Giving Streets back to Pedestrians

This morning my husband and I went out for a walk with our dogs at about 8 am, followed at about 9 am with my daily run. During the walk we were pleasantly surprised with the lack of traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, but my run was filled with random turns, running in the grass, and a few jogs into the street to keep a safe six feet between me and the people I was passing. This method works fine for me in my relatively low density neighborhood in Omaha (although I wish more people would give the same consideration to safety and move over as someone approaches), but most cities are struggling to keep people safe while allowing them to get outside to enjoy fresh air and exercise.

Part of the problem is the fact that our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the U.S. has been designed under the false assumption that most people would rather drive and that walking or bicycling is only an occasional weekend activity. Sidewalks in older neighborhoods are a tiny 4 feet in width, trails are barely 6 feet wide and bike lanes are nonexistent. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommends shared use paths to be at least 10 feet, a span that is uncommon in urban settings. If our shared use paths were indeed built to FHWA standards there would be no need to run in the street to avoid people, we could easily keep six feet apart by walking single file when passing.

But since much of our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is not up to modern standards cities have turned to a more creative way to cope. With the massive drop in vehicle trips many roads have become obsolete. Minneapolis lead the way in the U.S. and gained the title of "most miles of road closed to cars during the COVID-19 pandemic." The city has an impressive boulevard system surrounding their park that has led them to be the number one park system in America six years running. They are also in the habit of closing streets in the summer for Open Streets festivals. So to accommodate the increase in pedestrian and bicyclist traffic the Minneapolis Park Board closed 18 miles of boulevards since the governors stay at home order began in March. Eighteen miles of two-lane roads at about 20 feet in width created an incredible amount of space for non-motorized users to safely travel and recreate.

Saint Paul followed suit with its own closures. Roads along Como, Phalen, and Cherokee Parks were closed to allow pedestrians more space to socially distance outdoors. The city also began a three-month trail reconstruction project at Indian Mounds Regional Park where they closed traffic on sections of Mounds Boulevard to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to continue using the park. This kind of thought should be put into all trail reconstruction projects, regardless of the need to socially distance as many use the trails for commuting or daily activity. Just because maintenance is required does not mean access should be denied.

A very uncomfortable sidewalk on East Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, far too narrow to keep a six foot separation

In the last week cities on the west coast have really taken to heart lane closures. Oakland, California announced 74 miles would be included in "Oakland Slow Streets," their form of opening streets to pedestrians and bicyclists. Street closures have not gone smoothly in every city however. In New York City, where they have committed to pedestrians and bicyclists through substantial projects such as Time Square or just adding more and more bike lanes each year, opening streets to pedestrians failed. The pilot program included just two miles of roads in some of the densest neighborhoods, but lasted only 11 days, largely due to the police presence used to ensure motorists stayed off the street. This issue appears to be limited to New York City however as other communities have not reported problems with their closures.

It is understandable that the increased pedestrian activity is a result of more people working from home and more kids home from school and daycare because of COVID-19. Many assume that as soon as we are back to normal, the pedestrian activity will drop back to pre-COVID levels. But whether you work from home or work in an office you should have the facilities to walk during lunch or take a 15 minute mid-morning break. Numerous studies claim sitting is the new smoking. So it stands to reason more of us should be out walking or biking instead of sitting for 8 hours a day. We have already formed these habits from home so it should be easy to continue when we go back to a workplace setting. The only question is will our public infrastructure change to accommodate more people using it? As Janette Sadik-Khan said, many of these temporary closures can serve as testing grounds for more lasting change. We can use this time to reassess what our cities look like and who they are designed to accommodate. We can continue building for cars, or we can build wider and more connected sidewalks, shared use paths, and protected bike lanes to support a healthier and more sustainable environment.