Sidewalks, bike paths: Sign of a town's health
Toolbox
By JAMES TASSE - Published: October 8, 2006
Does your community have good sidewalks? What about bike lanes? How about bike paths? Did you see any work done on them in your town this construction season?
These humble pieces of infrastructure designed for foot and bicycle travel may not seem very important but they are significant indicators of a community's political, physical and economic health. And Vermont towns are building more bike/pedestrian facilities each year.
Good sidewalks and bike lanes suggest civic commitment to promoting health and alternatives to automobile travel. They mark a recognition on the part of local leaders that getting out of the car and riding or walking to work or to do errands saves fuel, eases traffic congestion and provides an easy way to get some healthy exercise.
With good bicycle and pedestrian facilities in a town, the elderly can get the activity that maintains health. Kids can get safely to school and folks without cars can get to their jobs or bus stops. People can walk around their neighborhoods and meet face to face without having to dodge cars.
Good sidewalks and bike infrastructure are also good for business. Bike/pedestrian facilities are among the amenities that a community can market to potential businesses that are considering relocation. Safe walking and biking areas are also attractive to tourism.
Take a trip to the Burlington Bike Path sometime and see all the visitors to the area out enjoying themselves. These folks stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, and spend money. Lots of money. Burlington and Stowe each estimate revenues associated with visits to their bike paths in the millions of dollars.
Towns with good sidewalks and bike infrastructure just look more prosperous, healthy and forward moving. They always strike me as the smart towns, the ones that took advantage of the millions of federal dollars available for building such facilities.
According the Agency of Transportation, at least 14 towns around the state of Vermont made significant improvements in their bicycle and pedestrian facilities in 2006. These towns deserve kudos for their foresight, savvy and support of physical activity.
Towns that built bicycle or pedestrian facilities this construction season include:
Barre Town, Bennington, Brattleboro, Derby, Essex, Fairfax, Lyndon, Newfane, Poultney, Wallingford, West Rutland, Winooski and Woodstock. The projects that these towns took on include not just sidewalks, but also a "pocket park" in Brattleboro, a mile and a half of multi-use path in Barre Town and a "river walk" along the Winooski River in Winooski. All of these projects add to the attraction of these communities.
One of the most impressive projects might be the improvements along Shelburne Road, the stretch of Route 7 that runs from Shelburne into Burlington. The ability to engineer new sidewalks and bike lanes along this busy stretch of road suggests that such infrastructure can — and should — be a part of road projects in every city in Vermont.
In some cases, the projects changed the face of the community, as in Wallingford, where new concrete sidewalks installed this summer on both sides of Route 7 have created an inviting environment for people to park their cars and walk as they browse the shops in the village center.
West Rutland deserves recognition, not only for its ongoing sidewalk work, but also for completing the longest stretch of multi-use path in Rutland County, about 3/4 of a mile. This bike path, connecting the town's recreation center to Route 133, provides a great traffic-free area for walking or teaching kids how to ride bikes or to roller blade.
Bicycle and pedestrian facilities may seem like "extras" in a community, but they are not. They are fundamental pieces of a complete transportation system and they demonstrate that a town has a vision of health and prosperity for its residents.
Ask your select board or planning commission about their plans to build sidewalks and bike lanes in your town next year.
James Tasse is the executive director of the Rutland Area Physical Activity Coalition. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Herald and Times Argus.
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