Walking is the most elemental form of mobility and sidewalks are a basic ingredient in a thriving public transportation system. Without sidewalks, many cannot access the transportation system, such as the bus, safely or simply.
Without sidewalks, there is a barrier to use the bus.
This is why I was so happy to be invited to talk with the Music City Riders United (https://workersdignity.nationbuilder.com/mcru17). This group is working hard to make riding the bus a better and more practical experience.
I shared with them a few critical sidewalk facts that make riding the bus difficult for many.
- 81% of Nashville's roadways do not have a sidewalk
- There is a pedestrian death every 2 weeks in Nashville. Many stories (see https://www.nashvillepedestriandeathregistry.org/) involve those trying to catch or exit their bus.
- We are not building sidewalks at an appreciable rate
- The sidewalk grid in Nashville has an estimated date of completion ~ 1000 years from now
- The Sidewalk Foundation (http://thesidewalkfoundation.org/) is raising funds to try to make a change in these statistics
- our city government could change this by allocating appropriate funding with a realistic completion date
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