Tuesday, January 10, 2017

One Early Criticism of the WalkNBike Map

http://wikimapping.com/wikimap/Nashville-Davidson-County-WalknBike-Proposed-Sidewalks.html#.WHQ1rLGZOb9





One early criticism I see about the map is the use of the language 'Existing sidewalks and sidewalks under construction (the brown/tan lines) as this implies that there is sidewalk on BOTH sides of the street.  (Sidewalks = plural). 

This is often not accurate in Nashville.  Many streets have sidewalks on ONLY ONE side - which is much less ideal if on foot.  Consider if your destination is mid-block on the side WITHOUT the sidewalk.  How do you get there other than jaywalk???



Additionally, this takes a street that could be a priority and makes it look complete.  Bowling Av, south of West End is a prime example, where West End Middle School & Elmington Park sits.  As a neighborhood, there has been a lengthy and passionate amount of advocacy for a sidewalk on the east side of the street (the side with the school & park) as the only piece of sidewalk is on the opposite side of this busy road.  This is a serious safety issue & a major barrier for these students and the neighborhood as a whole.  The school, for example is mid-block.   

If you are talking sidewalks in Nashville, you have to be able to see on the map easily that the sidewalk is on one or both sides.  I can see that the brown line is double for both sides and single for single-sided but is this being weighed the the same in planning?  I would argue that a different color should be used so you can easily see which roads are one-sided and still need attention.   Any other designation is unacceptable as an accurate tool for planning.  









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