Yesterday I decried, as I often do, the sorry state of bike lanes here in New York City and much of the US. It seems that bike and pedestrian lanes are, too often, conceived and designed by people who never have actually set foot, let alone walked or ridden a bike, where the lanes are built. The result is lanes that actually put bicyclists and pedestrians in more danger than they'd experience without it and that don't offer safe and practical routes to and from wherever people live, work, go to school or shop.
Well, it seems that some folks in Tulsa, Oklahoma are reading this blog--or they have great minds that think like mine. ;=) They are doing at least part of what I think anyone planning a bike or pedestrian lane should do. What's more, they plan to continue the practice for at least a year.
The other day, some of the city's business owners, neighborhood association members, city councilors and other citizens took the first "walk audit" of an area with crash areas. More such "walk audits" will be conducted through the coming year. The purpose is to determine what needs to be changed in order to make those areas safer for walking, cycling and using public transportation.
 |
| Photo by Josh New, for Oklahoma Magazine |
It sounds like a good idea, although I'd also like to see "bike audits": Much, but not all, of what will make walking safer will also help cyclists. As an example, the audit identified a lack of sidewalks in one area which, of course, forces pedestrians to walk in the street. While I certainly favor installing a sidewalk, it generates this question: Will cyclists and other wheeled (but non-motorized) vehicles be permitted on it? In some places, like some areas of Florida I've ridden, bike lanes double as sidewalks (or vice versa, depending on your point of view). That works out as long as there isn't a high volume of pedestrian or bicycle traffic, which seems to go against the purpose of having safe bike and pedestrian routes.
So, I think the good folks of Tulsa have begun to move in the right direction. Now I'd like to see whether they expand their efforts, and whether they can export them--or whether they will be imported by--cities like the one in which I live.
