This past week, I finally spent the time and money to get my bike repaired after an unfortunate encounter with the infamous Eugene bike thieves back over the Thanksgiving holiday while I was in Canada. It was only a matter of time...
Anyway, today, I took a nice long ride all over Eugene. I think I made it onto every bike path at some point or another. I ventured down ones I had never seen before. Yes, I rediscovered how beautiful Oregon really is, but I also was inspired to do some sort of write up about pedestrian/bike paths and how truly beneficial they are to communities.
Ped/bike paths, multi-use paths, recreational trails, etc are something so incredibly beneficial to communities. When the weather permits, these trails are full of all types of people: the leisurely strollers, the diehard cyclists, the commuters, the family of four, and the marathon runners. In Eugene today, people take every beautiful day to spend time on these trails. It is one of the things the local citizens take the most pride. During the mayor's State of the City address a few weeks ago, residents in a video montage of interviews mentioned the paths more than anything else of things they liked most about Eugene. Friends and citizens of other cities where similar ped/bike infrastructure is lacking or nonexistent, these paths ARE truly something to take pride in.
I am going to lay out what I think make such paths effective and successful for communities, more directly focused on the Eugene/Springfield area.
The paths should be aligned with public spaces and plazas. When traffic, bike and pedestrian, runs right past or directly into public parks, plazas, these spaces thrive. The paths become even more useful too with more of a reason to use them!
They should take full advantage of natural features. In Eugene, the entire length of the
Willamette River is surrounded by these mutli-use paths where it runs through the city. It makes days of leisure and potential bird watching all the more possible! When you have have a path that crosses a river where you can get a view like the picture to the right that I took today, you know the path will get some good use.
The paths should be direct, from a commuters perspective. During weekdays, cities with well planned multi-use paths, see the majority of users who are commuters. These paths will only be used by commuters if they are as direct as possible. Cycling commuters do not like to follow a route that jaunts over here, then back over there, etc. Making these paths coincide with the general flow of traffic from other modes of transportation encourages more commuters to choose cycling over their personal vehicles.
Paths should be accessible. Going along with the previous point, making paths accessible to as many sections of the community as possible is key. The new Delta Ponds bridge in Eugene traverses Delta Highway and connects the Cal Young neighborhood with the heavily used Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail, allowing bikers and pedestrians to easily access the Valley River Center and the rest of the city's wonderful trails.
The paths should have proper and clear signage, directional as well as informational. Something I always notice about Eugene's paths is the great signage for bikes and pedestrians on the trails. You
always know which trail you are on. You always know how far you've gone or have to go. You always know if you're approaching an intersection or a crossing. Signage makes path users more comfortable, and yet again encourages use. Even with all of the construction currently surrounding the new I-5 bridge at the border of Eugene/Springfield, there is amazing signage for the temporary paths! It is almost impossible to get lost!
The paths should accommodate multi-uses. This means the paths should be wide enough for both pedestrians and cyclists to use. In heavy traffic areas, the paths should be wider than normal. When I'm cycling, it's nice to have a comfortable amount of space to pass if two or three pedestrians are walking to one side. This makes it safe for all parties.
Maintenance and upkeep is essential. This should be a no-brainer, but I'm sure it is overlooked in most cities. Thankfully, I haven't experienced any trouble with this locally, but I can only imagine how discouraging it would be to commute on a path with bushes and vines creeping on the edges, or potholes and bumps as bad as the roads in Eugene.
They should take full advantage of natural features. In Eugene, the entire length of the
Willamette River is surrounded by these mutli-use paths where it runs through the city. It makes days of leisure and potential bird watching all the more possible! When you have have a path that crosses a river where you can get a view like the picture to the right that I took today, you know the path will get some good use.The paths should be direct, from a commuters perspective. During weekdays, cities with well planned multi-use paths, see the majority of users who are commuters. These paths will only be used by commuters if they are as direct as possible. Cycling commuters do not like to follow a route that jaunts over here, then back over there, etc. Making these paths coincide with the general flow of traffic from other modes of transportation encourages more commuters to choose cycling over their personal vehicles.
Paths should be accessible. Going along with the previous point, making paths accessible to as many sections of the community as possible is key. The new Delta Ponds bridge in Eugene traverses Delta Highway and connects the Cal Young neighborhood with the heavily used Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail, allowing bikers and pedestrians to easily access the Valley River Center and the rest of the city's wonderful trails.
The paths should have proper and clear signage, directional as well as informational. Something I always notice about Eugene's paths is the great signage for bikes and pedestrians on the trails. You
always know which trail you are on. You always know how far you've gone or have to go. You always know if you're approaching an intersection or a crossing. Signage makes path users more comfortable, and yet again encourages use. Even with all of the construction currently surrounding the new I-5 bridge at the border of Eugene/Springfield, there is amazing signage for the temporary paths! It is almost impossible to get lost!The paths should accommodate multi-uses. This means the paths should be wide enough for both pedestrians and cyclists to use. In heavy traffic areas, the paths should be wider than normal. When I'm cycling, it's nice to have a comfortable amount of space to pass if two or three pedestrians are walking to one side. This makes it safe for all parties.
Maintenance and upkeep is essential. This should be a no-brainer, but I'm sure it is overlooked in most cities. Thankfully, I haven't experienced any trouble with this locally, but I can only imagine how discouraging it would be to commute on a path with bushes and vines creeping on the edges, or potholes and bumps as bad as the roads in Eugene.
No comments:
Post a Comment