Old 07-18-15, 02:57 PM
  #21  
FBinNY 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: New Rochelle, NY
Posts: 38,545

Bikes: too many bikes from 1967 10s (5x2)Frejus to a Sumitomo Ti/Chorus aluminum 10s (10x2), plus one non-susp mtn bike I use as my commuter

Mentioned: 139 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5703 Post(s)
Liked 2,432 Times in 1,345 Posts
Originally Posted by Rollfast
People actually USE sidewalks a lot more in Europe. Maybe walking is commonplace in New York City etc but most people don't walk to get places, they walk for fun and exercise. Even Lewis and Clark took a canoe.
Of course they walk to get places, maybe not far places, but I'll venture destination is important all over the country, not only in NYC and other downtown areas. Children and parents use the sidewalk to get to friends' houses, school, especially elementary school, to small neighborhood parks, and maybe small store clusters (mini strip malls). Areas where things are too far to walk, generally don't have sidewalks in the first place.

I'll grant you that suburban walking has declined materially, which is truly a shame. Part of that is how new developments are laid out, often as island clusters with only one or two ways in or out. They do this to discourage through traffic, and it's logical as far as it goes, but makes walking to anywhere off island impractical.

One zoning or design change can fix that at little or no cost, or sacrifice of the island benefits.

Decades ago, in the 50's some smart thinkers laying out neighborhoods in this area realized how isolating they can be, so along the backsides, opposite the connecting roads they provided narrow easements paved as foot paths, to connect the islands. That meant that people could walk around the back to visit folks on the next island in the archipelago, and/or children could walk to school without venturing out onto busy main roads. I only see this in a few places, but it makes transiting the suburbs by foot or bicycle so much easier.

It also makes life better because mom doesn't have to drive kids to school or pick them up, nor are they reliant on school buses. It's good for the kids because they actually walk as much as a mile each way to get to school, but it's still faster then the school bus would be.

Simple, smart, and virtually unheard of.

Of course, with these places being in Westchester, walking for errands can't happen (too far), but I know folks that walk all the way to the golf course using these shortcuts.
__________________
FB
Chain-L site

An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.

Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.

“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN

WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FBinNY is offline