in jaywalking habits from place to place.

Based on my strictly unscientific observations, there is a distinct correlation between the walkability of a city and the tendency of its citizens to cross the street against traffic signals, midblock, and in other officially unsanctioned ways. The pedestrian advocate side of me is enthusiastic about this, but the driving-in-an-unfamiliar-city side finds it disconcerting that when my signal is green a pedestrian might still dart out in front of me.

Proponents of the "shared space" concept, and its close cousin the woonerf, suggest that one solution to this problem is to ditch the traffic signals altogether and reintroduce the idea of the street as common space for all users. The thought is that removing signage and signals would force roadway users to rely on eye contact and social interaction to navigate streets, thus improving roadway safety by eliminating "mindless" driving.

There are several successful examples of this idea out there (e.g. New Zealand, the UK), and just on this trip I've noticed shared space used informally in small towns like Ferndale, CA. But what about in the heart of a big city like Portland or San Francisco? Is it courting disaster to open up major streets to a vehicle/cyclist/transit/pedestrian free-for-all, or is it just returning the streets to a happier time when they belonged to everyone and people paid attention to the environment around them when they traveled?