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Date:         Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:35:54 -0600
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Subject:      Re: Was!!    now that it's Friday!   Now:  Rant!!
Comments: To: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
In-Reply-To:  <DNEFLHPPMKKCMAEKKDCCCEJDCNAA.jhecht@alum.mit.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Joy Hecht wrote:

>Bicycles, folks, that's the way to go. Good for the health, good for the >environment, reduces demand for fuel, reduces traffic congestion. > >And reducing consumption is the way to go, since obviously biking isn't >always a viable alternative. >

Begin Rant!!

I go with most of your post. Exception is the statement above. I agree with the concept, but, and its a big BUT..................!

In the community where I live the growth is phnomenal. There are scheduled to be over 3000 new housing starts this year. The growth is out of control. It is like a cancer spreading over the land. I live in the terminus of Foothills of the Applachians. It is beautiful here. And the growth here is incredible. A complete town was built by one company just to the north of me. Shopping center, 600 homes, Emergency services, churches, schools, the whole package. Pricey, but people are moving in. One nice restriction .... the home owners are strongly encouraged to purchas golf carts as their second car, and to use it for transportaion within the community.....to the grocery store, to the resaurants, to the country club, to the lake. Many people do have them, but not everybody. And of course this is but one community. Others are not so picky. Most development is tract housing subdivisions. The norm is becoming small lots with three story houses. Getting the maximum dollar per square foot of land. It really is ruining the area.

My complaint, among many, is that there is absolutely NO planning for any pedestrian traffic anywhere. The streets and roads are constructed with no shoulders, or they are weed and brush covered and you can't use them. Sidewalks??? Mention that to a land developer or contractor and they look at you like you are crazy or they just get a glazed look in their eyes.

You are forced to walk or ride in the road. Put cars, bikes, and pedestrian (runners and walkers) together and it's a fatal mix. It just galls my butt that so little consideration is being given to these issues. Everyone is crying "Poor Mouth", and nobody wants to put out the money to pay the extra cost for the land acquisition and the additional work to put the pedestrian and biking space into the plans. Such things should be mandatory in any development approval by the various agencies involved. But it is not happening.

Here where I live there is a nice commuity park within 1/2 mile of where I live. The parke has an excellent walking trail. Not big, but big enough, trail is 0.6 miles long through the woods, down a hill, through some nice hardwoods, along a stream, then up into the kiddy area with the kiddy toys, then back to the start. If one walks around the parking lot, one adds 0.1 mile. Five laps yields 2.8 miles, Do two more laps on the parking lot and you have 3 miles. I do this almost every day. Three miles. It makes me feel good, keeps my circulation up, lowers my blood pressure. It is a safe walk, no vehicular traffic. But guess what? I have to drive the half mile to get there. I would much prefer to walk or jog the distance. But why not? Because to walk/jog the half mile to the park entry means walking on the highway ...... literally. There is not even a decent road shoulder to walk on. The road edge drops over into a drainage ditch. The traffic is typical .... crowded and nobody observes the speed limits. So to walk that road I would be putting my life in jeopardy.

My point is, we in America are so saturated with the automobile, the marketing of those automobiles, and the fuels for those automobiles, that as a nation we no longer give any consideration to alternative locomotion, regards transportaion, and those few that do think about it, or those that want to add some pedestrian activity to their life cannot do so. They are simply run over by other considerations.

The state I claim as my home state, Alaska, has roads all over with big wide shoulders. The Roads were built that way to 1) accomodate tourist traffice, 2) provide for the pedestrian traffic in the state, 3) provide a safe place for stopping and parking when there is vehicle trouble.

In Anchorage, the city has walking/riding/skiing/biking tails all over. Why not other cities/states?

Frustrating.

OK. Rant over.

John Rodgers 88 GL Driver


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