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Dunhams Safes
Sustainable solutions for getting around town: Alternative transportation
Over half the trips in America are within a twenty minute bike ride or walk, according to nonprofit organization, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Yet, people habitually make these short journeys in cars.
Modern society depends heavily on vehicles because for the last century, urban planning has been strongly influenced by America’s car culture. As a result, many areas are almost impossible for people to live in without automobiles.
America’s highway infrastructure needs extensive reconstruction. Pedestrian safety and smaller, lighter vehicles aren’t given enough attention in government planning of highways, streets and intersections.
Cities, because of their high population densities, are actually well-suited to alternative modes of transportation like walking, biking and public transit.
Commuters can plan walking and biking routes in advance using the Internet and Google Maps. Walkit.com and Mapmywalk.com provide maps and user descriptions of various routes. Google Maps “Bike There“ charts bike paths for over 150 cities. Routes International provides “bus, tram and trolley routes worldwide”.
Managing sustainable transportation outside the inner cities requires different options for commuters. Walking and biking are usually not practical alternatives in these communities because of the urban sprawl.
PBS’s Blueprint America recently explored the infrastructure of America’s suburbs in the television documentary, “Dangerous Crossing”.
Correspondent, John Larson reports that U.S. suburbs were developed after WWII for upper middle-class families who commuted to the cities in their cars.
The problem is, middle-class families are now moving out and are being replaced by the working poor. Many of these new residents don’t own cars; they walk. But they are crossing busy, seven-lane highways to get to work and school. It’s not only burdensome, it’s dangerous.
Ellen Dunham-Jones, Georgia Tech professor of urban design, and author of, “Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs”, believes that suburbs, some over 60 years old, have outlived their usefulness. Jones describes them as, “fragmented habitats whose public realm is designed for cars, not people.”
Plans are already underway to transform more than 80 of these suburban districts into pedestrian-centered neighborhoods. The most sustainable plans would allow only electric vehicles inside city limits.
Within the next fifty years, some cities may have no vehicles at all. The Car-Free Movement, a network of activists and urban planners, hopes to convert traffic-congested districts back to pre-industrialized design; before the advent of gas-powered automobiles.
Living completely car-free might be extreme for some but it’s time that modern communities offer residents a choice. Sustainable, alternative transportation should be an accessible and safe option for everyone.
Source:
Walking, biking, and climate change. (2007, August). Retrieved fromhttp://www.railstotrails.o rg/resources/documents/whatwed o/TrailLink 07 Program_Cli mate.pdf
Heimbuch, J. (2010, March 11). Google maps added a bike there feature! 5 ways it could change america. Retrieved from http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/google-maps- bike-feature.html
Dangerous crossing: blueprint america. (2010, July 22). Retrieved fromhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/bl ueprintamerica/video/video-dan gerous-crossing/1053/
Retrofitting suburbia: ellen dunham-jones on ted.com. (2010, June 29). Retrieved fromhttp://blog.ted.com/2010/0 6/29/retrofitting_su/
Car-free movement. (2010, July 24). Retrieved fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car-free_movement
About the Author
Jeannie Corona is an artist, writer and researcher with over 20 years experience.