Seminar offers insights into planning a 'pedestrian-friendly' Steamboat
By
Kristen Shew
Steamboat Today
Communities which make pedestrians a priority are safer, friendlier, prettier and
generally more livable, said a pedestrian planning expert who led a seminar yesterday in
Steamboat Springs.
Placing an emphasis upon pedestrians is part of the circle of viability, said Dan
Burden, a transportation and pedestrian planning expert. Walkability stimulates the
economy, stimulates the sense of community, improves transportation efficiency, increases
attractiveness, and reduces pollution, congestion and noise, he said.
Burden spoke at The Pedestrian Safety Road Show, a collaboration between the City of
Steamboat Springs , Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway
Administration. The seminar highlighted the benefits of walkability and have tips on how
to involve the community to effect walkability changes.
The road show is part of a new federal program to get communities more involved in
their futures and with solving their own needs. Representatives from Colorado, Wyoming,
Arkansas, Utah, New Mexico and the federal government attended the meeting.
The purpose of the seminar was to show communities how to take the first baby steps
toward improving walkability.
"If you're going to make America walkable, it's got to start town by town,
corridor by corridor, sector by sector, block by block," Burden said.
City representatives hope the seminar, a community development code rewrite and a
regional transportation study can be combined to solve some of Steamboat's transportation
and pedestrian issues.
During a walkability survey of Steamboat Springs, several of Steamboat's failures and
successes were pointed out. One of the biggest problem areas was the intersection near the
post office at Third Street and Lincoln Avenue, which becomes congested with people in
cars, on bikes and on foot trying to get into and out of the post office and still chat
and visit with neighbors.
Another problem was the intersection of Yampa and Fifth streets where bushes and
parking on the side of the road combine to create a dangerous intersection. The
intersection at Village Drive and Apres Ski Way was another problem, as were Ski Time
Square, the intersection of U.S. 40 and Pine Grove Road near Ski Town Park, and Gondola
Square.
Members of the audience suggested that the lack of sidewalk connections, the unfriendly
nature of U.S. 40, the lack of a connection between downtown and the mountain, having
amenities like grocery stores only on one end to town, and people speeding through
downtown were obstacles to making Steamboat more walkable. But, everyone agreed, it's good
to aim for a more pedestrian friendly city.
"Pedestrians take up incredibly little space and spend and incredible amount of
money," Burden said.
One of the first things Steamboat could do, Burden said, is to narrow side streets to
make them more attractive and pedestrian oriented. He emphasized that details are what
differentiate livable communities from those that merely survive. Towns serious about
walkability provide sidewalks, have compact land use written into the code, use tax
incentives to encourage pedestrian friendly development and fund a transit system.
He said the city, county and community have to work as partners to effect the changes
necessary for a walkable community.
- June 27, 1997
U.S. Department of Transportation